What is a corporate mascot?
A mascot is a friendly character representing a brand, created to reinforce the image and visual identity of a company .
It often takes the form of an animal, a fruit or an imaginary being created from scratch. He is generally anthropomorphic, that is to say he has the characteristics of human morphology or behavior. The brand mascot is a way to personify the company to make it more human . We then speak of the embodiment of the brand .
The first mascots arrived in the United States in university sports clubs where they are still present today. This phenomenon is now tending to develop in France. Many sports clubs in all fields are displayed with a sports mascot . They are also very present in theme parks (for example Walibi which represents a Wallaby) or holiday resort hotels. They exist in different forms: plush mascot , inflatable mascot , human plush , etc.
Whatever the medium, in general, its representation makes it possible to identify the company at first glance . A very useful marketing tool at a time when commercials are no longer successful.
Over the years, the consumer tends to become attached to the brand mascot . And little by little, it becomes a strong element of a company's reputation , even going so far as to take on part of its DNA (like the Michelin man or Mr Clean).
Advertising mascots are also widely used to target children who are more easily influenced.
Give a positive image of the company:
The purpose of a corporate mascot is to increase brand awareness by showing the company from a different perspective. The emblematic character will come to bring a friendly, familiar side and greater accessibility .
It helps to bridge the gap between consumer and business. The chosen characters are often ''cartoonized'', that is to say transformed into cartoon characters ( like the personified fruits of Oasis) to create proximity and familiarity with the consumer.
Note that we notice a strong common point between all the existing mascots: The smile .
This is the basis ! It's easy to trust a stuffed animal mascot whose attraction is instinctive, like a cute little smiling panda with a positive character. Empathy the springs of communication to make a mascot attractive.
The mascot: Valuable aid in brand memorization
The mascot adds an additional distinctive sign for the brand.
In general, it is easier to remember the face or the silhouette of a character than the name of a brand. From there we better understand the power number 1 of the mascot!
In addition, the character integrated into your charter allows more graphic, more visual and more dynamic creations with a more direct language, further strengthening the memorization of the advertising mascot and the impact of communication.
THE brand mascot: The alter ego and the trusted spokesperson.
It has been shown that conveying your advertising message through a character bearing your image gives it more relevance. Commercial messages are indeed better perceived when they are conveyed by an innocent and reassuring figure . In this case, it's not the brand that speaks but a matchmaker with a charming and endearing face who is trusted more than his parent company. A facilitator who reduces distrust.
This exclusive representative makes it possible to be closer to its customers. The corporate mascot therefore creates a fundamental element: proximity to consumers and generates trust.
This proximity gives the opportunity to use a simpler and more direct language. This results in more impactful advertising messages that are easier to understand and remember.
The brand mascot therefore makes it possible to create a real spokesperson and to break the existing basic, purely commercial link between a brand and its consumer. It also adds an emotional dimension to the relationship, an indispensable factor in creating attachment and trust .
Trust for a brand is very important when the company distributes dangerous or polluting products or when it manages sensitive information.
The mascot also creates a '' weight of absence ''. That is to say, once attached to an iconic character , consumers are more annoyed that the brand disappears. This is even more true in children who attach themselves to an even higher degree than adults to fetish characters or animals .
Brand mascots for children:
In children who are easily influenced, the mascot helps to stimulate the imagination. She becomes a true everyday friend. They tend to think of her as a cartoon hero. And over time, this fictional character will enter the collective unconscious of an entire generation . It's no coincidence that many brands targeting children use advertising mascots .
For private labels (private labels), mass distribution has replaced paying licenses such as Looney Tunes or Disney with custom-made mascots .
For example, Les Doodingues at Casino or Mat & Lou at Système U. Carrefour Kids replaced Mickey from Disney with ''Les P'tits Monstres'' and Leclerc created Les Mark's.
The tailor-made mascot is also a vector of segmentation and allows, just by choosing a type of character, to address a particular target. For example, super heroes with super powers are more suitable for a target ranging from 4 to 8 years old.
It also serves as a benchmark on supermarket shelves, for example, the references of Doodingues branded products at Casino, with their green packaging with very specific characters, are immediately identifiable on the various shelves (yogurts, cakes, fruit juices, cereals, etc. ).
The favorite mascots of the French:
The old mascots are those that can be named the most easily because they are anchored in the collective unconscious , such as Monsieur Bibendum , the Duracell rabbit or Mr. Clean . However, they are not necessarily the most popular with the general public.
For many years, it was ''yellow' ' and ''red'' , the emblematic characters of M&M's who were the favorite characters of the French .
Here is the latest ranking known to date:
In terms of notoriety:
Mr Clean at 98%
The Bibendum Michelin at 96%
The Laughing Cow at 95%
Crédito de Cetelem at 94%
M&M's at 92%
In terms of preference:
M&M's is consumers' favorite mascot with 58% of votes.
La Vache Milka: 2nd position (51%)
La Vache qui Rit: 3rd step of the podium (50%)
Cajoline: 4th (48%)
Spontex: 5th (42%)
A friendly representative of the brand to stand out:
In an era where the consumer, more and more educated, knows how to recognize the classic methods of advertisers, the advertising mascot can still play an important role .
