Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HOW TO USE
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
What is a mascot?...............5 How to use a mascot for Marketing ...9 Examples of brands having & using mascots.......12 Conclusions and additional information..16
CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS A
MASCOT?
The term mascot includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fictional, representative spokespeople for consumer products. Mascots may take the form of a logo, person, live animal, inanimate object, or a costumed character, and often appear at events and are often used as marketing tools for brands target groups.
// Page 4
A good mascot has to be memorable. If it's hard to identify or isn't recognizable as something specific, it's not going to do the job it's supposed to. A mascot needs to stand for something. It needs to be more than just cute - it has to have a personality.
~Don Carter
Etymological, the term Mascot derives from the Provincial French mascotte, which was meant to bring good luck to a household. However, others think that the term derives from Portuguese mascoto, meaning witchcraft or mascotto, meaning spell.
// Page 5
The word was popularized by Edmond Audrans through the comic operetta La Mascotte in 1880. The story concerns a farm girl who is believed to bring good luck to whoever possesses her, so long as she remains a virgin. The title (in English) initiated the use of the word 'mascot' in the English language to mean an animal, human, or thing which brought luck.
The word was popularized by Edmond Audrans through the comic operetta La Mascotte in 1880.
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary
// Page 6
CHAPTER 2
MARKETING?
Mascots are captivating and efficient symbols that will create long lasting impressions with your targeted audience. Mascots, such as logos, are highly important in the branding process of a company and are great tools for humanizing the brand and increasing its exposure.
// Page 8
Why?
On the grounds that we are being attacked by ads every day, every hour, everywhere we go. Statistically, we are exposed on a daily basis to about 250 ads TV, radio and print. If we were to take into consideration the amount of ads we are exposed to over the Internet, this amount would probably double. For this reason, it is essential to create a message that will stick on the customers memory.
We are exposed on a daily basis to about 250 ads: TV, radio and print.
Source: Our Rising Ad Dosage: Its Not as Oppressive as Some Think, Media Matters, February 15, 2007.
// Page 9
// Page 10
MASCOTS
AT WORK!
Source: https://mascot-games.london2012.com
Mascots seem to catch peoples attention, some would saybut, lets see how. We made a research upon the usage of mascots in promotion and the following results came to life. On the account of our research, we can truly state that mascots are successful living both in an online and offline environment.
// Page 11
OFFLINE
Events A mascot, such as a person, will be a part of the community. Therefore, he will attend local events: sporting events, student events, festivals, educational events. However, if the mascot is not the organizer, be sure to ask permission before attending the event.
Advertising campaigns Ones mascot can raise awareness of the brand and heighten the companys visibility. The mascots can handout product samples, or they can share flyers, posters or informative materials. For sure, the mascot wont say No! to a shooting or an autograph session. Promotional objects Imagine a private nursery whos mascot is a teddy bear dressed with a red T-shirt. How cool would it be to hand out all the new born children in the nursery a toy impersonating the mascot? Or offering all the mothers a customized red T-shirt with a nice congratulation message using the company style?
// Page 12
Community Development A mascot is representing the brand, and every brand should take care of the community within its CSR strategy. For this purpose, the mascot also comes in handy, being a lovely character doing community outreach and charitable work, or visiting children at local hospitals and orphanages.
Holiday Events Imagine only how nice it would be for a company to organize a Christmas Party, and instead of the traditional Santa Clause, to have the companys own joy-bringer, its own mascot dressed in a seasonal costume and offering the employees customized items, sustaining the brand and motivating the staff. Or the mascot doing the same thing for the community or the underprivileged ones. Just lovely!
http://pinktentacle.com/2008/11/japanese-bloodmascots/
// Page 13
ONLINE
But wait: our lives have digital extensions! We live on the Internet also, we communicate with our friends online, we are buying products online, we see companies online, so, mascots should also be online. Social Media According to E.J. Schultz, mascots are brands best social media accessories. Mascots are the gift Carol Philips, president of that keep on giving Brand Amplitude, declared they never get in that mascots are the gift trouble with the law, that keep on giving they never get in trouble with the they dont up their fees law, they dont up their fees and you can use them and you can use them for a for a long, long time. long, long time. ~Carol Philips This being said, who else could possibly better represent a brand? Companies could also increase their visibility by creating shows with their mascots and sharing them on social media platforms.
