GE Started a Brand Ambassador Program, But It's Not What You Think

Ambassador programs aren't just your customers

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

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Joyce Sullivan

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Today, let's talk about brand ambassador programs, but in a slightly different way. Let's talk about how companies can use them internally. We often think of brand ambassador programs as being a way to better connect with our customers and help them spread our promotional messages. Yet a brand ambassador program can also be used to help your employees better connect with each other.

In 2006, Gary Koelling and Steve Bendt launched an initiative at Best Buy that would later become known as Blue Shirt Nation. It was a voluntary program for Best Buy employees that would give front-line workers a way to connect with each other with two main goals in mind:

1 - It would give Best Buy a way to better understand its customers by having workers share the feedback they received from customers during in-store visits

2 - It would give Best Buy employees a way to connect with each other and share ideas, tips, or simply vent about their work

I interviewed Gary about Blue Shirt Nation back in 2009, and asked him what prompted him and Steve to want to create Blue Shirt Nation. What problem were they trying to solve? Here was his answer: