What Is An Ambassador?

[mrshowtime3]

Im so confused about this. Trailers are the highest selling RV in america I believe. Why? Because they are cheap. Most people cant afford a ARV. Thats just reality. Im not sure why someone pointing that out would be cause for any kind of anger. ARV is the highest quality van there is. And the cost shows it. Trailers are mostly garbage. And the cost shows it.

But its just not the same buyers. Many people not only cant afford a ARV, they simply only get time off work to camp a couple weekends a year. So a 10k trailer works great. For a oil field worker, im sure they work a ton and probably want something they dont have to really care about. So a trailer works.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

We will have to agree to disagree, Dave’s comments on the Sprinter Forum "Millenials and Van Life" thread about laborers only liking RV trailers came from nowhere. Many folks in NA are buying small or large trailers, way more than camper vans. So, bringing an example from oil fields is a very narrow perspective, too narrow for my taste.

From nowhere? George you need to read that thread again from the start. Dave's comment was a response to Midwestdrifter in post #5. It's not always about you...

Originally Posted by Midwestdrifter

... The majority of the RV market it still Boomers staying in RV parks, or full-timers (like oil field workers) who need a medium term place to stay on a budget.

- - Mike

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

From nowhere? George you need to read that thread again from the start. Dave's comment was a response to Midwestdrifter in post #5. It's not always about you...

- - Mike

Indeed, I missed it, thank you for pointing it out. Being directly after my post I took it as a direct reply to my comment. My apology to anyone I offended.

[Davydd]

Getting back to the topic of ambassadors, I am now the ambassador of trailer trash.

And I have alway owned pickup trucks going on about 50 years.

[MobileCabin]

I think some enthusiastic fans of a product and not from inside the company are more of a brand evangelist. In the case of the RV industry, I have come to believe many of these evangelists to be more credible than some brand ambassadors for the same product. For one thing, many evangelists have a technical background that gives them the perspective that I seek.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Getting back to the topic of ambassadors, I am now the ambassador of trailer trash.

And I have alway owned pickup trucks going on about 50 years.

If you are going to be the ambassador of trailer trash, it only counts if your pickup is old enough to have at least one portion rotting away with rust and you must also have a spare one in the yard with grass growing through the bed to use for parts...

[GeorgeRa]

I wouldn’t go for a trailer trash, Oliver is better. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/tra...egacy-elite-2/

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

I wouldn’t go for a trailer trash, Oliver is better. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/tra...egacy-elite-2/

Yes, they are a very nice camper, I would get one if I was in the market for a trailer...

I believe Wincrasher has one or used to have one.

[mrshowtime3]

LTV taking in another Hymer castaway The Russos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNdDPU9kLg0

This is weird to me. LTV already has a big waiting list. Why do they need this? Ive been wondering why the Russos have basically been living in homeless conditions for the last month or more. Now we know they were just waiting for this to finalize.

Just like the Wendlands they are "borrowing" it for a week or two. Quickly followed by them "buying" it after that.

[avanti]

Hmm. "Ambassadors" are probably going cheap these days.

I am not surprised that LTV welcomed them. The last thing a company wants to do is to stop marketing just because their pipeline is full. Things can change quickly.

[gregmchugh]

LTV allocating a few units to be sold to “ambassadors” who are active on social media, maybe at a discount or not, seems like a reasonable strategy to keep the order pipeline full into the coming years, especially if they can expand the customer base into younger buyers as the older customers are aging out of the market.

[RossWilliams]

" LTV already has a big waiting list."

Apparently not so long that they can't find units for their "ambassadors". Perhaps the line isn't as long as they lead people to believe. That would explain both the need for ambassadors and the availability of coaches.

[mrshowtime3]

Originally Posted by avanti

Hmm. "Ambassadors" are probably going cheap these days.

I am not surprised that LTV welcomed them. The last thing a company wants to do is to stop marketing just because their pipeline is full. Things can change quickly.

Russos and Wendlands are just two prime examples of why I dislike this entire marketing strategy. Both were signing the praises of vans for years. They would NEVER go back to anything bigger then a van etc etc etc.... Now they are in big "B+" units selling the advantages of them over vans.

I totally am fine with people selling things. But dont pretend to be impartial and act so fake in the process. People see right through that stuff. Well, some do. This entire act of "borrowing" then "buying" as part of their contract is the type of BS that shouldnt happen. Just be up front and honest.

[RossWilliams]

I think its best to see a"ambassadors" as professional celebrities in a reality show. Small-time celebrities, but celebrities nonetheless. Just like any other reality show some of it is sort of real, some of it is fake and it all requires a certain amount of willing suspension of disbelief. They gather an audience and sell us stuff.

[tshaner]

I cringe when the Russo’s ask viewers to join the WTR family through Patreon. This is pure marketing. Since when do people have to pay to be part of a family? Just sayin...

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by tshaner

I cringe when the Russo’s ask viewers to join the WTR family through Patreon. This is pure marketing. Since when do people have to pay to be part of a family? Just sayin...

... it is more like begging on a street corner and the Wendland's do similar things to get cash from their supports. They have to make money somehow to cover their expenses.

... the reality of social media influencers.

[GeorgeRa]

Utilizing “ambassadors” to propagate products, how they work, pluses or minuses can be successful. As an example, recent advancements in advanced digital cameras resulting from eliminating the mirror, a relic from the film SLRs, unleashed potential for new techniques for AI focusing or analyzing images before and while taking pictures. It seems as Sony leads the full frame mirrorless pack with flawless automatic focusing on closest human eye and the most recent animal eye focusing.

These techniques are very new and manuals are lagging, so here come ambassadors to rescue. Sony has a few of them and you can learn a lot from them. They make their living from professional photography, and ambassadorship position gives them early access to new products, how they work or perhaps discounts.

This is the difference; Sony ambassadors make money from their professions and RV ambassadors are trying to make money from being happy campers.

[gregmchugh]

If you find their work useful or entertaining and want to support it then support them, if not then don’t. What is the big deal? Why is the social media business any different than supporting magazines that you like or video services or newspapers or sports teams or professional wrestling? I just don’t get the negativity that this stuff sparks with some people? Is it really any more important than other similar stuff that is just ignored if you are not interested?

[GeorgeRa]

Valid points, I am not in the camp of followers. My negative perspective comes from some biased reviews I have seen, the review of the porta potty toilet claiming to be a cassette one tops my list. But I found little bias if any on the photographic side, learned a lot and enjoy their in depth reviews.