// Page 14
In many cases, consumers would rather interact online with a cute or cuddly character than with a faceless corporate executive
~Marta Majewska V.P. Digital & Social Media Strategist Porter Novelli
A mascot can also be easily transformed into a TV star and through the companys Facebook page stories about the ad can be created. Games and social applications A mascot can also be the star of customized brand games (flash games, console or computer games). Or it can be used for creating social media applications. Augmented Reality Solutions Imagine a kindergartens presentation brochure. By scanning a code, a picture or even the logo on the brochure, the kindergartens mascot could be revealed and could interact with the user. How amazed would a child be if he saw that coming? YouTube/Vimeo videos A creative marketer could create some awesome movies with a mascot that can be viralized on video sharing tools.
// Page 15
A GOOD MASCOT:
CHARACTERISTICS
We are witnessing over the last year a mascot phenomena. More and more companies are getting to know the benefits of Mascot Marketing, hence, we are seeing more mascots. However, unfortunately, we are also participating in the usage of poor quality mascots, bought on sale over the Internet, or, even worse, misappropriated online.
If a company needs user interaction, then creating a mascot can be a pathway for brand revigoration.
Source: David Kam, Mascot for Marketing and Branding Your Business, 2007
Ergo, our designers at AYG Romania, came with a series of features for designing a good mascot. *
*Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, so everybody can contribute with pieces of advice. // Page 16
Originality A good and efficient mascot should be original; each mascots are designed for a specific brand, based on certain needs and requirements. Remember that a mascot will help the communication and exposure of a brand, thus, when creating a mascot, everyone should consider the uniqueness of elements found in all brands. Sure, there are plenty of mascots online at good prices, but, we ought to take into consideration that the cute and funny mascot identifies with our brand. Its the same as a logo what perspective one has when seeing two companies having the same logo?! Logic A very important aspect in the creation of a good mascot should be logic. Visually, each element should have a reason. Credibility Each mascot should have a story, a history. This story should influence the aspect of the mascot, or, at least, this is recommended. Another important aspect is the one that it ought to reflect the companys personality. Positivity Its really important to know what feelings a mascot will arouse. In general, it should have a nice state of mind. The mascot needs to be expressive and detailed. It should be friendly and close to the consumers.
// Page 17
Vectors A mascot should be designed using vectors. This way, the quality is better, the colors are brighter and lively and, not in the last row, it is scalable. You can modify the dimensions without loosing quality. Even better, design a 3D Mascot. Advantages of 3D models over 2D models include flexibility, ease of rendering and photorealism.
If opting for a 3D mascot, it is also versatile, thus having the possibility of numerous instances, using it in various areas depending on the specific needs. (Easter, Christmas, special occasions. Colors When designing a mascot, another important element is the color. In the case of mascots, as in logos, 3 colors are more than enough. When choosing the colors for a mascot, taking into consideration that the mascot represents the brand, then, the companys brand colors should be used. If the companys logo is red, then, the mascot should also wear something red. Its easier this way for consumers to identify the mascot with a specific brand.
// Page 18
Easy to understand A mascot should be comprised of easily identifiable elements. Most of the people will not have the patience to understand which concept a mascot represents. Therefore, a good mascot should be connected with a concept which is known by the target audience. Mascots should identify with the brand somehow. If a random mascot is assigned to a specific brand, it wont imply that the consumers will identify with that mascot or respond with increased sales. Fluidity in design When watching a mascot, its highly important to emphasize on the right element. This element should be a simple yet memorable one, and the rest of the design elements should be comprised in the first one. The human brain has the tendency to perceive some parts of an object and then fill in the blank spots with assumptions. Taking this into consideration, its crucial that the elements perceived by the brain are the ones that the designer wants to be perceived. Proportions When designed, a mascot should respect some defined proportions. One can use prime numbers or, the Golden Ratio.
