By Kayla Kennedy
Brands are utilizing the influence of campus ambassadors to tap into target markets across the country. According to marketing expert Mark Collier, large companies with over 10,000 employees can expect to expend $120,000 – $480,000 each year to create and maintain a college ambassador program.
Victoria Secret’s PINK Brand launched their college ambassador program in 2008, accrediting selected campus ambassadors to organize events, giveaways, and campaigns to empower students across campus.
https://www.victoriassecret.com/us/pink/, the official VS PINK website, said the program was launched to “build a supportive and inspiring community for students and offer real-world working experience with us (VS PINK) on campus.” The Victoria’s Secret Pink Campus Reps Program is present in 128 colleges and universities by the way of more than 250 representatives.
“It’s a huge community,” Hampton University PINK Rep Dominique Hunt said. “The pool started a while back, and the support system is endless.”
The program is more than a typical internship. The PINK Campus Rep program is set up to empower selected reps and team members.
“I just love everything the brand stands for,” Hunt said. “Increasing diversity, mental health workshops, we even have Zoom calls with the CEOs.”
According to Patrice Brown, a previous PINK Campus Rep, each representative is paid an hourly wage between $13 and $15 for 8 to 10 hours per week. According to these numbers, Victoria's Secret invests at least $390,000 to compensate their 250 campus reps in the US for every 15-week semester (based on the minimum wage and hours). In addition, the company financially supports initiatives and giveaways hosted by the representatives.
“At the beginning of the year, Patrice and I received a skeleton of themes of campaigns and deadlines to curate our events around along with a set budget,” former representative, Jade Brown, said. “PINK was pretty supportive of our creative ideas on how to spend our dollar amount and disperse free merchandise across campus.”
Victoria’s Secret PINK is executing a program that not only trains up the next generation of PINK executives but empowers the team and target audience of the brand. Hampton University’s Campus Reps have hosted mental health check-ins, virtual work out camps, and resume workshops ahead of career fairs.
The undergarments market in the U.S. has a total revenue of nearly $58 billion, with Victoria’s Secret comprising about $13 Billion according to Statista. In 2016, Business Insider said PINK is the future of Victoria’s Secret following an earnings call revealing PINK as the leading category of the company. PINK’s target audience of teens and college students now serve as 70 percent of Victoria’s Secret’s purchase power. Providing a program like the PINK Campus Reps strengthens the relationship between the brand and its target audience.
“My journey as a PINK representative has sent me to New York for national campaigning shoots, helped mold my public relations skills, and allowed me to help support young ladies across my campus,” said Patrice Brown, a 2019-2020 PINK Campus Rep. “This brand is simultaneously supporting their target audience while investing into marketing.”
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