Influencer marketing has been revolutionized by the invasion of brand ambassadors, who have taken the strategy to new heights for companies. From former reality show contestants to well-established media personalities, these ambassadors have become the face of some of the world’s biggest brands. Influencers have moved beyond simply paid posts and partnerships to become integral parts of a company’s image.
Brazil tops the global rankings for Instagram influencers, boasting 10.5M individuals with an average of 1K followers each, per Nielsen’s survey covering posts from November 2021 to April 2022 on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Brand ambassadors: What do they do?
Brand ambassadors play a crucial role in a brand’s marketing strategy as the face and voice of the company. They expertly promote and support the brand’s offerings, embodying its corporate identity through both their words and actions. As active communicators, brand ambassadors effectively promote the brand both online and offline.
As the face of the brand, brand ambassadors hold a key position in fostering a connection between customers and the company. They provide a personal touch to the brand, making communication effortless, and resulting in an easier selling process.
In addition, as the representative of the company’s image, they are also responsible for quickly addressing any miscommunications or incidents that could negatively impact the brand’s reputation.
Banco PAN: Jojo Todynho
Ambassador’s profile:
Jojo Toddynho is a well-known Brazilian influencer, entrepreneur, singer, and entertainer. Coming from a low-income background in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jojo started her journey as a teenager working as a maid and street vendor. Despite her humble beginnings, she has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry.
The influencer’s rise to fame began in 2018 with the release of her hit song ‘Que Tiro Foi Esse?’ The track quickly gained widespread recognition and even gained international attention.
In 2020, Jojo Toddynho joined the cast of the reality show ‘A Fazenda 12‘ on Record. Despite having conflicts with several other participants, she won over the audience and was ultimately crowned the champion, taking home a cash prize of BRL 1.5M (approximately USD 300K). The following year, she debuted as a host on the talk show ‘Jojo Nove e Meia‘ on Multishow.
In December 2022, the song set a new record on digital platforms with over 280M streams. On Instagram, the singer celebrated this achievement and emphasized the fact that she is a woman who has made such a significant impact.
Relationship with the brand:
She is widely recognized for her honesty and directness. She demonstrated these traits during her time on ‘A Fazenda,’ where she was not afraid to speak her mind and entertain the audience with her straightforward personality. Her authenticity has earned her over 25M followers on Instagram.
Given her large following and distinctive personality, the banking agency PAN saw Jojo Toddynho as a perfect fit for their brand and hired her as their new brand ambassador. In this role, Jojo shared her personal story, including her financial management before fame and her plans for her newfound success.
Despite her success and financial stability, she remains grounded and mindful of her money. She attributes this level of financial consciousness to her experiences as a street vendor. According to Jojo, she learned valuable lessons about managing money during her time as a street vendor. She had to be efficient and organized to make a profit and provide change to her customers.
Even now that she is famous and earns a substantial income, Jojo remains frugal and avoids impulsive spending. She recognizes the temporary nature of financial success and remains cautious.
L’Oréal Paris: Larissa Manoela
Ambassador’s profile:
Larissa Manoela is a talented Brazilian performer. Born in Guarapuava, Paraná, she has made a name for herself as an actress, singer, model, digital influencer, and writer. She has starred in many popular soap operas and has a thriving career in the entertainment industry.
Larissa’s journey began at the young age of 4. While shopping with her mother in a supermarket, she was discovered by a scout from a kid’s talent agency. The agency referred her to another talent agency and at the age of 5, she participated in the Projeto Passarela contest. Among 300 children, she emerged as the first-place winner.
In 2012, Larissa signed a contract with the TV channel SBT, which led her and her family to move to São Paulo to focus on her career. By the same year, the soap opera ”Corações Feridos” aired, and she played the role of Viviane. SBT worked on the remake of the famous Argentinian soap opera ”Carrosel” (Carousel) and cast Larissa as ”Maria Joaquina”, which became the character that was the turning point in her career.
Larissa had an active role as an actress on the TV channel until 2019 when she decided not to renew her contract with SBT. She had already signed with the streaming platform Netflix; in early 2020, she signed with her old TV channel’s rival, Globo, which was an exclusive contract. Currently, as an influencer, she adds more than 48M followers on Instagram.
Relationship with the brand:
L’Oréal Paris is a world-renowned cosmetics brand that makes beauty accessible to everyone. They offer a diverse range of products, including makeup, skin care, hair care, and hair coloring, driven by their commitment to innovation and scientific excellence. Their products are known for their safety, efficacy, and quality.
