Meet the Brand Ambassador: El Craig

To continue our theme for ‘Women’s equality day’, we wanted to showcase some of the awesome women that work as our brand ambassadors. El was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about her experience of taking a male heavy course, her interests, and her work as a brand ambassador for Hype.

HYPE: Hi El! First off, can you tell me a bit about your life at university?

EL: I’m 22, so I took two years out and I’m now going into my 3^rd year at the University of Leeds. I study Digital media, which is a heavily male dominated course. There’s a lot of coding involved, which can put off a lot of girls who are thinking of taking it.

I’m also in the surf society, which may not run this year, due to Covid-19. I’m also in the media society, which I really enjoy.

HYPE: You mentioned you’re in a very male dominated course, could you talk to us a bit about your experience as a woman?

EL: I’m a bit older, so I feel like I’m more confident than others to stand up against criticism from my male course mates. The guys on my course often try and mansplain to me, or ask me if I need help with something, when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. I also think they’re just nosey and want to see what the girl is doing.

When you’re trying to succeed in a male-dominated field such as technology and coding, it’s a lot harder to apply for jobs and get taken seriously for your work. There’s also a positive discrimination issue – where women like myself often feel conscious that they’re being employed to fill a diversity quota, rather than being employed based on skill.

HYPE: Do you have any advice for women entering a course similar to your own?

Just put yourself out there and give 100%. Don’t be scared to make noise and be yourself, and be different.

HYPE: What do you do in your spare time?

EL: I run a redbubble account, where I sell digital graphics, art etc. (https://www.redbubble.com/people/LLCRG/shop). It started off as designs for me to put up in my uni room, and then I just expanded from there! I also do freelance social media, content creation and website development work for different companies, such as a pool I lifeguard at, and an Artificial Intelligence firm based in Leeds.

HYPE: Sounds great! Could you describe what you do in your role as a brand ambassador?

EL: As a brand ambassador, you can pick up short or long term work. I mostly focus on the short term work. This involves me going on campus, speaking to students and gage what they feel about a certain client/company. I then feed that back to HQ. We try and get a buzz going about the company amongst students, usually involving incentives like discount codes, sweets etc.

HYPE: What’s your favourite part of being a brand ambassador?

EL: It’s very cliché, but I love talking to people. Also, I like having the chance to just go up to someone and have a talk with them. Being a brand ambassador connects you with a lot of other students, and it’s a really lovely community. I’ve met some really good friends through it! We also get a lot of benefits as brand ambassadors, like free sweets!

HYPE: What’s the toughest part of working as a brand ambassador?

EL: It can be quite daunting at first, going up to students and talking to them! You just have to big yourself up to talk to people, but once you’ve done a few people, it isn’t that hard! Sometimes you’ll get ignored, but it’s just part of the job!

Another tough part is feeling like you haven’t done enough. Sometimes you’ll have days that aren’t very successful, and I often think to myself ‘‘this is so great, why isn’t anyone listening!’’. When you haven’t had a lot of interest in a brand, it can sometimes bring you down. However, the good days definitely balance that feeling out for me!

HYPE: Can you give me a day in the life of your experience as a brand ambassador?

EL: When you pick up a job, you’ll get a briefing from members of HQ, telling you what the company is, and the goal of what you’re going to be doing for the day. You’ll then head out on campus, get students involved in what you’re doing and try and generate some awareness for the brand, whether this be in the form of a quick conversation, or filling out a form. At the end of the shift, you pass info on to HQ, explaining what you think went well, and what could be improved. For example, you might think you were stationed in a place that wasn’t busy enough.

HYPE: What’s your advice for newbie brand ambassadors who are starting this year mid-covid?

EL: If you’re working with an online presence, let your personality shine! Relate to your own interests and experiences, you’re more likely to be successful in attracting attention if you are being yourself.

Also, pick up a role that interests you. For example, I worked with adobe, cause I love their software and use it all the time!

HYPE: Finally, can you describe yourself in three words for me?

EL: Strong-minded, determined and energetic.

If you’re a university society and interested in working with brands to bring great benefits to your members, please contact us at Hype Collective so we can work with you. You want to talk to Helene Bentsen: helene@hypecollective.co.uk