There’s a purpose your child is so drawn to that Frosted Flakes field—and it has loads to do with the cool tiger, not simply the sugary flakes. Mascots have lengthy had their place in promoting, advertising and model recognition. However, they’re regaining recognition, as some manufacturers search to have a bit extra enjoyable with their audiences and achieve traction in a sea of rivals, hoping to develop into only a bit extra recognizable with a mascot.
A 2025 examine reported that visible representations are sometimes simpler for folks to recall than phrases. Latest analysis on Tremendous Bowl promoting additionally discovered that model characters sometimes outperform celebrities. And a examine revealed in 2024 discovered that model mascots present an emotional reference to the client, main to higher engagement with the model and services or products supplied.
“Manufacturers appear to be leaping on this bandwagon increasingly. Giving a model character via a mascot opens a whole lot of social media alternatives for selling the model, too,” says Chelsea Gladden, CEO of All the things Branding. One instance is the McDonald’s mascot Grimace. A Grimace milkshake, which prompted a viral development on TikTok the place folks pretended to die after consuming it, helped increase 2023 second-quarter international gross sales by greater than 11%.
“Not solely are manufacturers embracing [mascots] extra, they’re additionally doing a little fairly humorous collaborations collectively…. These outside-of-the-box collaborations are garnering press and social media consideration, a win when manufacturers do it accurately,” she provides.
Makes use of (and Misuses) of Mascots
Meet Platty the Platypus. Whereas a semiaquatic duck lookalike creature could be the very last thing you assume would promote your model, Sterling Douglass, co-founder and CEO at Chowly, a restaurant know-how platform headquartered in Chicago, says the origin of their mascot is as “natural because it will get.
“The thought began inside our income group, gross sales, advertising and buyer success [teams] working collectively as one,” he says. “We wished a unifying cultural image that mirrored the adaptability, resilience and character of each our group and the impartial restaurant operators we serve. Platty rapidly grew to become a rallying level internally and a memorable technique to join with clients.”
The mascot was born via wordplay, Douglass shares, a spin off of the phrase “platform.” “The gross sales group threw it on the market, advertising ran with it and it clicked. The platypus felt like an ideal metaphor for Chowly. It’s a singular mixture of traits, identical to our platform brings a number of capabilities collectively in a single place,” he says.
Platty hangs out of their social posts and campaigns, firm swag, inner Slack channels, occasion cubicles and onboarding kits for brand new hires, amongst different spots.
Douglass notes that your mascot ought to embody the qualities of what you are promoting it represents. “Platypuses are adaptable, resourceful and stand out in a world of sameness, qualities we imagine are important for restaurant operators to thrive.”
However don’t count on mascots to be a silver bullet answer to your advertising woes. “Whereas Platty isn’t a direct gross sales driver, he’s been a robust engagement device,” Douglass says. “Internally, he’s a part of onboarding, recognition, and occasions, strengthening our tradition. Externally, social posts that includes Platty see above-average engagement and enhance model recall. He helps us be memorable in an trade filled with competing voices.”
One other problem? Making certain the mascot wasn’t an excessive amount of of a gimmick. “We use Platty as a character enhancer, not the lead act,” Douglass says.
“We… needed to stability enjoyable with professionalism, particularly in B2B restaurant tech,” he provides.
Gladden cautions doing all of your homework earlier than introducing a brand new character. “Quite a lot of analysis must be performed earlier than marrying a mascot or spokesperson to a model to make sure it’s by no means offensive, culturally inappropriate or unrelatable for the model’s key demographic,” she says. Additionally, contemplate how your mascot may impression your future enterprise leads. “Manufacturers have to be cautious with the [demographics] they’re hoping to develop into their clients, and whether or not having a mascot aligns with their core viewers and model notion.”
So, take a line from the Pillsbury Doughboy, Michelin Man or Duracell Bunny at your subsequent advertising assembly—and dream up the subsequent nice mascot.
Photograph of Platty from Chowly.com