Building a strong brand takes time. Everything takes effort and time, from developing brand strategies to coming up with novel methods of audience outreach. Your branding approach should begin with a discussion about becoming identifiable. It involves having a distinctive brand identity, design, voice, and user experience.

The idea of branding doesn't merely apply to logos anymore. Today, businesses need to consider a distinctive design, a symbol, slogans, one-liners, and other features that can set you apart from your rivals. Nothing makes a brand more distinctive and unforgettable in the eyes of your audience than a “brand mascot”.

Understanding Brand Mascots

A brand mascot is a character that supports and "humanizes" the brand itself. It might be an item, a person, an animal, or something wholly imaginary. It can increase your audience and is seen as a clever and enjoyable method to give your brand personality—and thus, your marketing—something exceptional and distinctive.

These mascots play a crucial role in marketing strategy, allowing for enhanced customer engagement through a mix of animation and personalization. From Ronald McDonald to Tony the Tiger, brand mascots have become iconic symbols of their respective companies.

Types of Brand Mascots

Depending on the marketing strategy and target audience, brand mascots come in various types.

Human Mascots: Adding a personal touch to the brand, human mascots can either be imaginary characters or real-life faces of the brand. Ronald McDonald is a classic example.

Animal Mascots: Often used for brands targeting a younger audience, animal mascots, like Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's, create a playful and relatable image

Object Mascots: In some cases, mascots are created from specific objects that speak for themselves, such as M&M's mascot representing their chocolates.

Let us take an example of a company to understand how can they can leverage mascots for example say : Lutti https://www.carambarco.com/en/marques/lutti/

UNDERSTANDING WITH AN EXAMPLE: the Sweet Success: Lutti's

Strategic Journey to Delightful Differentiation

Let us Start with understanding the 3Cs: Company, Context and Customers : Lutti offers a variety of different tastes, shapes and colors.Moreover, it carefully selects its production processes such as the wrapping materials of the products or its consumption of energy to reduce its impact on the planet.Its mission is to Make you Smile, from morning to night!

Understand and segment the Target Customers

Let us segment the customers into five profiles and channels that Lutti uses: Individual Buyers :

Supermarkets, grocery stores, & convenience stores Retailers: Supermarkets & candy shops
Restaurants and cafes: Dessert menu or as a sweet treat
Distributors: UK, Italy, Spain, etc.
Online shoppers: E-commerce such as Amazon, C-discount, etc

Identify the challenges you are aiming to solve

Market Share: Lutti losing market share to competitors such as Haribo France
Brand recognition: Low brand recognition despite being one of Belgium's best-selling candy brands.
Quality: Distributors' own brands have difficulties attracting consumers and seducing the market because of their lower quality

Crafting a Message Strategy

Differentiation through Mascots: To address these challenges, Let us ask first How can Lutti use Mascots for Differentiation . Think of Mascots with distinct personalities and specific background stories which are in line with the company's mission. We can think of Two Rationales here : Mascots with unique storyline can appeal to Children and Reflecting on the healthiness of the products compared to other brands. So now we have the ingredients to create our mascots : Unique Storyline, Fun and Healthy Positioning.
Repetition through Multi Channel Advertisement: Once we have created Mascots we can integrate mascots into various media channels. From short videos on social media platforms to TV advertisements and billboards, the mascots could be turned into recurring presences, creating an emotional bond with both kids and grown-ups. This repetition would reinforce the brand message and establish a lasting connection with the audience.

How can Mascots Help You?

Mascot branding goes beyond creating a visual identity; it serves as a creative and intriguing way to establish brand recognition. The significance of mascot branding for a business includes:

Enhances Brand Engagement with Emotional Connect:
Brand engagement is an ongoing process, and mascots play a vital role in making a brand memorable. They create a unique touchpoint for customers to connect with, fostering identification and leaving a lasting impression.Whether through their charming personalities or relatable backstories, these mascots aim to become friends in the eyes of consumers.
Innovative and Entertaining:
In a world where traditional marketing campaigns may fall flat, brand mascots inject innovation and freshness into a company's identity. Their entertaining nature engages audiences and breathes life into marketing efforts.
Improves Social Media Marketing:
In the era of digital marketing, mascots become valuable assets for social media campaigns. Animated mascots can be used to create engaging posts and campaigns, adding a fun element to a brand's online presence.
Retention in the Customer's Mind:
Visual images tend to linger longer in a customer's memory than words. Mascot branding ensures that your brand becomes easily recognisable, even if the name might fade from memory.

In conclusion, brand mascots offer a compelling way to increase a brand's visibility and connect with its audience on a more profound level which facilitates both emotional connect as well as brand recall. By embodying the brand's persona and resonating with consumers' emotions, brand mascots have long been transforming brands into a beloved and enduring symbol in the hearts and minds of consumers. When harnessed strategically, brand mascots can become invaluable assets for brands in the pursuit of long-term brand recognition and loyalty.

So next time when you see a mascot, pause for a moment and think about the story these brand mascots carry. Happy Marketing!

author: Ankush Thakur

Branding 101: How to Harness the Power of Brand Mascots