The famous little blue bird of Twitter has been making a remarkable journey around the virtual world since 2006. Many people simply called it Twitter’s bird, but now, it’s officially named “Larry”. A tweet by the admin account announced it in a very casual format. Larry is now the brand mascot for Twitter and it sure has big plans for the future.

 Brand mascots are commonly used in the market for product-based brands, with Ronald McDonald and Pillsbury doughboy as classic examples. But now with technological innovations, virtual services have also created brand mascots. Their purpose goes beyond being cute and friendly; they embody the brand attributes and solidify brands’ visual identities, both online and offline. Larry the blue bird is now part of Twitter’s overall brand campaign, with his silhouette on every logo, website link and re-tweet button.

What are the advantages of having a brand mascot? Most online services lack the “touchable” feeling a product-based brand enjoys. Having a brand mascot helps to personify the brand and brings it closer to the user’s heart. A cute little bird is much more appealing than a simple logo. It also helps to increase brand awareness. Brand mascots are usually very colourful and dynamic, making them easier to recognize and remember. Once the association is established, brand awareness will increase. From the overall visual identity’s perspective, a brand mascot helps to be consistent and complementary. A brand’s colour theme is often reflected in its mascot and helps to maintain a consistent brand image.

Branding with mascots can be very powerful. It is much more complex than simply putting a smiley face on an animal. The brand mascot often carries similarities with the brand values. Take Twitter for example: the small bird represents the core idea of the service, that twitter is a bird making repetitions of light tremulous sounds. The brand mascot is then a small bird (Larry) with flappy wings and a cute peak. Larry instantly reminds people of Twitter and its short 140-characters tweets.

Another successful example is Amazon. Amazon created a brand mascot Danbo for its Japanese market. Danbo is a cardboard robot with a somewhat lonely and curious expression. The cardboard figure subconsciously reminds people that Amazon is a company which delivers books and other goods to you. But at the same time, it personifies the brand and brings it closer to the end consumers. Using a mascot differentiates brands from competitors and provides a psychological connection with people. For virtual brands, it’s especially important to establish that connection in order to build positive brand perceptions. Mascot could help the company to extend or revitalize their brand.