Promega UK – Student Brand Ambassador Programme

GottaBe! have been supporting Promega for several years now and are proud to announce that the Student Support Ambassador programme is being extended with another year of students being recruited. 

Promega Corporation is a leading provider in innovative solutions and technical support in the life sciences industry and was founded back in 1978 by current CEO Bill Linton. Its 4,000 products enable scientists to advance their knowledge in genomics, proteomics, cellular analysis, drug discovery, and human identification. They have an expansive headquarters in Madison, USA as well as branches in 16 countries and over 50 global distributors. Promega UK is based within the picturesque Benham campus at The University of Southampton Science Park and operates within the public, private and clinical sectors.

The first year of the Student Brand Ambassador Programme saw GottaBe! recruiting students to raise awareness of the Promega brand. We looked to recruit scientists in their second or third year at university doing a Ph.D. at Aberdeen and Manchester University. To be eligible to become student ambassadors the students needed to also have access to a lab environment. The role looked to spend 4 months at a given time to promote Promega products to fellow students in the laboratory setting. 

Working closely with Promega we searched Facebook Ph.D. groups, used PPC techniques, and contacted Universities directly through their student unions. This was further supported by paid job adverts on platforms such as Indeed.

Due to the success of the first programme, Promega UK is expanding its Student Support Ambassador programme for its second year. After reaping the rewards of having ‘on the ground specialists’ driving brand awareness at the University of Aberdeen and Manchester University. Here at GottaBe! we have recruited four new students to fill the role to start this academic year. 

What is the Student Brand Ambassador Programme?

Promega UK has successfully utilised this opportunity across two universities so far, by hiring Ph.D. students to promote their company with fellow students and researchers. For the coming year, Promega UK will have student ambassadors in four universities located across the country which will further increase brand awareness by extending their reach capabilities. 

Including:

• Dundee University
• Kings College London
• Nottingham University
• Liverpool University

Brand ambassadors create a fantastic opportunity for any brand to expand their network, by providing accessible links with potential customers on a more relationship-focused approach, compared to a traditional sales approach.  

By using student brand ambassadors to promote the products it creates a sense of social proof, if students see their peers engaging with a new product then they will want to be part of that social scenario and involved in the conversation. The student brand ambassador programme is a great way to expand not only brand reach but the programme itself which can then grow organically as it progresses, in a similar way to Promega. 

For the Promega brand ambassadors, their work is scientifically based however the student ambassadors’ programmes are transferable across industries if brand messaging is consistent throughout the approach. The student brand ambassadors distribute samples, guides, and branded merchandise into their university to help build personal connections with other students. This is an effective approach because they appear more friendly and approachable than a typical salesperson. They will get involved in promotions and tabletop events to name a few, which will help develop their networking skills, as well as increase brand awareness within the academic sector. The student brand ambassador programme is a fantastic opportunity for a Ph.D. student to be involved as it allows them to network with industry professionals at a higher level.

Promega UK’s Student Ambassador Programme 

Promega UK has taken on four Ph.D. students for this academic year, who are working within the following subject areas of biotechnology, cancer biology, cell biology, cell, and molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, and/or virology. They will work on a part-time basis and will be mentored by their Key Account Manager (KAM) who oversees the university’s account. 

Key Account Managers will help guide the ambassadors with weekly initiatives and provide them with valuable industry insights in the life science sector. Previous students found this role to be a great way of building upon their experience beyond the white walls of the lab. By gaining commercial awareness and developing core skills of excellent communication and confidence. 

The four upcoming student brand ambassadors have taken part in a two-day workshop where they were introduced to the company, shown how to use Promega products, and told how to effectively utilise social media to enhance their presence at the university. Previous student ambassador Aya Abdallah found this to be a powerful tool to help promote her promotional activities and build connections on platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Equally, this year’s enthusiastic students will hopefully be able to provide more face-to-face interactions with fellow students and university staff compared to the previous term. However, even with the Covid-19 restrictions in place, the previous two student ambassadors overcame this challenge and continued to successfully implement their ideas to promote Promega. 

This year they will be arranging training sessions, product demonstrations, discussions, and much more to increase product engagement and promote brand awareness. Afterwards, the students will walk away with a great understanding of working within the life science industry and will have built tremendously upon their networking profile and research, which will be an asset to their future careers. 

What’s next for the Promega Student ambassador programme

Promega UK hopes to continue expanding its Student Ambassador Programme by recruiting second- or third-year students from more universities in the future. Keep up to date with Promega’s student brand ambassadors across social media, and for more information about Promega, visit www.promega.co.uk. 

The Promega Student Brand Ambassador Programme has seen continual success by using students who were already within the target audience Promega wanted to reach. Brand ambassadors put a face to your company and deliver information in an informal manner that allows customers to build a connection to your brand. 

The team at GottaBe! carefully recruit the right brand ambassadors to suit your brands ethos. Choosing the right brand ambassadors is crucial as they must be able to effectively deliver your brand messaging to potential customers.  If you are looking to expand your reach to a specific audience GottaBe! can help. Contact us today to speak to one of the team!