For years, brands have built their online presence through either brand led or founder led content. But what about when the employees take centre stage over official brand channels? This new wave of employee ambassadors is dominating the social media world in 2026, but is it the right route for luxury brands to take?
What Are Employee Ambassadors
From global brands to smaller, founder led organisations, putting the people behind the brand at the forefront of social has been a huge shift.
What started as founders being the face of founder-led brands and organisations have shifted into heads of departments and other employees taking centre stage, often completely separately from the official brand account.
One of the most notable recent examples of employee ambassadorship is Kathryn Turner, Director Of Product Development at M&S. Her Instagram videos and social content have taken the digital world by storm. According to data from Primetag, her TikTok content pulled in 60 times more views and 200 times more engagements per post than the official brand channel, despite having less than half the followers.
Another brand, Kinso, heavily advocates for “gamefying” their social strategy, and treating their social marketing like that of Netflix. Each employee is a character with its own story, with different series for social users to follow, watch and consume. Tahlia Kennedy, the head of content for Kinso, even has more followers than the brand itself.
So, what does this mean for luxury brands? Is this a strategy that would fit in the luxury world.
Will Employee Ambassadors Fit Into A Luxury World?
The world of luxury has tiers. Some luxury brands cater largely to the mass market, promoting their products as signifiers of wealth. Others choose to market to specific circles and demographics.
M&S employee ambassador strategy worked due to Kathryn’s audience being UK based, female, and predominantly within the 18 to 34 age bracket. This matches with a large demographic of M&S food shoppers, fitting within her role of director of product.
If done correctly, utilising employee ambassadors can amplify brand strategy beyond the official brand channels. For luxury brands, understanding what your specific audience would want to see from an employee journey (think behind the scenes, day in the life, new product previews), as well as what employees would be the best fit to share their own journeys.
The Future Of Employee Ambassadors
Building a personal brand isn’t just for founders and entrepreneurs anymore. Those in typical 9-5 employee positions can leverage both their personal brand and the company presence their work for through employee content.
Over the next five years, employee ambassadors will become standard across the board in digital marketing. It just comes down to which brands are willing to take the first step.
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