May 7 , 2024 Posted by admin
When you build an emotional connection with your audience, your brand can better understand their “intent” to buy your product. But it is not easy to make such a connection.
But you can make it easy by “adding” a mascot to your visual branding or logo.
Maybe you think this won’t work, or you feel that the mascot isn’t applicable in your industry.
This blog will surprise you when you find out the worth of a mascot in branding, especially logo design, which can increase your sales in the long run.
Logo Magicians, an affordable logo designing company, is here with its graphic design and logo design services. Contact now.
What is a Mascot logo?
A fictional character (which can also be non-fictional) that displays your brand is called a mascot. It serves as a brand ambassador or a spokesperson.
Any brand that makes mascots reflects the message it wishes to deliver to its audience. Different businesses apply different characters in a Mascot logo design. Some use mythical creatures, while others use abstract figures. Now, most brands use animated folks as mascots in their logos.
Mascot is a living character that humanizes your brand and sets you apart from others in the market.
Who Uses Mascot Logos?
Well, it was understandable to state that mascots are not for every industry, but today, this claim has expired. With the rise of new technologies and innovation, almost every industry is booming, and a new generation is heavily influenced by this technology. They are smart and prefer emotional connection with the brands of any industry.
So, here is an overview of industries that use mascots extensively in their branding to level up their logo appeal.
Gamers
In the gaming world, you will mostly find mascots. Hard-core gamers prefer to have a fierce mascot like a Tiger, lion, Ninja, etc., that tells the audience about their obsession with gaming.
Mostly, gamer Youtuber has memorable mascots. A famous YouTuber you have heard of, TimTheTatman, uses a roaring bear in between the feathers of a soaring eagle as a mascot in a logo that admires the audience.
Although everyone’s Mascot logo does not need to be ruthless to build an influence, for example, Jennifer “Jen” Lynn, a gaming expert, has a beautiful, happily shouting girl with a pink ribbon in her hair and a sword in her right hand. As a female YouTuber, the mascot reflects her passion for gaming in the logo.
Sport teams
Sports are very active and embraced worldwide.
In sports zones, a mascot is a fortune for a team. A mascot helps attract the crowd. The sports logo displays victory, aggression toward rivals, and the power to kick out opponents.
Take the example of the Chicago Bulls. A violent black-eyed Red Bull with powerful, sharp lines shows a team’s will toward achievement. It shows that no one dares mess up with them.
On the other hand, a mascot doesn’t have to be scary; it can be funny like the Baltimore Orioles’ cartoonish orange bird face wearing a baseball cap.
Also, apart from the logo, now most sports teams apply mascots in a physical form.
June 17 is a national mascot day. On this day, many sports teams use mascots in a physical form to bring enjoyment to games. Examples are: –
Cleveland Guardians: Slider is a large furry creature with fuchsia skin, shaggy yellow eyebrows, and a yellow nose.
St. Louis Cardinals, a major league baseball team, has an official mascot called Fredbird, who greets and entertains the children during the game.
And many more sports teams are doing this.
Bands
Mascots exist in every music genre. Heavy metal bands, punk, indie, and rock and roll mainly use mascots.
The band logo mainly attracted darkish parts as you imagine the spine-chilling Radiohead’s abstract “modified bear” or a Misfit’s skull.
And then comes the band, such as Nirvana, with a simple sketch of a smiling face. It has been a great icon since its launch in 1991.
The Nirvana mascot in a logo is a mystery that no one solves, which makes people curious about the actual motive of this mascot in the band.
Food brands
Taking a particular visit to a kitchen that you almost do, you can imagine that the eating products you or your family purchases have mascots.
Mascots are mostly used in children’s audiences. Brands like Cap’n Crunch, a naval captain with a mustache and eyebrows wearing a naval uniform and hat, or Mr. Peanut, a yellow peanut wearing old mean formal clothes with spats, a top hat, white gloves, and a monocle, and many more examples such as Quaker, Pringles, and the laughing cow all have one thing in common: a smiling face.
And who does not want to smile after eating a delicious Quaker Oats war bowl or crispy snacks like Pringles?
Technology
Tech firms want to connect with people in a human form rather than a robotic way.
Also, the audience feels happy when tech companies are creative and perform their tasks in a cool way.
Take the example of Docker, a software that provides an easy way to make, use, and deploy applications.
In its logo, a whale lifting a container (or the shape of a container) is an ideal instance.
Even mascots, on certain occasions, show beyond what business does, like the ever-smiling alien of Reddit called “snoo.” This snoo was previously used as only a doodle in the notebook of a Reddit co-founder. Now, it represents every Redditor on the website.
Another example is the cute bug-droid of Android. Actually, this mascot is meant for all developers for their internal work. The team came up with ideas to use it in a logo, which is now an iconic symbol of the Android world that appeals to a large audience.
Looking at both Android and Reddit mascots show minimalist abstract designs that all appreciate.
Types of Mascot logos
Are you thinking about what kind of mascot to use for branding or logo design? Well! There are many options, and it can be overwhelming. But we have given you certain ideas of the major mascots. Use one or a mixture of them to get your job done.
