Case Study: Does Your Brand Lack Character?

Most people are familiar with Coca Cola's Bears, Geico's Gecko, and Salesforce's Codey Bear. Why are organizations that accompany their branding with characters so effective?

1) Emotions: effective ads make buyers feel good. You can root for a character, relate to a character, and therefore usually remember a character. Children form deep bonds with characters, particularly stuffed animals. Giving them (children and adults!) the ability to hold your character enables them to form a connection. This is the type of personal experience that turns your clients into raving fans.

2) Distinctiveness: a study by Ehrenberg-Bass showed that the brand asset with most potential for exclusivity is characters, followed by logos and typography. Characters can't be knocked off and ensure your advertising gets attributed to your brand.

3) Consistency: the best ads run for decades, not quarters. Characters never grow old, never die, and never get encumbered in embarrassing scandals. Characters, like Smokey Bear, adopted in 1944 by the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council to instill fire prevention into school-age children, last a lifetime.