While in most cases we skip when the ad comes in the middle of a movie, a spot with an mascot as the main character is watched more.
We even enjoy discovering Mr. Cetelem's latest adventures, fruits from Oasis or M&M's sweets. The advertising character greatly helps to make people want to watch a brand's advertising and therefore to get their advertising message across.
In general, the mascot helps identify and differentiate the brand thanks to its iconic character .
The implication of the character of the advertising mascot on the brand:
The personality of the mascot partly influences the brand. It embodies the brand and carries part of its values . This is why you have to be careful in your communication.
However, now that you have a mascot, you will have to make it live adventures and give it a real personality otherwise it will have nothing to tell and its character will remain too smooth, even uninteresting.
The fact that it breaks away from the classic editorial line of the brand is a good point to show that it exists by itself. And that will help increase consumer engagement .
Of course, the mascot will have features and a friendly and fun character, but that will not be enough for it to stand out and be talked about.
A solution can be to give it a small physical or moral defect to give it specificities and be original.
Some brands used the anti-hero side or a character with the incorrect character, rather cool like the M&M's characters.
One of the most important keys is to use humor to make people want to find the company's best representative in future communications, as Oasis or Orangina or M&M's do.
In any case, the corporate mascot makes it possible to go out of the corporate world and to humanize the brand image of the company .
The 6 M&M's characters each have their own personality.
What are the gains in terms of image and sales?
The Frédéric Mistral circle study studied 15 duos of brands located in the same sector, each time with a brand having a personalized mascot versus a competing brand without a mascot.
It shows that the mascot has an impact of more than 10% on the purchase of the brand .
The image of the company, meanwhile, is a little improved in terms of authenticity, familiarity and proximity .
The benefit relates primarily to improving the engagement rate.
According to a study conducted by Opinion Way, it was revealed that a Mascot boosts consumer engagement with the brand by almost 43% . However, the rate varies greatly depending on the sector. The highest rates relate to brands that are in the service sector .
This has an impact on the buying impulse and on the consideration for a future purchase. One of the direct consequences is increased sales.
The level of commitment to the brand here takes on the notion of attachment, preferably to a brand that is a source of loyalty. It does not concern the engagement rate, the recent definition of which relates to the notion of involvement or interaction with a brand on social networks.
Between 2 competing brands, the brand with the highest engagement rate will be preferred and will benefit from the sale .
This goes back to the concept of brand loyalty.
When a customer has the opportunity (and a good reason) to choose another brand and yet continues to choose yours! We therefore understand better here the interest of creating an emotional bond through a personalized mascot for your brand!
Additional sales with derivative products:
Another way to increase sales is to create your iconic corporate character in the form of merchandise and sell it online or in physical outlets.
Like Celestin, the plush created to measure to become the personalized mascot of the city of Vichy . This promotional plush is sold as a souvenir gift in the city's Tourist Office.
What are the risks and dangers of communicating via a mascot?
Attention to the replacement of mascot along the way, Malabar paid the price, The Mabulle cat who replaced the late Monsieur Malabar did not succeed in proving himself and Internet users were not shy to let it be known and to reject it en masse.
To avoid rejection, a change of mascot being too brutal, it is better to evolve your character as you go, even if it no longer looks like the original mascot after a few years.
This is the case with Butagaz's blue icon, which started out as a personalized stuffed bear that has become a big, playful digitized bear.
At Nesquik, Quicky replaced Groquik in 1990, which was no longer in tune with the times with its too large waistline, but success was not really there for Quicky.
Nesquik waited until early 2020 to make Quicky appear on its social networks.
It was the confinement that triggered a real awareness of the importance of recreating a link of proximity and exchange with the fans of the brand, ”says Matthieu Manigold, manager of the Nesquik brand in France.
Developing your mascot is therefore a delicate exercise. We must remain relevant and sustainable over time and adapt to changes in society . Banania suffered from its mascot referencing colonial history.
Conclusion :
For an easier memorization of the brand, think of the mascot!
The mascot is not just a fetish animal, associated with the company's logotype, it becomes part of its reflection in the media.
It enriches the brand image at the level of consumer relations and influences sympathy , advertising perception , brand accessibility feeling of proximity .
The direct positive implications of using a mascot are visibility , simplicity , immediacy and memorability .
The impact is also made at the level of notoriety and trust by working on brand loyalty and a more pleasant customer experience.
It is one of the leverage effects that lead to higher customer engagement.
The mascot is a real marketing tool to establish the positioning of a brand and a powerful differentiator to anchor itself durably in the minds of consumers .
Article by PLUSH CREATION
Manufacturer of made-to-measure stuffed animals, advertising mascots and personalized stuffed animals for companies and associations.
Discover our creations of custom plush mascots created from a simple sketch.
As well as our entire range of plush toys to customize.
You will find, for example, the following customizable stuffed animals: Animal mascot, stuffed dog with logo, customizable husky stuffed animal, stuffed panda, personalized teddy bear, customizable soft toy, rabbit with logo, personalized lion, advertising stuffed tiger, squirrel, etc.
You are a company, an association, you are looking for an advertising plush or a tailor-made mascot in your image? Contact us! We can bring your project to life and create a personalized plush that is in line with your values and your CSR policy.
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