// Page 19
CHAPTER 3
MARKETING
From rise to dawn, we are exposed to hundreds of ads. We drive to work, we listen to the radio and we hear
We pass by billboards with huge images announcing sales, discounts or the newest trend in their products. We open our computers and we receive newsletters promoting different services or coupons with brand promotion.
The explanation? We have adopted a selective behavior in order to protect ourselves from information overload. Be that as it may, but, some ads are imprinted on our memory. Why? Because we connect with their message, or maybe we associate some emotions with the information. And, since we are familiar with the quote A picture is worth a thousand words, we are more likely to remember an image, a shape, a logo or, a charming, big eyes, playful look cartoon-character.
// Page 21
Mascots represent a successful marketing tool which is believed to have been implemented since the 19th century. In order to raise awareness and increase sales, every company used and is still using marketing techniques to promote their brands and their products or services. And, better yet, if they needed to instill a personality in their brand, what better way to do it than creating a character in order to live their brand. Now, as we could read from the previous chapter, not all the mascots are created in a way that positive represents a corporate image. Furthermore, we will see from the study cases, not all the mascots needed tons of work, exhausting brainstorming sessions and dozens of focus groups some of them were created by mistake.
Anyway, created by mistake or not, there were plenty of famous brands which took into consideration the value, impact and momentum given by their great brand mascots.
// Page 22
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown male character, created by Willard Scott in 1963, used as the primary mascot of the McDonalds fast food restaurant chain.
The original Ronald McDonald as pictured on the United States trademark application filed in 1967 Source: Wikipedia
Nesquik Bunny
// Page 23
The Quik Bunny is a male bunny character introduced in 1973. He is voiced by Barry Gordon and replaced puppeteer Jimmy Nelson and his puppet characters Dan O'Day and Farfel the dog who promoted the product on television in the 1950s. In 2001, the Quick Bunny was renamed Nesquik Bunny, the redesign being made by the cartoonist Ramon Maria Casanyes
Delma
Delma was launched in Romania in 1999 and it brought a fresh view on the margarine market thanks to their funny animation character. Delma, the mascot, was used in promotional videos , marketing campaigns and, at a certain moment, was even a star in a local TV show.
Source: http://www.marketingportal.manager.ro
M&M's originated in the United States in 1941, and are now sold in as many as 100 countries, being produces in different colors, some of which were changed over the years. The team is comprised of: Red, cynical and sardonic (milk chocolate candy), Yellow, romantic peanut candy, Cool Blue for almond candies, seductive Green for dark chocolate M&Ms and the neurotic Orange for crispy candies. Since 2012, Ms. Brown was introduced.
M&Ms
Source: http://www.mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/
DO & MO
DO & MO were launched in 2008 for the retailer DOMO. DO is a funny representation of a dog and MO is a cute representation of a cat. Together, they form DOMO, the famous brand.
Source: http://www.domo.ro/
// Page 25
CHAPTER 4
A good mascot has to be memorable. If it's hard to identify or isn't recognizable as something specific, it's not going to do the job it's supposed to. A mascot needs to stand for something. It needs to be more than just cute - it has to have a personality.
~Don Carter
A mascot serves as a real-time character that promotes a brand, product or company. Therefore, it is a character that is associated with your brand, encouraging consumers to buy services or products, thus increasing visibility and sales performance. Mascots are tools which need to be integrated in the marketing strategy of the company and it facilitates the interaction between the brand and the consumers, especially through social media. A mascot can be used both online and offline and its enjoyed both by adult target audiences and young target audiences. A mascot should be original, custom made, not bought over the internet. It should be nice and positive, credible and easy to understand. Remember that people wont take too long to understand the concept behind the mascot.
// Page 27
However, remember that a mascot does not guarantee a successful marketing campaign. There are elements that everyone should consider prior to ordering a custom made mascot. Sometimes, you might not even need a mascot. Before creating one, a deep analysis of the communication part is needed. Elements that need to be taken into consideration are the target audience and the message you want to transmit . Before adopting a mascot, everyone should analyze both the pros and the cons in the end, its your brand image in stake.
Its not a question about our product or the way we price it, its getting more people to watch it.
~Chris Gibbs
// Page 28
www.ayg.ro