The beginning of 2024 brought an end to Disney’s total ownership of the copyright for Steamboat Willie, the name of Mickey Mouse in his first cartoon, kickstarting a deluge of new projects featuring the famed character. The brand icon has been the image of the Disney Corporation ever since his inception in the late 1930s. Mickey is synonymous with Disney’s love for imagination and creativity. Their strong icon has been the bedrock of every creation they have ever made; as Disney said “it all started with a mouse.” The question is, why does a strong icon work when creating a brand?
1. Communicates Company Image to Public
A strong brand icon, image, or logo communicates the company’s values and missions to the general public. Mickey communicated the ideals of creative storytelling and family friendly content to those who interacted with Disney. He epitomizes Disney’s beliefs.
The way that your character or icon acts speaks volumes to your customers. You will never see Mickey do anything that will offend Disney’s core audience and viewers. While you could partner with a celebrity, you run the risk of that celebrity being criticized for misbehavior in public. Then again, changes to a character, like the unpopular changes that M&M made to their green spokes-candy, can cause uproar as well. Find a strong character who can stay in the memories of your client without tarnishing its reputation.
2. Mimics Target Audience with Tone
Knowing that the loss of Mickey loomed on the horizon, Disney has constantly revamped the image of Mickey for each new generation. The most recent iteration of Mickey is quirkier and has random humor, which fits with the style that Millennials and Generation Z love consuming. Mickey’s ability to fit into any generation has made him a beloved character worldwide.
As you consider the tone of your brand, you need to think about how you will reach out to your target audience with messaging geared towards their needs. Different groups respond better to different formats; you need to reach out to your audience at their level. Older generations are more comfortable with formality while younger generations enjoy humor and parody from their brands.
Cereal brands have been highly effective at targeting younger audiences for years. With characters like the Trix Rabbit and the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, these brands are effective at creating excitement in the children who eat their cereal. These characters are energetic and dynamic to keep the attention of younger viewers.
Duolingo is another excellent brand that communicates the company’s goal to their users. With a witty and wild tone that seems outlandish for a simple language learning app, Duolingo attracts the Millennial and Gen Z audiences that tend to use their app more often. The Duo Owl is not above doing any crazy actions, like twerking or sending mock death threats to users who don’t continue their language-learning streaks. The image of the Duo Owl only works because Duolingo has not deviated from their branding style.
3. Acts as a Brand Ambassador
Whether animated or real-life, your brand icon acts as a spokesperson for the brand. What they say and do has ripple effects across the brand.
Mario from Nintendo encapsulates an effective brand ambassador. Any product that has Mario on its packaging (e.g. video game, theme park, t-shirt etc…) represents Nintendo to the world. Interactions with Mario tend to bring back positive memories and inspire nostalgia for anything Nintendo related. In addition to the character himself, the original voice actor behind Mario also tours the world to share the hope and goals of Nintendo to a large audience.
Once you’ve found the tone and style of your brand, we at Big Red Jelly will help build the scaffolding around your vision. We create custom websites and branding guidelines that will ensure unity in all messaging from any of the spokespeople or spokes characters that you have.
Written By Parker Smith
