Santa Claus, Red and Yellow, Mr. Propper – many big brands are known to us, among other things, thanks to their characters. Today we will figure out why companies need them and what role they play in advertising. This is a good one. The rabbit clearly conveys the main advantage of batteries: dynamism, energy, constant tone. What is interesting is that it fits harmoniously into advertising plots aimed at different audiences. Children who saw how Bunny saves their favorite toys, a couple of years later grew up and went to the store themselves for specific batteries – a good move, time-tested.
Brand character advertising character and advertising hero
First, it is important to understand that researchers divide all advertising characters into three types. In our opinion, this classification is conditional and appeared simply because there is no well-thought-out theoretical basis on the topic yet. And yet, it is important to talk about it. Fictional heroes that fully correspond to the brand and, if possible, express its essence. They help to differentiate from competitors and increase the attractiveness of the company, “humanize” it. For example, Red and Yellow are bright images that reflect the DNA of the M&M’s brand: cheerful. A little cheeky, young, ready to get involved in an adventure, friendly.
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Why does a brand need a character
The main task of any such hero is to convey an emotional message to the audience, to become the personification of the company. Character: correctly positions the product on the market; helps to differentiate yourself from competitors; creates the image of a specific product and the brand as a whole; gives the product and the company a human face; attracts attention; increases brand loyalty (the hero is humanized, so the consumer can see himself reflected in him, which increases trust in the company as a whole: it seems that it adheres to the same views and guidelines); creates certain behavioral stereotypes for the audience (the character shows the consumer how to behave in a given situation, how to use the product, and the audience projects the character’s habits onto themselves).
Brand characters
Now let’s talk more about brand characters. They act as ambassadors, intermediaries between the company and its audience. An effective brand character should be. Its characteristics and special features should be read quickly and what kind of influencer is right for your b2b without effort; accessible – understandable for all representatives of the target audience; unambiguous – everyone should perceive it in the same way; positive – a teddy bear in an advertisement for children’s medicine should be affectionate and caring, not frightening, even if it is assumed that he “drives out” colds. Otherwise the negative associations from the character will be transferred to the company; conveying the brand’s USP.
Emotional – emotions are better remembered, leave a mark and are easily transferred to the brand itself; unique – the character’s unique personality helps increase brand recognition and differentiation. The very first brand character in the history of advertising is considered to be Bibendum – the Michelin man.
Advertising characters
Advertising characters are very similar to the guys from another category. The difference is that one brand can have many of them. The main task of an advertising character is to work with the chicago business consumer’s emotions. That’s all he “should” do – to evoke sympathy for the brand, to make communication more lively, funny, creative. These are advertising characters. They appear in specific commercials and do not accompany the brand constantly. They are not even heroes, but tools that make communication with consumers more interesting at a certain stage.
Unlike brand characters, which are only positive and convey the best of the company, advertising characters can be negative. They can “play the roles” of pain, hunger, illness, and so on. Here is one such character – Light Hunger in the Danissimo commercial. He was born in 2004 and became the main character of a temporary advertising campaign.
Resume
Heroes greatly increase the value of any advertising message, make it more noticeable, and increase its effectiveness. A permanent brand character builds a line of emotional relationships with the consumer. Increases their loyalty level, and includes identification mechanisms.
Should you invent a character for your brand? Yes, you can, but you need to do this with an eye on the consumer. So as not to harm the order of communication that has. To do this, it is important to test any character trait and habit of the hero in focus groups and constantly ask yourself: does this hero really correspond to the brand promotion strategy?