Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Fundamentally, advertising researchers retrieve brand memories from the mind of a consumer through two different ways—recall and recognition. It’s the difference between recalling a person’s name or recognizing the face of someone you met before. Of the two, recognition goes deeper, into the non-verbal, more primitive parts of the brain.

 

As it relates to spokescharacters, a recognizable one works to personify the brand, providing meaning and a stronger relationship with the brand in the mind of the consumer. For example, Tony the Tiger can evoke many more positive associations than simply reading, “Frosted Flakes.” Or, when trying to remember which cake mix to buy, visions of the cute little Dough Boy may be more quickly retrieved than the name, Pillsbury.

The question then becomes how can a brand effectively use a spokescharacter in advertising?

Spokescharacter as the brand personified:
Spokescharacters used to personify the brand embody the most important attributes for their brands. Their job is to primarily reinforce these attributes and give the brand a face to go along with the name.