Promotional models

A promotional model is a model hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. A majority of promotional models typically tend to be conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to make a product or service more appealing and can provide information to journalists and consumers at trade show and convention events.

This form of marketing touches fewer consumers for the cost than traditional advertising media, but the consumer's perception of a brand, product, service, or company, is often more affected by a live person-to-person experience. While each model may not be directly employed by the company they represent, they can be trained to answer questions and provide customer feedback regarding products, services, and brand appeal. The responsibilities of the promotional model depend on the particular marketing campaign being carried out, and may include: increasing product awareness; providing product information; creating an association in the consumer's mind between the product or brand and a particular idea; handing items to consumers, such as a sample of the product itself, a small gift, or printed information. Marketing campaigns that make use of promotional models may take place in retail stores or shopping malls, at trade shows, special promotional events, clubs, or even at outdoor public spaces. They are often planned at high traffic locations to reach as many consumers as possible, or at venues at which a particular type of target consumer is expected to be present.

The motorsports scene refers to promo models as race queens. In Japan, they are known as image models and are being hired even by government agencies.

"Spokesmodel" is a term used for a model who is employed to be associated with a specific brand or product in advertisements. A spokesmodel may be a celebrity used only in advertisements (in contrast to a "brand ambassador", who is also expected to represent the company at various events), but often the term refers to a model who is not a celebrity in their own right. A classic example of such spokesmodels are the models engaged to be the Marlboro Man between 1954 and 1999, and the Clarion Girl since 1975. Contrary to what the term suggests, a spokesmodel is normally not expected to verbally promote the brand.

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