About 6 months ago I was scrolling Facebook and I saw an ad for the new R. Riveter Brand Ambassador program. I paused in my aimless scrolling and decided to click through to read about it. Half a year later here I am as a full fledged R. Riveter Brand Ambassador and I’ve got to say, it’s pretty awesome.
I have had some people ask me about becoming an R. Riveter Brand Ambassador recently and I thought that I would write a quick post to tell y’all a bit more about it. Starting next month the company will be welcoming a new group of Ambassadors (click here for more info and to apply!) and I hope this will give you an idea what it is like to serve as a brand ambassador and if it is a good fit for you.
If you’ve never heard of R. Riveter, it is a company started by two military spouses to provide a way for themselves and other military spouses to have a mobile, flexible income. It can be hard to have a career and help support your family when you are quite literally at the whim of the military. You never know when your spouse will deploy or when you will be re-stationed to a brand new place.
I really connected with this mission because I have lived that story! Every 3-5 years since I started my photography business in 2009 we have moved following my husband’s career. That means every 3-5 years I have gotten to start my business over again from scratch in a brand new place where I have no friends, clients, or connections. Let me tell you, it’s pretty rough.
When you ask R. Riveter’s co-founders what they do, they will tell you, “We don’t hire military spouses to make handbags. We make handbags to be able to hire military spouses.”
The warehouse outside Southern Pines, NC sends the components out to the women who will assemble them and send them back, called Riveters. Each Riveter has a particular piece of a handbag that they are responsible for – leather, liners, tags, etc. Once they complete their parts they ship them back tot he warehouse where they are assembled and packaged to be sold in the Southern Pines flagship or online at https://www.rriveter.com.
The thing that got me interested in becoming a Brand Ambassador was first, the products themselves.
I have had friends who have had the purses and the more pieces that I came in contact with the more impressed I became with them. I currently have a Patton, a Hobby, an Otto, the wallet, the earbud holders, and the keychain.
Every piece that I have is so well made and you can tell a lot of thought has gone into designing the bags and accessories to be both beautiful and functional. From the two front pockets in the Hobby that hold my cell phone and sunglasses apart from everything else in my bag to the brass hook on the keychain that lets me clip my keys onto the top of the bag so they don’t fall and get buried, every detail is well thought out and executed.
It was important to me that if I was going to go online and promote a product, it had to be a product that I actually used and loved. I wanted to feel good about being aligned with the company and not like I was being a sell out.
The second reason that I am excited to be involved with the R. Riveter Brand Ambassador program is they encourage us to talk about the bags in a way that is natural and incorporates our own personality and interests.
I really believe that the company is just as interested in who I am as a person as they are in my audience and my reach.
They say that they are committed to empowering women and I believe they mean it.
I am not the type of person who wants to plaster advertising messages, authentic or not, all over my feed. I don’t feel it is authentic and it’s just not who I am. I like that part of being a brand ambassador is about sharing who I am and my interests and that I am not obligated to have a bag in every post that I make. I get to talk about my woodworking and my photography and if I happen to mention a bag or have it pop up in a photo that’s great, but I don’t feel pressured to make every photo in my feed all about the bags.
Some of the ambassadors are a little more product forward and focus their posts more in that direction and that’s fine. Each of us is allowed to tell our story and represent the brand in a way that feels authentic to us.
Last, there is the community. As a brand ambassador I get put in touch with a whole large group of women from across the country, many of whom are military spouses, who understand and support one another.
While many share certain experiences being involved in the military life, I am also surprised at how different and varied their interests are. We have entrepreneurs, moms, event planners, photographers, bloggers and many more from all over the country.
Part of being an ambassador is that you get to be part of the community and the Facebook group where you get to meet all of the other ambassadors. I really like being able to follow them on social media and see what everyone is up to!
If you think that being a brand ambassador might be for you, R.Riveter is about to accept a new group of ambassadors! Not everyone who applies will be accepted, but it is such a great experience and definitely worth applying. click here for more info and to apply!
The new group will be welcomed in March so go put in your application now!!!
Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂
