Tattoo care brand Mad Rabbit has tapped nearly 8,000 followers to serve as brand ambassadors. 

Founded in 2019, the balm and body wash company encourages customers to showcase their tattoos and Mad Rabbit products on social media. Two years ago, it formalized the effort into an ambassador program.

According to Erin Murray, Mad Rabbit’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, the company does consider how many followers applicants have on social media but the entry barrier for the brand’s fans is relatively low.  

Around 800 tattoo artists and apprentices are a part of the ambassadorship. They receive perks like early access to new products, trips to the brand’s Los Angeles headquarters, and participation in focus groups.

Ambassadors can join through an affiliate model or by completing social media challenges for either cash or rewards. The program has resulted in Mad Rabbit collecting nearly $500,000 in revenue in one year, it told Modern Retail.

Valued at $56 million as of March 2023 and selling at major retailers like Walmart, the brand also uses the program as a hiring channel by creating additional tiers for sponsored and professional tattoo artists.

The sponsored artist tier of around 60 members can tattoo at events with Mad Rabbit employees after being vetted for their work quality. “The hope from there is, after spending a year on the sponsored artists team, they then graduate to the pro team, which is a paid position, and they’re very much so figureheads of our brand,” said co-founder Oliver Zak.

According to eMarketer, ambassador programs and influencers are becoming increasingly common. U.S. influencer marketing spending is projected to grow 14.7% year-over-year to $5.89 billion in 2024.