There’s something so great about having a mascot that your organization can call its own. Each character is full of personality and unique charm. Mascots can be cute and cuddly, or ornery and interesting, but whatever the mood your mascot personifies, it has the potential to help your organization make some money.

Here are a few tips to help you understand how to make a mascot into a marketing strategy, by turning a meet and greet into a sales push:

Brand Awareness

Long before you can sell yourself to a sea full of potential new prospects, you need to know who you are. In other words, you need to have a brand identity that represents your values, culture, and products or services.  Once you’ve nailed that down, you can get to work on creating brand awareness. Think about the commercials on television that resonate and are memorable – what do you think of first? The first thing you might think of is some sort of character or creature. Are we right? If so, we’ve just hit the nail on the head when it comes to figuring out how to make a mascot work for you.
People relate to characters. In business terms, connecting a plush personality to your company’s brand will increase awareness and memory recall, even when your consumers don’t realize they’re making the connection in their heads.

Photos

A character just isn’t a character if it isn’t friendly enough to get caught on film (or posted to social media, as the case may be). Wondering how to make a mascot more memorable? That’s an easy one! Make sure your mascot is readily available for tons of photo opportunities at your meet and greet. If possible, set the stage for some great pictures with an awesome backdrop or other brand-building accessories that will serve as reminders to your organization’s persona, without being too pushy. Try to incorporate your company’s colors, for example, or strategically place your logo and products somewhere nearby so it fits into the frame without being too obvious. The photos not only serve as great reminders to potential customers that met your mascot in person, but with a little help from cyberspace, you’ll be putting your company in front of tons of new viewers.

Handouts

Even in today’s digital world, there’s something special about holding a tangible item in your hand. At your meet and greet, you’ll want to have ample handouts that can be given to passersby throughout the event. The mascot can hand these out, or a nearby companion can. Make them colorful, creative, clean and concise.  You want to entertain guests long after the event or occasion has ended. That complements your mascot’s excellent efforts.

A Knowledgeable Companion

It can be difficult to figure out how to make a mascot into a money maker when it can’t talk about how awesome you are. Keep a knowledgeable companion near your mascot at the meet and greet at all times. If your event is long, simply rotate shifts that your staff can stand by your plush personality. These people should be outgoing, knowledgeable and able to answer any questions that come their way.
Mascots come in all shapes, sizes, colors and creatures. At Hogtown Mascots, we get excited when bringing ideas to real life. Browse our gallery and let us show you how to make a mascot work for your organization!