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Why Brand Mascots Are Stellar Storytellers for Content Marketing

Published on Jul 7, 2021

Why Brand Mascots Are Stellar Storytellers for Content Marketing
Anastasia Dyakovskaya
Anastasia Dyakovskaya studioID

Ever notice how many of the world’s most recognizable brands have a mascot? Figures like the yellow raincoat-clad Morton Salt girl and Mr. Clean, in his pristine, white T-shirt. Or non-human varieties, like the talking M&Ms, the Aflac duck, or – another critter and one of the world’s most recognizable mascots – Mickey Mouse.

The mouse who started it all, to paraphrase Walt Disney, is one of history’s most lovable and hardest working mascots. Disney has long topped lists of the world’s most powerful brands, and, once upon a time, not too long ago, reports showed that the friendly rodent had an astounding 98% recognition rate among children ages 3 to 11.

That’s what a furry little creature can do. But you don’t have to be as big as Disney to make a brand mascot work for you. And these days, with content marketing, social media, and video, companies can leverage a character more than ever before, engaging audiences, building brand loyalty, driving retention, and helping to clarify complex ideas – which is particularly useful for B2B companies.

Check out how some of today’s top brands employ a cast of people, animals, and fantastical beings to help build audience awareness, distinguish themselves in their industries, and tell their brand stories in a myriad of ways across marketing channels.

Social Media

While sharing original illustrations and images of your character on social and beyond is a no-brainer, having that character come to life is another story. Some of today’s most recognizable companies have taken their brand mascots and given them a voice and personality, setting them up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to entertain, inspire, and interact with their growing fan bases. 

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Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome, for instance, tweets his adventures to an audience of almost 200,000. Most posts feature a snapshot of him on the go, enjoying a variety of views and destinations, along with a touch of humor and line of pixie wisdom – in first-person, of course.

Similarly, Barbie stands out on Instagram with her style-centric account, akin to the likes of a real-life fashion blogger. Her following is a staggering 2.2 million, who eat up her perfectly poised posts day after day.

Other companies choose to employ spokespeople or hired actors to depict and develop the character of their brand mascots. Consider Flo, Progressive’s funny and likable “insurance hype-woman,” an addition that the insurance company introduced a decade ago. Her eager-to-please quirkiness makes her the perfect solution for humanizing a generally boring and stuffy subject (insurance), which is why she’s been featured in hundreds of videos and commercials. Today, her Twitter account has over 66,000 followers and an engaged audience that shares and comments on her light-hearted posts, full of a special personality that Progressive just wouldn’t have been able to cultivate otherwise.

Keep in mind: If a mascot makes sense for you, decide: Will it be a human embodiment or some kind of character or cartoon? The possibilities are endless, but the end result has to make sense for your particular purposes – and audience – or else it risks falling flat. Start small: If your brand had a voice, what would it sound like? If it had a face, what comes to mind?

Long-Form Content

For a few creative consumer-facing companies, long-form prose has been grounds for exploration – as well as content success. A few years ago, KFC joined the ring with the release of a romance novella, penned by Colonel Sanders and put out just in time for Mother’s Day, one of the company’s best-selling days of the year. The free, 96-page opus, “Tender Wings of Desire,” was part of a meal promotion and reviewed by more than 200 readers. Not bad, Colonel.

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And still available for purchase on Amazon is the Geico Gecko’s 2013 title, “You’re Only Human: A Guide to Life.” Years after publication, readers are remarkably still buying the book, with commenters recommending it as a gift or coffee table read. In this case, a publisher originally approached Geico’s creative team at Martin Agency – writer-illustrator duo Anne Marie Hite and Adam Stockton – with the idea, and the team went from there. But inspiration can strike at any time, anywhere. Especially when you give yourself time to create and experiment.

Geico's Gecko

Keep in mind: How does the gecko keep staying relevant over the years? “It’s the charm,” says Stockton.

“He’s very likable. And [the] one way that Geico became human as a company…was ironically through a British lizard.”

Likability goes a long way, and sometimes the best solution isn’t the most obvious. Schedule a brainstorming session – and be sure to bring in lots of different points of view.

Video Content

Back in 2011, Burger King announced plans to phase out its mascot (the Burger King), and make its food the star of its ads, instead. But ten years later, the king is still alive and well. And hip with the times. The giant-headed royal even starred in a spot aimed to raise awareness for Movember. The normally bearded mascot gets a shave in support of the movement, displaying a clever manipulation of the character as well as a creative use of real-time marketing.

Farmers Insurance also finds ways to feature its mascot, Professor Nathaniel Burke, in a range of successful video campaigns. Introduced in 2010, the character – played by actor J.K. Simmons – is a friendly and knowledgeable insurance guru under the guise of a seasoned academic. The videos are by turn informative and fun to watch, with the “Hall of Claims” and the “Unbelievable Claims” series, part of the ongoing “We Know From Experience” campaign, showing once again how many storylines become possible with a brand mascot in the mix.

Keep in mind: Figure out if a mascot makes sense for your brand, or how you might incorporate a certain character. If you’d like to explore the possibilities, as yourself, how might your brand look, humanized? Or what kind of personality might best complement your efforts? And, if you’re not ready, or it’s not the right fit, try the next best thing: investing in original artwork and animation.