What to do and what not to do as a brand asset

This illustrates the powerful influence a brand logo can have: Like Distinguished Brand Origins It stimulates recognition and association with your brand. Even from an early age.

Personally, I’ve been a fan of Loeki since I was little, the Star blocks lion, like the Nike logo, has been around for 50 years. Loeki is well known in the Netherlands, but are characters like him also valuable as distinct assets to the brand? For example, what are the benefits of associating a personality with your brand? And what should you pay attention to in order to do this successfully?

Attention-grabbing personality

There are many brands that entertain us with their personalities as brand assets: from Flipje van De Betuwe jam, Page dog and Kapitein Iglo to Ruby Bear, Michelin man, and Cow Milka. What is striking, however, is that many of these well-known examples, such as Loeki, are somewhat older. This leads to the idea that such an animated character would be old-fashioned or outdated. The doubts that were also present in Ster before Loeki’s return.

In fact, this is completely unjustified, especially when you consider that our attention is drawn first to faces – a consequence of our social survival mechanism: characters are often the ones that attract attention well. This is also clear Successful return to wiki, which ensures, among other things, that the viewer watches commercial interval television with greater interest. With that in mind, it is not at all surprising to associate a personality with your brand in this day and age.

Human or Cartoon as a Character: Pros and Cons

Thinking of associating a personality with your brand? Then think carefully about the shape. For example, you can choose a famous person like George Clooney. The advantage of this is that such a famous person quickly attracts attention because there is already a huge amount of fame. On the other hand, this can also be a quandary: sometimes the viewer has prior associations with such a person who does not fit your brand.

Another option is to choose an animated character, like the examples above. These types of characters are easy to control: you can form them when necessary, create bonds yourself and they have no expiration date. However, you still have to build your reputation on your own and that is very important now. For an example, see below the animated nature of Salesforce.

The importance of fame and exclusivity

In order to create a distinctive and successful brand asset, familiarity (how closely the brand origin relates to your brand) as well as uniqueness (the extent to which brand origin applies only to your brand) is a requirement, according to an expert in the field. Jenny Romanuk.¹ In short, it is of paramount importance that your personality is known and associated with your brand.

A new character as an asset to the brand

Building that awareness and connection takes time, especially with brand-new assets. After all, your target group needs time to get used to your new spell. That is why it is recommended not to offer more than one brand origin at a time.

A good example of a brand new asset is the KPN Fiber Optic Cat. We know from research that the use of animals in commercials has a positive effect on brand recognition. So the cat is a smart choice and I have no doubt that these commercials were well received. In my opinion, it will take some time before the cat is truly used as a premium brand asset. Simply because it takes time to build the relationship between your cat and high-speed internet.

Regarding exclusivity, another requirement for Romanyuk, the new character – as opposed to familiarity – has an advantage: since the character is not associated with other brands yet, the uniqueness is often already very high.

Image source: KPN

Redefining old knowledge

Have you ever used a personality for your brand in the past? Then it may also be worth considering reintroducing it. Your character often has a certain degree of fame, which you can build upon.

For example, in 2018, OHRA brought the purple crocodile, a symbol of unnecessary bureaucracy, to back on the tube And in communicating with clients. While the new generation is clearly first introduced with the purple predator, Many people (47%) still recognize the shipped animal from the 2004 commercial† We’ve seen the same kind of effect with Loeki. When you reintroduce an old acquaintance, you can thus benefit from previous findings, but note: you can’t assume that everyone still knows your personality or associates it with your brand. You still have to work on this.

Also keep in mind that those who remember your character will also have current associations. So, while animated characters don’t have an expiration date, it might be a good idea to update your character when you reintroduce them. A new look was also given to Loeki upon his return: the doll has undergone a makeover and the background in the movies is now animated. By combining animation and stop motion, Loeki retains its originality (and thus its uniqueness) but also fits perfectly with 21^ste century.

Conclusion: straight advice

1. Introduce the brand assets one by one.
2. Look for familiarity and individuality with the character.
3. Consider returning a previously used character.
4. Let your character move with time.
5. Use your character strategically, where it fits.