Who doesn’t love talking Russian MeerKats, or a welsh opera singer selling you car insurance?

If you’ve watched TV in the recent past, odds are you know which brands I’m talking about. That’s precisely the point, these marketing campaigns have worked their way into everyday life and have greatly increased their company’s customer bases.

The question then, is how did these companies manage this, and how can we use this to market your brand?

HOW DO WE CREATE CHARACTERS YOUR AUDIENCE REMEMBERS?

The cute Meerkat mascot of Compare the Market has proved to be wildly successful, sparking a companion website, comparethemeerkat.com, a range of stuffed toys, and one of the most impressive social media campaigns in the medium’s short history. The comparethemeerkat.com website alone peaks at over two million hits per month, whilst the comparethemarket.com has increased its market share by 70%, whist its primary competitor fell by 30%. [1] By running a similar social media campaign, it’s probable that other brands can increase their customer base, with all the revenue increases associated with this.

Clearly, this campaign is doing something right. But what?

It’s several things; it’s their cute faces, it’s their charming, eccentric personalities, it’s their humanising properties. Ultimately it’s all down to two very important key words: Appeal and Relatability. The Meerkats succeed through both looking iconic, and being characters that a viewing audience can identify with.

People love them not just because they look cute, but because the whole thing is based upon a great joke. The phrase “compare the market” can be so easily confused with “compare the meerkat.” Who hasn’t Googled something only to find another thing that sounds similar, but is entirely different? The Meerkats are that everyday occurrence given character.

But of course, Meerkats in dressing gowns aren’t the only characters of note to pop up in recent times. From the previously mentioned Gio Compärio of Gocompare.com to the nodding Churchill bulldog.

SO WHERE DID THESE CHARACTERS COME FROM?

Of course, bold characters in advertising are not a new idea by any means. Who could forget such characters as the, PG Tips Family (of monkeys), the Energiser Bunny or Milkybar Kid?

Indeed, brands can exploit the most successful characters for many years- just ask Captain Birdseye, who over lasted 50 years, or the Michelin Man, who’s tire based exterior has been around since 1894. However, in the past few years, it seems that mascots developed and become more powerful- perhaps due to their increased accessibility. With the rise of social networking, the ability to attract voluntary engagement with an audience is a powerful asset, and over 800 thousand likes represents a considerable audience. [2]

SO HOW CAN YOUR BRAND BENEFIT?

The question then, is how can your brand benefit from being led by a strong and distinctive character?

Characters are memorable, and provide a focal point that an audience can relate to.

The strongest characters can even act as ambassadors for your brand; friendly faces representing you to the world at large, providing a mascot that your customers can relate to and interact with, through social media. Such audience participation is generally associated with successful brand management, and correspondingly high market shares.

A relatable character can also help to increase audience loyalty, over less relatable brands. By creating an emotional connection between a character and the audience, a company may stand out from the crowd of competition. Customers, being well served by the company in the past, are thus more likely to return for repeat business.

HOW LOVELOVE FILMS CAN HELP YOU

We at LoveLove Films can help you to create strong characters in your marketing campaigns. We have produced commercials for a range of brands, including Multiyork, The London Boatshow and TeamJobs. Why not take a look at our portfolio to see examples of our work?

Contact us on 01202 537 858 or at info@lovelovefilms.com

Please note the videos and images provided are for reference only, we did not produce this content.

[1]Soskin, David (1 November 2010). Net Profit: How to Succeed in Digital Business. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470660813. [2]https://www.facebook.com/Comparethemeerkat