Bringing Life to Your Brand: Should Your Brand Have a Mascot?
GEICO has a gecko. Aflac has a duck. Progressive has Flo. Smokey Bear, Old Spice man, the Most Interesting Man in the World (Dos Equis beer), roaming garden gnome (Travelocity), free credit report band, the list goes on and on. And every college sports team has a mascot.
Mascots make companies and organizations easy to relate to. The character provides a personality for people to get to know. Likeable mascots have the power to help brands transcend the common ground and become a humanized, living brand. Kids love mascots, but adults do as well. Mascots make your brand memorable in the sea of sameness you see across the marketing horizon.
Mascots are undergoing a reawakening in the digital age because audiences are overwhelmingly responding to their lifelike qualities and approachable demeanor. Mascots also allow you to do things that no logo will allow.