Apparently, brand mascots are back in a big way. With the ever increasing popularity of social media, characters who promote a branded lifestyle and assign a particular face to a product, are once again in demand.

Carol Phillips, president of the consulting group Brand Amplitude comments on the utility of mascots:

” [They are] the gift that keeps on giving,”

“They never get in trouble with the law. They don’t up their fees. You can use them for a long, long time.”

Brand Mascots get people talking about products without even knowing it in many cases. This little tree is the newest mascot from Stub Hub. It features tickets as the leaves to its branches. This little guy has created a lot of buzz for the company, especially on social media sites.

Look at some of the reaction:

Come on! How else could Stub Hub be part of everyones conversation without the addition of this mascot? They couldn’t. Basically, this little tree has everybody talking about Stub Hub. Next time you need tickets, what’s one of the first associations you’re going to make? Creepy tree equals Stub Hub, equals ticket sales. Cha Ching!

Insurance companies are great at the mascot product positioning game. Who doesn’t know this next character? That’s right, it’s Flo from the progressive commercials. Most of us didn’t even realize she was a mascot, but when you think Flo, you think insurance.

Listen to how people have let Flo become part of their lives:

She’s not just an actor in a commercial anymore, Flo has a whole parallel life that she leads in consumers minds. People think about Flo and have conversations about her. What about this little guy below? He’s been the subject of a lot of weird conversations and off-color jokes, I am sure. The Geico Gecko has to be one of the most famous mascots ever.

This is how people think about that little gecko:

Seriously, without these great mascots none of these folks would be carrying on conversations about Stub Hub or car insurance. Companies are beginning to realize advertising on social media platforms is vital to product awareness and marketshare.

To get the most out of those spots, marketeers need to capitalize on mascots the same way television has. We are constantly bombarded with different brands and different products, but one thing that seems to always stick in our minds is characters. Characters go beyond just what is presented in a commercial, they take on lives of their own.