When it comes to brand endorsement, in a battle between Mascots and Celebrities, who do you think will win by a landslide? Before you read the rest of this article, take a couple of seconds to vote below!
One of the most famous openings in any novel was written by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities. The quote that commences with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” perfectly conveyed the dualities between optimism and pessimism during his era. Right now we are living in a digital age, and it is by all means simultaneously the best of times and the worst of times. Never before have there been so many different channels and methods that you can use to reach and engage potential consumers, but as great as that is, it is also the worst of times because never has it been so overwhelming to reach consumers effectively. There are so many different methods to consider when trying to engage your clientele. The one that I want to explore in this article is that of endorsers. Brand endorsement can be a very tricky thing to set in place. It can either be very time-consuming or very costly, and sometimes it’s both, but is it always effective? In an attempt to help you figure out your endorsement struggles, I’ve decided to explore some statistics on the use of mascots as brand endorsers, versus the process of engaging celebrities as brand endorsers.
First of all, if you think about it, some of the biggest brands and products out there are recognized primarily by their mascots. Let’s look at some stats that compare the effectiveness of using celebrity endorsement for a product vs. mascot endorsement for a product.
Celebrity Endorsers vs. Mascot Endorsers
I’m not trying to say that celebrity endorsement doesn’t work, but it does cost a company a lot of money. For instance, here is a depiction of what it costs on average per tweet- JUST A TWEET, about your product or brand from a celebrity endorser.
Costs per tweet by celebrity endorsers.
That’s a lot of money coming our of your pocket! The vast majority of small businesses are in no way able to afford buying a tweet from someone like Ashton Kutcher or Jennifer Aniston, and quite frankly, the results aren’t all that great in comparison to those that come from mascot endorsers like the Pillsbury Doughboy or the Aflac Duck.
And how much is a mascot really costing you? For the most part, you are paying a Graphic Designer a flat rate to draw one up. That can be anywhere from $200 to $700 flat, or you can offer an hourly rate. In any case, you’re getting much more than just a tweet which will likely only be seen for a matter of seconds online anyway.
Furthermore, mascots can greatly increase a brand’s “Shareability” on FaceBook. Those Charmin Bears with the little white bits on their bums increased Charmin’s presence and sharing rate by 585%!
The influence of mascots on a brand’s shareability.
Also mascots can resonate with people on an emotional level that a PR person just can’t reach. Mascots also motivate people and give people hope. Why do you think so many people were appalled when McDonald’s changed the original cartoon Hamburglar and replaced it with a real-life version? Because people had built a relationship with the old one. He was a comforting reminder of their childhood.
Schools, sports teams and plenty of small businesses use mascots in order to amp up their recognition. How many sports fans are likely to cheer for a team that doesn’t have an identifiable team symbol or persona? Start-ups all over the place are incorporating mascots into their branding strategy because they understand that it boosts response and that people tend to judge a brand by their image first than by their actual product. How many times did our parents tell us not to judge a book by its cover, but alas, we still do it! Yesware has the Yeti (he was on the run for a while, but I’m pretty sure they’ve pinned him down) and Track Maven has the adorable Corgi!
Yesware Yeti and TrackMaven Corgi
Mascots also don’t take vacations, get sick, ask for raises or get you in trouble (for the most part that is…).
Sources: 1. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-memorable-mascots-can-make-you-more-money-2012-1 2. https://contentequalsmoney.com/personifying-your-brand-the-use-of-brand-mascots-on-social-media/ 3. http://celeb-brand-agent.com/2014/03/27/how-much-does-a-celebrity-tweet-cost/ 4. http://www.startupbizhub.com/mascot---a-marketing-tool-for-a-business.htm