How do I make sure I get a great mascot for a company? It therefore seems useful to us to elaborate on this question using five important criteria to consider: originality, color, association, simplicity and identity.
Originality
The ultimate goal of a mascot is to boost the image of your company or product. But how does that work exactly? First of all it is important that your mascot is original, there is nothing more fun than when you stand out from the crowd with your mascot because of its originality. This way, your character will be better remembered by the audience. The most popular mascots are, as our experience shows, mascots of bears and lions for example. Although in such cases it will be a little more difficult to make your mascot original and memorable, it is absolutely not impossible. In that case you could give your mascot a very striking outfit, make the expression on his face special or adapt the whole ‘style’ of the animal. With a little creativity you can make any mascot original, take some time to do so.
Colors
The colors you choose for your character are also very important and that part is sometimes underestimated. The color you choose makes the mascot. If you want to create a mascot for a nursery, it is advisable to choose light, cheerful colors, but if you trade in Halloween costumes for example, then the darker colors are a better option. In addition, it is important that the colors match your company colors. If you have a lot of red and blue colors in your logo, you might want to include them in your mascot as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your mascot is entirely made up of those colors, an accent on the clothes might also be fine. With the right colors you can make sure that your mascot is instantly recognizable. For example, the Simpsons and the Smurfs. So don’t overlook the choice of colors for your mascot.
Association
By association we don’t really mean much more than how well your mascot fits your brand or company. And it’s very important that the match is right. If you sell cat food it is not recommended to have a pirate as your mascot. Ideally you should base your mascot on the name of your company or the product you sell, as they have done very wisely at M&M’s. Just a red and yellow M&M candy with arms, legs, eyes and a mouth and the whole world associates them with the product they stand for. An excellent choice. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. For example, Tony the Tiger has surprisingly little to do with the product Kellogg’s Frosties and yet many people will associate him with it.
Simplicity
The word ‘simplicity’ often has a bit of a negative connotation, but it’s something you’ll definitely have to take into account when creating your mascot. It is not desirable that you have a character that is too busy or too detailed, as you also need to be able to reduce it to a minimal size when you want to use it in your offline and online communication. If your mascot is too detailed, and for example an image of your mascot get’s printed on a pen, little of the original will remain. This is also true for choosing the colors; often the less colors you use, the more beautiful and clearer your mascot will look.
Identity
The most important. Above all, your mascot must stand out, be different, be more beautiful, stand out and be able to be linked to your company through these values. To achieve this, it is very important that you apply the above elements to a mascot.
