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Maximize Your Company Mascot: Going Beyond The Costume

Mascots are a fun and effective way to literally put a face on your brand. They become the storyteller for your marketing message embodies your brand personality and values. With a mascot, you’re giving your audience someone to connect with before they ever meet a member of your team.

In many cases, a company mascot exists only as a snuggly, dynamic costumed character captivating the attention of kids and working the crowd at community events. But it has much more potential than that. It has the potential to extend beyond an in-person moment. By creating an illustrated version of that mascot, you create a visual extension of your brand that can live and breathe across all your marketing materials and platforms – from business cards to social media. And if handled correctly, this illustrated version of your mascot can become more than just a funny face for a coloring page – it can have a real impact. Let’s explore how…

  • Reinforces your brand. A costumed mascot is a master of grabbing attention, but an illustrated version can work to reinforce your brand and connect with audiences beyond an in-person setting. They are capable of eliciting positive emotions and associating fond memories with your brand. Ultimately, an illustrated mascot can help your business stay relevant in the minds of consumers through other mediums and with new audiences.
  • Increases versatility. Even the cutest of costumed mascots are limited to one expression. But through the magic of illustration, your mascot can come to life with a range of emotions, unlimited poses, and a wardrobe limited only by the imagination of our illustrators. And no actors or handlers are required. They are yours to call on – at a moment’s notice.
  • Boosts brand exposure with promotional products. Promotional products can provide your brand with inexpensive exposure every day. By converting your mascot into illustrated form, you can create designs that lend themselves to use on dimensional pieces like apparel and giveaways! Turn fans of your costumed mascot into brand ambassadors with cool clothes and keepsakes that double as memorable ads for your company.
  • Cost effective. When you create an illustrated mascot with Fuzzy Duck, it belongs to you. You own it and you can use it in as many places and as many times as you’d like. Every new pose you invest in adds to your image library and your marketing arsenal.
  • Extends your investment. If you’ve already invested in your brand through the creation of a costumed character, why not take that investment even further by creating an illustrated version? Why limit your brand ambassador to a suitcase or bag between events? Let them loose, let them live, let them do their job!

Client Example: Illustrated & Costumed Mascots Working Together

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not bashing the use or value of costumed characters. In fact, Fuzzy Duck has designed tons of illustrated mascots, and there’s nothing we love more than seeing our designs standing in front of us in life-sized reality. Take our two lovable friends, Harry and Shelly, created for Twin Cities InMotion, organizers of the Twin Cities Marathon and other regional running events.

Left: Event Mascots, Shelly and Harry, in their illustrated forms, jumping in excited anticipation.
Right: The mascot team in costume form, engaging with marathon finishers.

Conclusion

There are endless opportunities to use mascots to promote your brand. Using an illustrated mascot AND a costume mascot together as a branding strategy packs an even more effective punch! If you’re interested in creating a mascot for your company or would like to learn more about the process, give Fuzzy Duck a call. We’d love to chat with you about how we’ve helped brands reach their marketing goals by adding a “little character” to their messaging. Take a look at our past mascot work!

And if you think illustrated mascots are lively, wait till we show you what we can do with motion graphics and animation!

Author

  • Brenna Connolly

    As Fuzzy Duck’s copywriter, Brenna works diligently to make your brand voice shine. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, she honed her craft in the natural foods industry where she contributed to professional websites, industry-wide publications, and social media initiatives. Brenna has written for clothing companies and newspapers alike; she’s even edited a novel. A bona fide wordsmith, Brenna is eager to help you tell your story.