This brand has selected Larissa Manoela as its new brand ambassador in Brazil. The actress and singer will join forces with Luísa Sonza (30M on Instagram) to promote their line as part of the Elseve team. The brand’s partnership with Larissa Manoela is aimed at reaching the millennial generation.
As a brand that values women’s empowerment, L’Oréal Paris challenges traditional gender stereotypes with a modern and inclusive vision of femininity. They support all women in their journey to feel confident and fulfilled and encourage them to define beauty on their terms.
L’Oréal Paris’ main goal is to engage with all women through their communication strategies, one of which includes promoting the Longo dos Sonhos line with the help of their ambassadors, including Larissa Manoela. The brand hopes to attract younger audiences with this line.
We are living in an age of individuality and self-expression, and L’Oréal Paris aims to tap into this by partnering with Larissa Manoela. The brand hopes to attract a younger audience that can relate to the influencer. With the Longo dos Sonhos project, L’Oréal aims to promote hair growth and better hair care, appealing to this audience’s sense of self-discovery and individualism.
Adidas: Gabriel Medina
Ambassador’s profile:
Gabriel Medina is a professional surfer who has won the World Surf League Championship twice. He is based in São Sebastião, a coastal city located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.
Gabriel is a professional surfer who has established himself as one of the best in the world. Despite coming close to a third title in 2019, he lost in the final to fellow countryman Italo Ferreira. After a year off from competition due to the pandemic, Medina returned with a vengeance in 2021 and dominated the WSL Tour.
Medina continued his dominance and clinched his third world championship by defeating Filipe Toledo in the final. In 2022, Medina took a step back to focus on his injury and mental health, only competing in a limited number of Tour events before being forced to withdraw again due to injury.
In addition to his success on the surfboard, Gabriel Medina has also made a name for himself as a social media influencer. With an impressive number, of 10M followers on Instagram.
Relationship with the brand:
Adidas has recently named Gabriel Medina as the new face of their sustainability efforts. As an ambassador, Medina will work with the brand to develop initiatives and projects aimed at reducing resource consumption and promoting environmental awareness.
In addition to his role in sustainability, he will also be featured in campaigns for Adidas’ footwear launches. It’s worth mentioning that Medina also has a clothing contract with surfwear brand Rip Curl.
Adidas, a brand known for partnering with cultural influencers added professional surfer Gabriel Medina to their roster. Medina will serve as an ambassador for the brand’s sustainability efforts and will work to create initiatives aimed at reducing resource consumption and promoting environmental awareness.
Felipe Savone, senior brand manager at Adidas, stated that Gabriel Medina’s experience and perspective will make the brand even more connected to the young Brazilian population and align with their goal of sustainability.
Medina, for his part, expressed pride in being associated with a brand that is genuinely concerned about the environment and promoting innovative sustainability initiatives.
Bruna Marquezine: Puma
Ambassador’s profile:
Bruna Reis Maia, also known as Marquezine, was born in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro. She comes from a working-class family, with her mother being a housewife and father a carpenter. Her artistic name “Marquezine” was passed down from her grandmother.
She began her career at a young age, appearing in commercials on television when she was just four years old. In 1999, she was given the opportunity to showcase her talent on the show “Gente Inocente,” hosted by Márcio Garcia on Globo TV. On the program, she interviewed famous personalities and displayed her charisma on stage.
Bruna Marquezine has had a successful career on television, starting as a child performer in commercials and later moving on to appear in various shows and soap operas. She has played a range of characters, including comedic roles such as Lurdinha in “Cobras & Lagartos” (2006) and dramatic roles such as Maria Augusta in “Desejo Proibido” (2007).
In 2012, she played the confident Lurdinha in “Salve Jorge,” and in 2014, she received her first lead role as Helena in “Em Família.” Marquezine continued to take on challenging roles, including the determined Marizete in “I Love Paraisópolis” (2015) and the daring Beatriz in the miniseries “Nada Será Como Antes” (2016). Her most recent role was as the villainous Princess Catarina in “Deus Salve o Rei” (2018).
Bruna Marquezine gained worldwide attention for her on-and-off relationship with soccer star Neymar (203M on Instagram). They first started dating in 2012, but the relationship was plagued by breakups and reconciliations. Despite their efforts to reconcile, the two ultimately ended their relationship in 2018.
