5WPR President on Mascots as a Successful TikTok Strategy

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Feb 26, 2022, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to 5WPR President Dara Busch, a mascot can help a business reach new heights. The use of mascots in brand marketing is not a new concept. According to a study, brands that use mascots in their campaigns observed a nearly 41% increase in their profits. A brand mascot reinforces a brand's personality in its marketing. The most popular mascots are derived from objects, animals, people, and even fictional characters. They can have a wide range of applications, such as being used in websites, logos, icons, and in mobile apps.

TikTok and mascots
The Empire State Building's TikTok strategy features its two mascots—the building itself and TikTok. According to Abigail Rickards, VP of Marketing for Empire State Realty Trust, mascot content leads to more TikTok success. Based on overall engagement rate, mascot content performs best. It also doesn't take much time to create and edit a video centered around a character, as shooting an entirely new concept would.

The catalyst
The mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers, Gritty, might not have the biggest TikTok following, but his emergence was the biggest catalyst for bringing mascots to TikTok. Lots of teams saw Gritty's success as an opportunity for their mascot to have a true brand of their own and social appeal outside a stadium. Having a mascot that's viral by nature makes marketing it to the masses much easier. Given below are some mascots that have really made an impact on Tiktok.

Mr. Mucus
Mucinex became the first OTC drug to team up with TikTok, coming up with the campaign #Toosicktobesick. Choreographers for the campaign made a zombie dance with the cough medicine's mascot, Mr. Mucus, to demonstrate how Mucinex combats the zombie-like symptoms that come along with a bad cold or flu. People on TikTok shared their best versions of the zombie dance with the #beatthezombiefunk hashtag for cash prizes and VIP experiences. The campaign racked up more than 400 million views in just five days.

Cosmo the cougar
Brigham Young University understands that TikTok is all about fun—the job of its mascot, Cosmo the Cougar, is to delight fans. Cosmo's first video of doing 'TheRollie' with the BYU dance team at a football game earned 27.6 million likes. TikTok-ers tend to prefer lighthearted content, even during challenging times like the pandemic. Cosmo adopted a lighthearted approach to 'addressing' COVID-19 with a video capturing his quarantine routine.

Duo
The language-learning app Duolingo has earned a lot of popularity thanks to the activities of their green owl mascot called Duo. Duo has a finger on the pulse of popular TikTok trends. The mascot has a chaotic and sassy personality that viewers love to engage with. Duolingo's popular TikTok videos feature Duo playfully threatening people to keep up with their language lessons. Sometimes, Duo can also be found in the comment section, sassing anyone who forgot their language lessons. By leveraging viral trends, Duo remains a playful and quirky brand voice.

5WPR is firmly entrenched in influencer marketing and digital PR.

About 5WPR
5W Public Relations is a full-service PR agency in NYC known for cutting-edge programs that engage with businesses, issues and ideas. With more than 250 professionals serving clients in B2C (Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, Nonprofit), B2B (Corporate Communications and Reputation Management), Public Affairs, Crisis Communications and Digital Marketing (Social Media, Influencer, Paid Media, SEO). 5W was awarded 2020 PR Agency of The Year and brings leading businesses a resourceful, bold and results-driven approach to communication.

SOURCE 5W Public Relations