All hail the brand character!

Some of the most recognizable figures in society are the characters that brands have created to promote their products. Some of the first of these that come to mind are Snap, Crackle and Pop (Rice Crispies), the Geiko Gecko and the Energizer Bunny.

A good brand character can build powerful brand associations and brand personality for a company. It takes lots of marketing efforts and dollars to create a good brand character that will be recognizable for the target audience. The goal of creating a brand character for a company is to be able to have their audience make simple associations with their products just by showing an image. For a cereal company like Rice Crispies, kids feel an attachment to the silly characters who are always getting into mischief and therefore feel a certain connection with the cereal. Characters give the product a face, so that it is not just a product it is a friend.

Forbes.com did a poll of 1,500 survey participants to find out who their favourite brand characters were in terms of likability, coolness and sincerity. In the top spot was M&M's characters Blue, Yellow, Red and Green. These characters have been featured in many humourous, sexy, and serious ads for years. Their image is not just a product, it is a household staple as many people have stuffed versions, t-shirts, boxers, etc. with their faces on them. M&M's has made a valiant effort to have their brand characters faces in every home across America by having M&M stores all over that sell figures, candy and everything you could dream of whether you're a child or adult alike. In addition, there is rarely a sponsored event that you visit without seeing an appearance by one of the M&M's characters.