We are all looking for the Return on Investment (ROI). There are ways to measure ROI, Mascot are rarely understood as a factor in ROI. The mascot falls into that great unknown category called, “other”.
Think about a mascot as ROL – Return on Loyalty
Rather than having museum guards shoo children out of the Children’s Museum at closing time, the children joyfully skip out of the museum.
At 4:45, every afternoon, starting from the top floor of the museum, Rex leads a parade of children with flags and noise-makers down a circular ramp and out the front door of the museum.
There are many children who beg to go to the museum just for the Rex Parade. There have been numerous memberships purchased because of that 15 minutes at the end of the day.
It’s loyalty to the mascot that keeps the children coming back for the parade. ROL=ROI
A bank has it’s mascot at a community baseball game. The place is filled with families. The parents take a photo of their children hugging the mascot. Where will that family go when they are looking for a mortgage?
We were told the mascot we made for a bank made double their money back within the first 45 minutes it was introduced. ROI=ROL
A company wants to connect with their community. They have a mascot. The mascot heads out to festivals, games, fairs and holiday events. The mascot mimes, wiggles and high fives through the crowd. The mascot symbolizes goodwill toward the community. With a mascot present, the company or organization becomes part of the life of the community. ROL
Babies are given stuffed animals of the mascot from the parent’s alma mater. ROL + ROI
ROL – the mascot Returns on Loyalty over and over again
A grocery store has a very visible mascot. it is at stores and at every community event. the mascot is around so-o-o-o much, the families and children love seeing the mascot and mascot performer is terrific – of course they buy their groceries from the store that has the mascot.