When you are building a brand for your company you should decided if you want to represent your company with a logo or a mascot or both. Sports teams do a great job of having a logo and mascot combination that they use to brand in the public. The Canucks for example have the Orca logo and the mascot Fin who does public appearances.
If you currently have a generic logo and looking to re-brand an easy way to do that is to introduce a mascot for your company. The major benefit of a mascot over a logo is that people can identify with a mascot. A mascot can shake your hand, give you a wink or bring a smile to your face. Your logo will generate a response from a potential customer which will be different for everyone. A mascot can be adaptive to various people and generate a response you want based on their actions.
Choosing a mascot can be a hard thing. Choose the wrong mascot and you could end up loosing money. Taco Bell for example lost business when they introduced the Taco Bell dog. They sold a lot of bobble-heads but the sale of their products took a dive. On the flip side M&M’s sale increased when the 2 mascots were introduced.
To begin sit down and write down what description or action words you want your business to be known for. If you currently have customers then ask them what description and action words that come to mind when they think of your company. Take those words and brainstorm what type of mascot would best fit those keywords. I suggest choosing at least 3 possible mascots and poll people in your target market or current customers as to what they think. Try and get as much qualitative feedback as possible. Doing this should help you narrow down your choice to one.
Once you have an idea of what mascot you want seek out a designer to help you bring that mascot to life. I suggest having it sketched out so you have a drawing of it and then you can use various mediums to bring your mascot to life. I would suggest as your business grows your mascot should grow with it. Here is how you should build your mascot with a budget…
- Mascot drawing – $200+
- Full size cutout of your mascot – $400+
- Muppet style mascot – $1000+
- 3D Flash and talking mascot – $3000+
- Full Mascot outfit – $5000+
So if you are just starting out and have a limited budget I would suggest moving up as your budget increases.
What is your favorite mascot?
