The effectiveness of employing characters to engage customers

The online market has grown more competitive, with brands vying for attention on several fronts. Warc delves into the idea that brands must now integrate into the culture, being seen is no longer sufficient. Brands are using IPs, mascots, and characters as intermediaries between their audiences and themselves to accomplish this. 

Brands, such as Duolingo, now consider mascots to be the new influencers. Relatable brand ambassadors, like Duo the Owl, provide more control over messaging while preserving flexibility in marketing strategies. Memes and other public domain intellectual properties are also easily accessible to develop original campaigns without incurring licensing costs.  

Mascots are flourishing on social media, which is allowing the brands to create captivating material internally. By using humour and trend-driven content on TikTok, Duolingo turned its green owl mascot into a social media sensation. Duo's lively yet erratic demeanour has garnered Duolingo more than 16 million followers and fostered a strong sense of audience loyalty. 

What this means for us:   

Because social media is so accessible and there are so many trends and memes, it is easy to keep up with the latest trends with your brand's mascot. And Irish brands are no different, companies like Aldi have created their own brand identity by using Kevin the Carrot, who has become known for being the Irish Ruby team's primary mascot and is renowned for jumping on the newest trends. Over the years, Mr. Tayto has also been establishing a unique market niche for himself and the Tayto brand as one of the top crisp brands in Ireland. 

Read more: https://www.warc.com/content/article/WARC-Exclusive/From_IPs_to_mascots_How_brands_are_redefining_marketing_through_entertainment_and_creativity/160304