What’s Changing The Face Of Branding In 2023?

A mascot, derived from the French term “mascotte,” signifies a lucky charm embodied within an inanimate object, akin to, for instance, a tooth, a coin and so on.

Historically, maritime vessels often adorned their bows with mascotte figureheads, which served as talismans for good luck.

By the 1880s, the concept of mascots was incorporated into the English lexicon and in the 1910s, its meaning expanded to encompass human or animal representations of non-human or animal entities — such as teams, schools, events, or military units.

These representations typically took the form of 2D depictions or 3D costumes of fictional characters, symbolizing desired qualities and characteristics of these non-human or animal entities.

Then, throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, mascots played a prominent role in numerous brands, often taking on human forms as the charismatic spokespeople for these brands.

Icons such as the Marlboro Man and Colonel Harland Sanders epitomized this trend, becoming instantly recognizable figures.

The medium of television proved to be a perfect platform for the proliferation of these human mascots, enabling them to reach a wide audience and leave a lasting impression, more than 2D depictions or 3D costumes could ever do.

A similar phenomenon occurred later within the realm of music, where stage names began to serve as mascots in their own right.

Bands like Kiss adopted distinctive personas, effectively becoming mascots for their own music, while DJs such as Deadmau5 and Marshmello utilized their unique identities to capture the imagination of fans worldwide.

Web 1.0 paved the way for iconic brands of their time like Dogpile, Ask Jeeves the Butler, Lycos Labrador (all search engines by the way), Firefox, and more, to venture into the 2D realm of the early internet.

Web 2.0 took this concept further, with brands embracing 2D avatars for the next web, including TaskRabbit, Hipmunk, MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, Twitter’s “Larry the Bird,” Reddit’s Snoo alien, and Android’s robot.

Web 2.0 also allowed for the transformation of mascots into personal brands and influencers.

The introduction of augmented reality (AR) overlays, such as those found in Snapchat and various photo filters, added a layer of scalability to personal brands and influencers while preserving the anonymity of the individuals behind them.

In this vein, in the era of Web 3.0, NFT profile pictures (PFPs) heralded the resurgence of 2D cartoon mascots of yesteryear.

Notable examples include CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, among others.

Many non-fungible token (NFT) holders opted for profile pictures (PFPs) as their avatars on various communication platforms to safeguard their real identities and prevent “doxing” (the act of revealing identifying information about someone online), ensuring their online interactions remained as secure as their crypto wallets.

As an experiment in my journey to learn AR coding, I embarked on a project in early 2022 to develop AR camera overlays that allowed individuals to upload their NFT profile picture images for this very purpose either capturing it in photo or video form.

This innovative use of NFT profile pictures not only enhances online privacy but also underscores the power of mascot representation in the digital world.

It’s a reminder that while ninety-nine percent of businesses have a logo, when it comes to brand recall, mascots often outshine logos.

Allow me to elaborate…

In the realm of sales, the adage still holds true: “people buy from people.”

Consumers tend to gravitate toward individuals they know, like, and trust when making buying decisions.

While mascots possess human characteristics, it’s essential to note that humans inherently trust other humans more than mascots, despite the latter’s human-like qualities.

Mascots, in turn, earn more trust than logos, as logos lack human attributes.

To underscore this point, let’s consider a few examples:

When asked about a character associated with Cluedo, most people would readily mention Colonel Mustard or Professor Plum etc.

The face of McDonald’s is undoubtedly Ronald, a fact that many would readily confirm.

However, when posed with the question of who represents or founded VISA, it becomes apparent that this information isn’t readily accessible from the top of one’s mind, even though VISA ranks as the tenth-largest company in the world by market capitalization.

On the other hand, the face of Tesla is an instant recall for most: Elon Musk.

The challenge with logos lies in their tendency to be less memorable compared to mascots or humans.

The drawbacks associated with human mascots, such as Elon Musk or the Marlboro Man, include:

1) Limited Scalability: They can only be present in one location at any given time.
2) Reputation Risks: Their actions can negatively impact the brand they represent (examples include Kanye West, Coach Jorge Vilda, Russell Brand, ad nausea).
3) Departure And Brand Detachment: When they move on to other ventures, they often take a significant portion of the brand’s equity with them.
4) Payment Requirement: They demand compensation each time they make an appearance; and
5) Persistent Financial Demands: Over time, they may seek increasing amounts of compensation.

Ultimately, relying on individuals as the face of a brand can pose challenges, making it more challenging to effectively promote the brand long-term.

But human mascots and influencers are evolving even if those people don’t like it…

Just as human mascots and influencers began diverting advertising investments away from traditional media, Artificial Intelligence-driven (AI) influencers are doing away with human “personal brands” and are currently in the process of siphoning ad expenditures away from their human counterparts at rates on par with the predecessors (https://theconversation.com/virtual-influencers-meet-the-ai-generated-figures-posing-as-your-new-online-friends-as-they-try-to-sell-you-stuff-212001)

This is a positive step forward in overcoming the challenges of humans as faces of brands.

