Dear energy friends and BIC Magazine readers, welcome to our September issue of BIC Magazine -- your business and industry connection. A lot of water has run under the bridge since my wife, Bodi, and I relocated from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to League City, Texas, back in late April. In addition to having a stroke in May and changing my lifestyle, I have also been busy making connections with old friends and establishing new friendships, learning more about our new community, finding a new church, and acting as a brand ambassador for our faith, family, company and industry.
Since September is also the time when most of us have returned from our summer vacations, school is starting and the football season is kicking off, I thought I would begin this exciting issue of BIC Magazine with a few comments about the importance of understanding the role of a brand ambassador and why the best brand ambassadors are ourselves, our family, our fellow employees and even others in the industries we serve.
Let's begin by defining an ambassador and a brand ambassador. Webster's New World Dictionary defines an ambassador as:
- The highest ranking representative appointed by one country or government to represent it to another.
- An official messenger or agent on a special mission.
Wikipedia defines a brand ambassador as a person who is hired (or retained) by an organization or company to represent a brand in a positive light and, by doing so, helps increase brand awareness and sales.
Here at BIC Alliance, and as our founder and CEO, I identify among my primary responsibilities to be our extraordinary brand ambassador and also to train others in our family, our company and marketing/recruiting partners, and our readers of BIC Magazine to be brand ambassadors themselves. According to an article I found at Everwise.com titled "The Best Brand Ambassadors Are Your Employees," our employees are the most credible sources of brand information. It goes on to say that in order for us to find the best brand ambassadors, we should follow the "four E's" listed below.
- Establish a company culture. This begins with having a mission statement that resonates with everyone in your company. Here at BIC Alliance, our mission is "To connect people in business and industry with one another for the betterment of all." We strive to do this through publishing "Media That Matters," which includes BIC Magazine, custom books, films, TV series, a speakers bureau and networking events. Whether it is through our company or yours, we need to understand and communicate to others what sets our companies apart and makes them better than the rest.
- Engage the right people to represent your brand positively. Honesty and authenticity are the pillars of a successful brand ambassador, along with passion, excitement and character. It also helps if we have our own personal brand that others respect and embrace.
- Empower ambassadors. The key here is to remember that training is one of the top components to running a successful company and a successful brand ambassador program. This means supplying our folks with the tools, guidelines and content they need to achieve maximum success.
- Execute by using media, especially social media, to spread the word. Even before I launched BIC Magazine over 35 years ago, one of my mentors, Butch Baum, told me that the best friend we can ever have in life and in business is someone who buys ink by the barrel. Today, we have adapted this statement to include social media and other "Media That Matters" content, which includes books such as "Earl's Pearls," films such as "Urban Country," TV series such as "The Leisure Connection" and "Rock Bottom and Backâ¢," and networking events such as BIC Alliance's industry appreciation crawfish boil.
I hope these tips will help you establish your own successful personal and company brand ambassador program and you'll join us and several others who use BIC Magazine as their third-party newsletter.
Now let's take a look at some of the exciting news, interviews and articles in the September issue. We interview Gifford Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association; Jim Hillier, site manager of the LyondellBasell Clinton Complex; Chris Tiernay, president and COO of Carboline Co.; Brian Groody, president of corrosion protection for Aegion; and Mark Fallon, president and CEO of Envirocon.
We also feature articles on a variety of crucial topics, such as the importance of midstream infrastructure, workforce development, operational excellence and much more.
I want to thank everyone who attended the "Urban Country" opening in Baytown, Texas, last month. "Urban Country" opened in 11 other cities, and it will hit Walmart stores Sept. 4. You can also view this family/faithbased film through all video- on-demand programs.