So let’s look at these:-
Animals
A mascot in the shape of an animal is a classic choice. The audience loves and cares about animals (sometimes more than humans). Your audience will love it, and you can easily show brand character.
A luxurious car brand like Jaguar uses black jumping Jaguars whose front feet are in the air, which shows speed, bravery, and charisma.
Further examples are Red Bull, a Puma, a cougar, WWF, a panda, a Twitter bird, a penguin of Linux, MailChimp monkey face with a hat, and Hootsuite own. All are simple and creative.
Mysterious figures
A covered character intrigues anyone.
Infusing a mysterious creature or any figure disguised in mystery can attract a curious audience. They want to see the true identity of this masked man or explore the mystery behind it.
An example is “Shroud,” an internet gaming, Twitch steamer, and YouTuber that applies this ideology in its logo. The mascot in its logo is quite cloaked within the “s” shape, playing on his gaming name.
But, there is one thing you need to be careful of when selecting a mysterious mascot: you need to pick the design of the mascot that the audience could easily interpret and relate with a mystery rather than confusing them with an unknown creature that none of them are aware of. Using such a type of mascot is a bit risky as there is a chance that the audience won’t get the message you want to convey.
But it doesn’t mean you want to take the risk. The higher the risk, the higher the return.
A great example you can look at is Black Sabbath,” a legendary heavy metal band. They have a winged mascot with a devil’s tail and horns—Henry, ha! It is the brand’s official logo, which displays the music genre’s stubborn nature.
Accurate to its Given name
Simplicity can’t escape you from risks.
Whatever name you have given to your brand, converting it into an energetic character is a way to provide you with a strong brand identity.
Take TaskRabbit, an online platform that connects people with freelance laborers for various odd jobs and errands. Its rabbit character demonstrates the brand’s work.
Another example is the Pittsburgh Penguins, a professional ice hockey team in Pittsburgh that has a character skating “penguin” in its mascot logo.
Both brand mascots are recognizable on the spot.
Animated Human
You have no idea that most of the mascots are living legends.
Mr. Monopoly, KFC, and Uncle Ben are great examples.
The portly older man with a top hat, bowtie, and mustache has been much appreciated in Mr. Monopoly since 1935. Many funny articles exist on online platforms regarding this man.
The same goes for the KFC logo, which has an animated image of its cofounder, Colonel Sanders.
Also, Uncle Ben has the image of a mature, wise, and kind figure of an African American man.
Product Come to Life
Your product is great and makes a lot of sales for you, so why not have a mascot that represents this product of yours?
A Good example of a “snack brand planters” brand. In their logo, a Mt. Peanut has existed beside its brand name for 104 years. Then, they do something wild: They kill off Mr. Peanut and bring him back as a baby peanut.
All this is due to the Kool-Aid Man’s magical tears.
Another example is the Pillsbury Doughboy, or you can say Poppin’ Fresh, a widely known mascot that appears in Pillsbury Company with his tied scarf and chef’s cap.
Although the mascot looks small, he’s a big deal and is so popular that there are products inspired by him, some of which are even displayed in museums!
This shows that a mascot is an energetic character in the branding and marketing world. Brands can have a unique personality with a mascot.
What to Consider Before Choosing a Mascot
Are you thinking of building your mascot? Wait a second! There are a few factors you need to take into account before starting the project.
Audience
What industry do you belong to? Tech, Finance, Apparel, etc. And in that, what market segments are you targeting, either globally or locally only? Are you targeting adults, children, teenagers, or all? What are their psychological factors and behavioral factors?
Note that you develop a mascot that loves to connect with your audience emotionally.
Versatility
There are tons of details you can add to the mascot, which means it is complex, and the audience may have trouble recognizing it. So try your best to use geometric shapes in a mascot to make it scalable or pair it with a wordmark in your logo so that it doesn’t lose its size when displayed on all sorts of mediums like banners, business cards, and the material that needs minor print.
Marketing channels
You have a marketing plan where you need to market your product, physically or digitally.
Mascots are ideal for display on any platform, especially large billboards and banners, TV commercials, and in-person events.
Regarding digital, you use social media channels to contact your audience, such as blog posts on your website, YouTube, etc.
Whatever channel you pick, remember when designing a mascot that it fits in all these mediums.
Commitment
Mascots are your brand ambassador or spokesperson for a long period, so remember, once a mascot is established and associated with a brand, it becomes deeply ingrained in consumers’ minds. Trying to change or rebrand a mascot later on can indeed be challenging.
Build a solid connection with your audience with a mascot logo
Rest is on you
When you focus on the Mascot logos real worth, you realize that the mascot is your brand’s real visual identifier. Your designed static mascot provide new life to the viewers and creates a strong emotional bond with your offerings.
So, we hope you like the blog we covered. Now, it’s time to take action and build a mascot for your own brand.
Contact Logo Magicians, a leading custom logo design company in the USA, is famous for its creative and custom logo design services.
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