However, creating mascots is a challenging endeavour, even more so than designing a 2D logo.

When establishing a brand mascot, a couple crucial steps are involved:

1) Develop the mascot character; and
2) Produce associated visuals, which may encompass 2D, 3D, static, or animated elements.

While neither of these tasks necessarily requires the incorporation of a logo, it’s important to note that a logo remains pertinent.

It can serve a dual purpose by either aiding in the creation of the mascot (its name or its visual likeness) or being integrated into the mascot’s design (say on its t-shirt for example).

And there are many advantages to mascots over logo and humans:

1) Scalability: Once intellectual property (IP) is created, mascots can be present in multiple locations simultaneously.
2) Moral Reliability: IP and AI mascots are not susceptible to engaging in inappropriate behaviour, as they are not human.
3) Permanence: Once IP is created, it endures indefinitely, ensuring a lasting presence.
4) Cost Efficiency: There is a one-time expense to create the intellectual property, and thereafter, mascots do not require ongoing payments; and
5) Stability: Mascots do not seek pay raises, providing consistent financial predictability.”

And because mascots can be better than humans in many ways, here are some considerations for creating different types of mascots:

1) 2D Static Mascots: These are a great starting point and work well for still assets like images and websites. Generative AI, such as DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney, is making it easier for brands to create mascots.
2) 2D Animated Mascots: Creating animated 2D mascots can be difficult due to the costs involved in producing different versions of brand storylines. This challenge is particularly evident in digital distribution channels that reward short vertical videos.
3) 2D Real-Time Mascots: These mascots, such as AR lenses or video/photo filters, combine the advantages of 2D still mascots with the ability to have a moving body, allowing for dynamic backgrounds and brand storylines; and
4) 3D Real-Time Mascots: 3D mascots, like puppets or costumes, are excellent for delivering the volume needed for digital distribution channels that favour short vertical videos. However, they can be expensive to create and are not very scalable. Additionally, their bulky nature can make storage a challenge.

Brands should very much consider transitioning from being solely “logo-based” to adopting a “mascot-centric” identity.

Moreover, the evolution from relying solely on logos, possibly coupled with personal or influencer branding, to embracing a mascot-driven approach is a strategic move worth contemplating, for all!

In my own explorations, I’ve taken steps to facilitate and economise this transition…

For instance, I crafted a mascot for “High Rollers” in the realm of vert skating, though it lacks a moniker.

Subsequently, when I collaborated on creating a fictional sports team and corresponding jerseys for my brother-in-law, I further christened it with a name, “Belgrade Saints” in honour of his birthplace and pet’s breed.

My co-pilot for medical professionals, Dr GaPiT (GPT AI — see what I did there) removed a logo altogether and just used a mascot.

To further expand my mascots, for the next one for https://petrolpricepredictor.com, I conceived “Petro the Predictor” by personifying brand benefits and incorporating the logo (see images) into the mascot itself, a concept I’ve previously discussed.

Nevertheless, the crucial element for all of these is effective distribution — akin to the philosophical pondering of a tree falling unheard in a forest.

To tackle this challenge, I opted for a 2D real-time AR lens (from back in 2022) approach, for several reasons:

1) Ease Crafting 2D Still Mascots: The process of creating a 2D static mascot is relatively straightforward within an AR context; and
2) Simplicity Of Video AR Overlays: Implementing an AR overlay of a 2D static mascot image onto human-generated video content is comparatively uncomplicated.

Both of these make 2D Real-Time Mascots which is the best of all worlds (2D Static Mascots, 2D Animated Mascots, and 3D Real-Time Mascots) and make it a practical choice for mascot creation and distribution by leveraging digital distribution channels, which currently favour short vertical video content.

By embracing this strategy, brands can best enhance their visibility and engagement in today’s dynamic media landscape.

Now, I, or anyone can effortlessly record myself in selfie mode using the 2D still mascot, eliminating the need for extensive production teams and the associated costs.

This method empowers me to swiftly craft diverse brand narratives by overlaying video footage with imported images, text, and stickers, all readily available in popular short-form video applications like Reels, TikTok, and Stories, among others.

This proves especially advantageous when one prefers not to speak, or feels self-conscious about appearing on camera, or doesn’t want to have a founder-led brand but understands logos or other humans aren’t ideal.

More importantly, it enables anyone within or outside the brand to embody the mascot, transcending the founder’s presence.

While I haven’t yet shared anything on Reels, TikTok, and Stories, etc., it’s all part of the plan.

I believe this unique approach will garner interest since it’s a novel concept that hasn’t been explored before.

I’ll provide an update on how it unfolds.