Your Guide to Creating a Company Mascot

As an extension of your business, mascot marketing helps you communicate with your customers easily and effectively. A well-thought-out mascot helps personify your brand and create a strong emotional bond with your audience. On top of that, they are just fun and a great asset to any marketing campaign!

If your brand naturally feels familiar to consumers you can easily attract positive interest and eventually, leads. Think about what your business represents, where you are located, and what you provide to your customers as a company. How would you relate to your products if you knew nothing about them?

Think about the personality traits you want associated with your business. Would a cuddly animal or a funny cartoon match your brand’s feel? Or are you a serious, knowledgeable owl type of organization? Your company’s brand persona will help you narrow down your mascot’s type. 

If you are still not sure what your brand should say to your customers, click here   to learn how to find your brand voice and read our complete guide on Branding Your Business.

If you have a good idea of what the personality of your mascot should be, the next important choice to make is what type of mascot. here are a few varieties of mascot characters to get you started:

People Mascots

Examples: Chef Boyardee, Captain Obvious, Progressives’ Flo, Tony Robbins, Dr. Phil

These are good for your business if you are a public figure or you have a very specific idea of who a character could relate to. If you choose a character they will have to be well developed and personable so that your audience can easily relate to them.

Cartoon Mascots  

Examples: M&Ms, The Michelin Man, Kool-Aid Man

If you have a product that you are passionate about, consider making it come alive. By humanizing your item and giving it personality your company will have more visibility and brand recognition.

Animal Mascots  

Examples: The Alflac duck, the Energizer Bunny, Chuck E Cheese

Animal mascots are attractive to humans because we naturally are a part of our environment and we relate easily to them. Mascots like dogs and cats can present a feeling of warmth and happiness because many of us have experience with them. People naturally ascribe characteristics to animals so this can be a great move for brands.

Logo and Objects Mascots

Examples: The Nike “Swoosh”, Apple , Pepsi

If your logo design and brand recognition are strong enough, you may be able to get away with just using the symbol as a representation of your brand. Many global leaders like Pepsi, BMW and NBC are universally recognized by their logos alone.

Milestones as Mascots 

Example: Coca Cola Polar Bear, Dongler, the first Budsies

Some mascots can celebrate a moment in a company or person’s life. For holidays and special events you may want to create a recurring character. By creating a special character you can highlight a milestone and celebrate that moment in time.

Have a few ideas? Workshop them with a few customers and friends to get their honest opinions.  

Impact

It’s been studied that people remember characters that possess human-like features that they can easily identify with. It is a fascinating psychological phenomenon called anthropomorphism that you can read more about here if you are interested. Your brand impact can hinge on the amount of relatability your mascot has. Choose carefully!

Recognition

If you brand your mascot effectively it can become a driving force for your product or service. Making your character unique and well thought out is a great way to start. You can even start by creating a few mascots and vetting them with your target audience to see what they react the most strongly to. Ideally, you want your company ambassador to stand out from the crowd so well that it can be recognized in seconds.

Emotional Engagement

Anyone in marketing can tell you that finding an emotional trigger for your audience can be a fantastic way to help your customers become attached to your brand. If your mascot is relatable enough they will connect with your company and move closer to buying your product and becoming a loyal follower. By centering the character on your target audience you are speaking directly to them, with your mascot being the middleman between the brand and themselves. It is a powerful tactic and if executed correctly you could have a marketing asset that works for your brand indefinitely. 

Branding Potential

In summary, mascots that are well-rounded, accessible and fun can become the center of your brand and perform for you for years to come. As your business progresses you can rebrand by slightly modifying your mascot without losing the impact and recognizability of your original character.

Giving your mascot a backstory will make it more realistic and relatable. Is your mascot upbeat and friendly, quirky and playful, or a big grump? Adding personality to your mascot character will make it more likable and relatable to your audience. If you can make the character personable that’s what makes a good mascot . 

So what makes a good mascot backstory?

Here are a few tips for creating a backstory that will make your character come to life and exemplify the character branding we discussed in the previous section:

1. Use history to make your character relatable. Is your mascot from a community or a specific city? What kind of friends does he have? What does he do for fun? 

2. Focus on your target audience. Customers relate to mascots they share common values with. For example, a company selling toys is more likely to have a funny and playful mascot than a calm and serious mascot. 

3. Think of the position (not job title) your mascot will have at your company. Can you incorporate your company's culture into your mascot? What characteristics do you have in common with your mascot?

Once you have decided on what your character’s story and demeanor are, you can craft your mascot branding and marketing messaging around that voice. This will make your brand more memorable and engaging, whether in traditional or digital marketing.

If you put thought into your mascot they can become so distinctive that they will be recognized on their own so you can have fun with marketing! Sharing your mascot online is a great way to connect to a wider audience and help people engage more with your business. After all, your mascot is the face of your business. Try some of these ideas to expand and grow your digital marketing strategy:

Social Media

Posting your mascot on social media and making sure to include them on your marketing materials can all lead to better brand identity. Creating a following on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and Snapchat are all amazing opportunities to grow your audience. Plus it is a fun way to develop your character's unique voice. Consider posting as if it was the mascot him or herself!

Email Marketing

Regular emails may already be a part of your digital marketing arsenal, but consider adding in photos and snippets about your mascot. You could feature photos of them around town if you have a live mascot, or include ‘quotes’ from them about new products or services.

Branded Assets

Align your digital marketing images and videos so that they include your mascot so there is better recognition of them as you grow. Your mascot should be at the forefront of your marketing materials, whether online or traditional. There are plenty of free and easy tools to help you brand your promotional assets. Canva is an amazing platform that allows you to brand social media posts, posters and emails quickly and effortlessly. Keeping your branding consistent across all your marketing will help increase your brand recognition overa ll.

Once you have your idea, backstory, and marketing strategy in place it is time to produce your mascot. Turning your mascot into a promotional product will leave a lasting impression and influence on your customer. 

By building our promotional products you can reinforce the image of your mascot to your customers. Here are a few ideas to make your mascot into something truly memorable:

• Stickers

A classic marketing move, but effective nonetheless. If you can create an attractive sticker it is an inexpensive and portable option to get your mascot in front of your audience.

• Mascot Costume

If you regularly attend events, a mascot costume can help you stand out at conferences, outings or get-togethers. Having a live mascot is a fun way to team build and show off the personality of your character. This can also be a strategic move for social media to increase your visibility. Consider crafting a hashtag around seeing your mascot in public like #(insert mascot name)inthewild or #(insert mascot name)sighting.

• Stuffed Animals

If you want something unique, try stuffed animals. Create a completely custom stuffed toy made to look exactly like your mascot, logo or character. Whether you give them away to your employees, sell them in your store, offer them as prizes to your top customers – you’ll have something that is a high-quality representation of your brand. 

Want to learn even more about promotional products? Check out our Complete Guide for Decision Makers to Increase Returns with Strategic Promotional Products for additional strategies.

At the end of the day, a mascot is much more than a tenacious tiger selling cereal or a buff, bald man hawking cleaning products. It is important for your customers to pick up something about your organization with your mascot branding strategy. 

In essence, your mascot should represent the soul of your organization. No matter what option you choose, selecting a mascot for your brand can help your company identity and grow your audience.