Relationship with the brand:
I am very happy to share with you that I am now an ambassador Puma. I have wanted to be a part of this family for some time now because I really identify with the brand and admire its ambassadors. This partnership fills me with pride, as I know their commitment to respecting and valuing women exactly as they are. Thank you very much for receiving me so well. It is an honor to be a part of the Puma family. May our journey be beautiful, full of conquests and good surprises! With love, Bruna.
Bruna Marquezine announced her partnership as a new ambassador for Puma on Instagram.
Bruna Marquezine, the renowned influencer with over 43M, is the perfect fit for PUMA’s campaigns. As PUMA’s ambassador in Brazil, she stars in the latest campaign for the highly sought-after sneaker, the PUMA Mayze. The Mayze, previously seen in Dua Lipa‘s (87M on Instagram) first global campaign for PUMA, is now showcased in Brazil with Bruna as the lead.
According to Bruna, the Mayze brings style and versatility to any outfit, whether it’s sporty, glamorous, or casual. The shoe adds a touch of flair to any look, making the Mayze the perfect choice for those who want to make a statement with their footwear.
With her massive following and on-point style, Bruna is the ideal representative for PUMA’s campaigns, bringing a fresh and youthful perspective to the brand’s marketing efforts.
Vigor: Gil do Vigor
Ambassador’s profile:
Gilberto José Nogueira Junior, commonly known as Gil do Vigor or Gil Nogueira, is a renowned Brazilian economist and digital influencer hailing from Jaboatão dos Guararapes. He rose to prominence after appearing on the 21st season of the popular reality TV show Big Brother Brazil.
In 2021, Gil’s time on “Big Brother Brazil” was filled with memorable moments, including being part of the first same-sex kiss on the show with fellow housemate Lucas Penteado.
Despite his early elimination, Gil’s popularity continued to soar, making him one of the most followed ex-contestants on social media. This resulted in numerous opportunities, including a contract with Globo and endorsement deals with various brands.
Despite his success, Gil has chosen to prioritize his education and is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at the University of California, Davis. This determination to continue learning and growing demonstrates Gil’s commitment to his personal and professional development, making him a well-rounded and inspiring individual.
Relationship with the brand:
Gil’s charming and charismatic personality helped him to stand out and catch the attention of many brands, including the yogurt brand named “Vigor“. He successfully promoted himself and signed a partnership with the brand, even having his face featured on their yogurt packages for a commercial campaign.
As a result of his successful partnership, Gil has been chosen as the new ambassador for the “Vigor” food brand in Brazil. With his popularity and strong relationship with the brand, Gil is well positioned to help promote the brand and increase its reach in the country. This partnership is a testament to Gil’s entrepreneurial spirit and ability to capitalize on his popularity to create new opportunities.
In 2021, Gil was the face of the “Vigor Grego” campaigns, which was centered around the theme “This Moment is Mine, Brazil”. The partnership between Gil and Vigor was a huge success, with the campaign generating nearly 500 press publications and a buzz on social media.
Within the first few hours of the announcement, the partnership trended on Twitter with over 109K mentions and reached 5.3M impressions. This led to a significant increase in followers for the brand’s Instagram account, with 83k new followers.
The partnership was celebrated by artists, influencers, and celebrities, who recognized the positive impact of Gil and Vigor’s dynamic collaboration.
Bold Creators Club can help you reach your goals
To have a successful Instagram account, you need to put in the time and effort. You can’t just set up your account and expect people to start clicking on your links. You need an engaged audience that is interested in your brand. This is why running Instagram ads is still a good idea – it will help you build up a following and figure out what engages your target customers best.
Dealing with social media influencers is not always easy. Actually, most of the time, companies and influencers can’t communicate clearly, as there is a lack of a cultural, linguistic, and social bridge that connects both.
When it comes to Latin influencers, this communication barrier is even bigger. Not only because a lot of people in countries like Brazil or Colombia don’t English, but also because these countries are highly multicultural, with cities with completely different styles, slang, social and cultural movements within the country.
In the case of Brazil, this aspect is so strong that there are even completely different cultures within the same city, in big metropolises like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro.
It is really hard to keep up with the constant changes in the pop culture and in the internet world, so contacting an agency whose job is to always be updated about what the influencers are doing, how is the stability in the country, and more important information for your company, is the best strategy.