Wondering If A Custom Company Mascot Is A Good Idea For Your Type Of Business?
Your company mascot is the character, appearance, face, and brand influencer that separates your business from the competition by creating a distinct image in the mind of consumers. You might be thinking how is this even possible? Well, when it comes to making decisions related to purchasing; logic and common sense can be the two most important factors. But the emotional appeal is something that always triggers sensations in the back of our mind. For this reason, brands consistently try to engage their customers with their product/ service and develop that emotional bonding which then increases the customer lifetime value.
Now coming to the part where you are thinking whether a custom mascot character is a must for your business or not- it really depends on how you are using this special type of promotional tool and ultimately benefiting from it. Let’s assume you are based in a service industry and you are struggling to increase your sales because of your complex offerings. In this case, a custom mascot can definitely be the go-to strategy, as it can assist you in connecting with your audience through brand identification or association, leading to an increase in brand credibility. Wondering how easily I can state that? Well, let me share some real-life scenarios where brands have actively used mascots and benefited from them.
M&M’s Spokes Candies
Growing up as a kid who would not know about M&M’s candy or I should put it like M&M’s spokes candies. Back in midst of the 1990s, M&M was struggling with their survival as a brand because of the decrease in sales. To revive the brand, they introduced two characters – Red (round chocolate) and Yellow (peanut with milk chocolate padding).
Later on, they added more characters and each of them had individual personalities associated with those spokes candies. This strategy not only developed a distinct image of the brand but also assisted in developing a new revenue stream. M&M’s World store in London is such an example. According to The Telegraph, M&M’s World is one of London’s most peculiar tourist attractions. It is a 4 storied building that is filled with M&M’s offerings.
Image source: MMS.com
Do you really think the store with 4 floors only sells candy? No, they are selling goodies like mugs, key holders, jewelry, clothing, bedding and many more things extending their brands reach. Hence, they are able to generate extra dollars by selling those additional merchandises that are associated with their unique custom mascot characters. They have also extended their creativity in terms of how-to customize their product in the hands of customers. You can customize your own candy and order it online. So, the point over here is pretty straight forward. A company that only sold candies now can capitalize on different wealth-generating activities just because of their company mascot.
Image source: MMS.com
Kellogg’s Tony The Tiger
Have you ever sat eating a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and asked why there was a tiger on the top of the packaging? The answer is simple.
Tony the Tiger Mascot was placed onto cereal boxes in 1952 after it won a competition with 3 other cereal mascots: Elmo the Elephant, Katy the Kangaroo, and Newt the Gnu. Based on the votes of people, Tony the Tiger was regarded as the most popular mascot character, and after that there was no stopping it.
The professional mascot character was made particularly for youngsters, yet his personality made him well known among purchasers of all ages.
Even more, the admirers of Tony the Tiger have regarded him as benevolent, adorable, gifted, pretentious, and most importantly a living being.
We can see Tony the Tiger being smartly utilized under many promotional mediums such as events, social media, print media, broadcast, outdoor and display advertising.
Lately, Tony the Tiger initiated the Mission Tiger campaign. Particularly, the U.S. schools are having to cut sports from their curriculum and with this campaign, Tony the Tiger wants to fix that. As of today, there are about 403,227 students who have supported the movement! Can you imagine the impact it has generated? As a whole, this movement has not only increased the brand awareness of Kellogg’s but also attributed to their daily sales by establishing a connection with the audience. Those 400 thousand plus followers will never forget Tony the Tiger in their life. Definitely, Kellogg’s won’t let us forget who Tony is! In the meantime, do look out for the Frosted Flakes Mission Tiger commercial on YouTube.
Still not satisfied whether you need a human element associated with your brand? Let us explore a non-consumer industry that sells in the B2B market.
Nextiva’s XBert
Image source: Nextiva.com
Nextiva is a modern business phone system enabling remote teams that have been rated as the best business phone system by the U.S. News. They introduced their official company mascot Xbert and after that, it has been a great hit. They have articulated the fact that a company mascot can be leveraged as a marketing tool under different mediums. Xbert is seen in different commercials, company events, and social media ads. Evermore, Tomas Gorny (Co-founder & CEO of Nextiva) addressed Xbert as a member of the cultural team in order to maintain more consistent internal collaboration inside the organization. Moreover, the custom company mascot is seen as a consistent participant in various events the company organizes. Employees and potential clients click photos with Xbert and ultimately when those photos get uploaded on different social media platforms, Nextiva benefits from expanding their brand reach without spending extra dollars on social media promotion. It is somewhat like a digital word of mouth. Furthermore, Xbert also works with the management team, video team, and sales coaches to prioritize and develop creative content for the brand. Therefore, the brand has more creatives to play with. Do check out Nextiva’s commercial where they capitalized their official mascot Xbert.
At the end of the day, mascots can be a crucial factor for your brand to stand out and arm you with a competitive advantage over others. Have you ever wondered why you keep on seeing mascots performing in different events you participate? Because they not only entertain the audience but also engage them in the activities that you as a brand have planned. It is like the extra hand that you need while you are operating as a business and trying to make your own word of mouth. Remember, mascots are fun. You just need to put the character that strategically fits with your core purpose as a business and create personalities around it, so that you can leverage from this unique marketing tool in the long-run.
So, the question arises are you ready to choose a custom mascot costume for your business? As by now you already know, how professionally made company mascots characters can be beneficial for your business, I am assuming the answer would be a straightforward YES! If so, then consider Loonie Times as your brand advisor for coming up with your very own custom mascot. With over 24 years of experience in creating custom mascot costumes, Loonie Times is one of the most in-demand mascot companies in North America. The company specializes in various types of professional mascot services ranging from school mascots, sports team mascots, business, corporate brand, and small business custom mascots design and creation.