From in-person trainings to a gamified platform, I launched and led this employee advocacy program to life — and into the hands of thousands.
The Equinix Ambassadors program was created to turn our global workforce into passionate, empowered advocates — online and offline. I helped launch and scale this initiative with the goal of giving employees the training, tools, and confidence they needed to represent the brand in an authentic, trusted way.
To become an ambassador, employees first completed a custom training program. I hosted these in-person sessions at major Equinix offices around the world, sharing practical guidance and sparking conversations about what it means to tell our story — and their own. As the program matured, we transitioned the training into Equinix’s online learning platform, making it even easier to access. What started with a modest goal of training 20% of the workforce grew to over 80% adoption — all without ever making it mandatory.
The pitch to employees was simple and honest: your voice matters. You’ll learn new skills, gain a better understanding of our brand, and even have the chance to earn rewards — from referral bonuses to sales incentives, and even eligibility for a trip to Presidents’ Club.
Why did this matter? Because employees are the most qualified people to tell the Equinix story. Research shows that brand messages shared by employees are trusted 2x more than when coming from the CEO — and can reach up to 24x more people. In a competitive market, scaling our business means activating all 5,600 employees as storytellers, recruiters, and advocates.
Later, we launched a digital employee advocacy platform (using Firmplay’s platform) to support the program. The tool gamified sharing by offering leaderboards, engagement metrics, and a user-friendly interface for finding brand-approved content. As editor of this tool, I uploaded daily content for ambassadors to share — curated, on-brand, and timely.
The Equinix Ambassadors program became more than just a marketing initiative — it became a movement powered by the people behind the brand.
