Bring Brand Recognition to Life: How Small Businesses Can Benefit From Having a Mascot

The Quick Quack Car Wash Mascot, Quackals.

For years, I helped Quick Quack Car Wash (now a national car wash brand), develop and evolve their brand mascot. His formal name is Quackalton Duckswell, but most of us know him as "Quackals." I spent many a day illustrating the fluffy duck in all sorts of costumes and predicaments. From Quackals dressing up as Shakespeare's Hamlet to driving on long road trips with a heavily packed car to hosting a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner with one of his BFFs, who, by no coincidence was a turkey. Big corporations have used mascots for years to increase profit margins and promote their brand image. Mascots have a long and storied history, and if done right, can go a long way in helping a brand stand out from its competitors. But is a brand mascot right for a small business?

Quick Quack Car Wash Logo

Benefits of a Brand Mascot

Any tool used to reinforce a company's brand identity and message is a solid way to build brand awareness. Mascots are one such tool. Not only can they help you stand out from the competition, but they can also create an emotional connection with customers, keep them engaged, and build customer loyalty. Plus, it can help make your business even more memorable.

Curious how your brand personality influences whether a mascot fits your business? Explore your Brand Archetype.

Increased Brand Recognition

A brand mascot provides a fun, lighthearted way for people to engage with a business. It creates a memorable visual representation of your brand that customers can easily identify and remember. Mascots bring life and personality to your business, making it more relatable and approachable.

Illustrating Quackals in many environments and situations enabled Quick Quack Car Wash to develop a memorable and distinctive brand.

Differentiation

A well-designed brand mascot can create a unique identity for the brand and help to make it stand out from its competitors. A good mascot can create an affinity and loyalty to a brand that is difficult to replicate.

Brand mascots can help to differentiate a brand by creating a memorable and relatable connection with consumers. Creating an emotional connection with customers gives them a face to associate with the brand that stands out compared to competitors. This can help to create brand loyalty and bring people back to the brand again and again.

Enhanced Engagement

Having a mascot can also help to drive engagement with your brand. People are naturally drawn to characters and will be more likely to interact with your business if they have a mascot to associate with it. Quackals is often depicted doing fun and relatable activities like flying paper airplanes, posing for selfies, or tending to his family flock, which makes him more relatable and likable to potential customers.

Improved Brand Loyalty

People tend to form emotional connections with characters, which can make them more likely to become loyal to your brand. By consistently representing the Quick Quack Car Wash brand in a cute and likable way, Quackals helps to create a positive impression of the company in the minds of potential customers. This, in turn, could lead to increased customer satisfaction and a desire to continue doing business with the company, potentially leading to increased loyalty.

Increased Bottom Line

A well-designed and effective mascot can help to create a positive association with a brand which can ultimately drive sales and revenue for the company. In fact, according to research on the effectiveness of advertising with characters by Technicolour Creative Studios, company data shows that brand mascots and characters can increase profit and emotional connection with customers by up to 41%*. Whoa. That's pretty significant.

Pitfalls to Avoid

While it's true that mascots can make a brand more memorable and endearing, they can also be a significant source of potential pitfalls if they're not handled correctly.

Don’t Forget the Mascot’s Purpose

The purpose of a mascot is to be a memorable face of the brand and create a deeper connection with customers. Mascots help to create an emotional connection with your customers and can be used to help explain complex concepts in an entertaining way. Your mascot should be easy to recognize and appeal to your target demographic. Additionally, it's important to ensure that your mascot differentiates your brand from the competition and remains consistent across all platforms. Make sure the design captures the essence of the brand in an identifiable way.

Don't Neglect Personality

A mascot's personality needs to align with the core values of the brand while having an approachable persona that consumers can easily relate to. Start by brainstorming characteristics that reflect your brand's message and target audience. Consider the mascot's age, interests, likes, and dislikes. Create a backstory to give your mascot a personality and determine how it will interact with your audience. How will it help promote your brand and create a connection with your target market? Finally, consider how the mascot might evolve over time, allowing it to stay relevant and interesting to your audience.

Want help defining your brand personality before you choose a mascot? My Brand Explorer Workshop, Know Who You Are guides you step-by-step through that process.

Quackals loves to dress up as his favorite Shakespeare characters. He's also a big fan of birthday cake.

Not Considering Your Target Audience

When creating a brand mascot, you want to make sure that it resonates with your target customer. Understanding the target audience's values, interests, and needs will help to create a mascot that resonates with them. The Quackals character appealed to moms and kids who drive through Quick Quack on a regular basis. Make sure your mascot has the right look, personality, and message that appeals to your target audience.

Ensure the Mascot is Timeless

To ensure that a brand mascot can evolve over time, it's important to recognize the current landscape and the changing trends of the industry. Companies should also consider how their mascot can reach different consumer segments and reflect their values. To keep the mascot fresh and relevant, it's important to periodically review the mascot and make appropriate changes such as updating the look and giving it a new spin on the story. The design of Quackals has evolved over the years to be a softer and more approachable character by rounding harsh lines and thickening his outline. Companies should also look to social media to help shape the evolution of the mascot by responding to feedback from their customers.

Quackals circa 2009

Quackals 2022

Don’t Get Too Literal

When selecting a mascot, look for one that captures the spirit of the brand, as opposed to something overly literal. Start by thinking of the mascot in terms of a character or personality trait that will embody your brand. Consider the function of this character and what they bring to the brand – then brainstorm ideas that fit that role. A llama might be a great choice for a company that sells outdoor gear like backpacks as llamas are known to carry heavy loads while a health-focused company such as a health food store might use a personified carrot. Mascots should be fun and engaging and should help tell the story of your brand in a unique and creative way.

Don’t Overload the Mascot with Features

Too many bells and whistles can make a mascot look like a hot mess and totally miss the mark. Keep the design simple and focused. Only include features that are necessary and relevant to the mascot's purpose. Additionally, try and limit the number of colors used in the design, as too many colors can be distracting and overwhelming. Finally, make sure to test the mascot element to ensure that it looks good in different sizes and formats. This will help ensure that the mascot remains recognizable and effective no matter where it is used.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, a brand mascot can give your business a fun and creative edge over competitors and can be an effective and affordable way to help your small business stand out and succeed. Your brand's message, personality, and values will determine the mascot that's right for your business. If you put solid effort into building the right backstory and character, you can get people rallying around your brand and starting conversations that help you build a solid fan base with a tool that blows traditional marketing out of the water.

*Brand mascots will send your profits and emotional connection soaring - Campaign UK Sep 22, 2021

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Want to Know if a Mascot is Right for Your Brand?

If you’re exploring how a mascot might fit into your identity, you’ll want to start with defining who your brand really is. The Brand Explorer Workshops walk you through that step-by-step.

Brand Explorer – Know Who You Are Uncover your brand’s personality, tone, values, voice, and emotional footprint. Perfect if you need clarity on how to show up and what makes your brand distinct.

Brand Explorer – Know What You Do

Define your offers with precision: what you provide, who it’s for, and the transformation you deliver. Great for business owners defining packages, messaging, or product positioning.

If you’re not sure where to start, begin with Know Who You Are. It sets the foundation for everything else.

→Explore all the workshops here.

Is a brand mascot right for every small business?

Not always. A mascot works best when your brand has a clear personality and point of view. If your business values connection, fun, approachability, or emotional storytelling, a mascot can help make your brand more memorable. If your brand is strictly minimal, corporate, or highly serious, a mascot may feel off-brand.

Do brand mascots actually help with marketing and recognition?

Yes! Mascots create a visual anchor in the customer’s mind. When people repeatedly see a character that feels human and relatable, those feelings transfer to the business. Research shows mascots can increase emotional connection and even improve customer recall and loyalty.

How do I choose the right type of mascot for my brand?

Start with your brand’s personality, voice, and values. Your mascot should feel like a natural extension of who your brand already is. Defining your brand’s personality is one of the first steps to make sure your mascot fits the tone and emotional traits you want to express. My Brand Explorer Workshop, Know Who You Are helps you do just that.

Can a mascot help my brand stand out in a crowded market?

Absolutely. A unique mascot gives your audience something to remember and talk about — especially if you use it consistently across signage, social content, packaging, and campaigns. Consistency is what builds recognition.

Should I design a mascot before I define my brand identity?

No — the brand identity comes first. Your personality, tone, values, and messaging are the foundation. The mascot is a creative expression of that. If you design the mascot too early, it may not represent your brand well or may need to be redone later.