A Mascot? In This Industry? Hear Me Out.

At ISC West this year, I saw a lot of the usual: booths with blue-lit server racks, polished logos, looping demo videos, and people wearing the same polos as their banner. But then—there it was.

A bear.

Not just any bear. A mascot bear in a “BearCom” jersey, ski goggles, and a giant gold chain, just vibing through the crowd like it was the NBA All-Star Game.

At first, it felt random. Like someone had rolled the dice on "conference chaos" and landed on "furry surprise." But the more I thought about it, the more I realized maybe that bear knew exactly what it was doing.

Because lately? Mascots are back. And not just for cereal boxes.

Not Just a Gimmick: Why Mascots Work (Even in B2B)

According to and a new MarketCast study, brands are investing in mascots again—because they work. Like, significantly better recall, more brand affinity, and actual business impact kind of work.

There’s a reason you remember the Geico gecko and the Aflac duck—but probably couldn’t name half the booths you walked past at ISC West. Mascots stick. Because mascots make you feel something. They inject life into otherwise forgettable messaging. They become a shorthand for your brand’s personality—and they help people remember you when they’re five booths deep into tradeshow déjà vu. And clearly, even the more “serious” industries are starting to catch on.

Take Liberty Mutual’s “LiMu Emu & Doug.” Completely absurd. And yet? Brand recognition for Liberty Mutual ads shot up dramatically compared to competitors. Progressive’s Flo and Allstate’s Mayhem have had similarly long runs—not just because they’re funny, but because they create emotional stickiness. (Yes, that’s a technical term.)

And then there’s Duolingo’s unhinged little owl, who somehow became the patron saint of chaotic brand voice on TikTok. Instead of just hooting helpful grammar tips, the Duolingo owl now threatens your family if you miss a Spanish lesson, thirsts after celebrities, and leans all the way in to Gen Z humor. It shouldn’t work—but it does. They’ve gained millions of followers, massive brand recognition, and a reputation for being one of the few apps people genuinely enjoy seeing in their feeds.

That’s the power of a mascot with a point of view. It doesn’t just fill space. It drives engagement, loyalty, and virality.

So no, mascots aren’t just for cereal boxes and fast food anymore. Tech brands are sliding them into onboarding flows, explainer videos, swag. Why? Because the bar for “memorable” in these industries is so low, you can trip over it. And if someone in a bear costume is what finally gets a security brand noticed—well, it’s still more strategic than another LinkedIn post about how “passionate we are about solutions.”

This piece from Digiday noted that legacy brands are reinvesting in mascots—not to be cute, but to close the gap between brand awareness and actual loyalty. In crowded markets where everyone’s promising “cutting-edge innovation,” a mascot gives you something more than a tagline to hold onto. It creates continuity across your campaigns and makes people feel something.

That bear at ISC West? It might’ve felt random. But it got noticed. It got talked about. And having something—or someone—that makes you stand out is a power move.

But Let’s Be Clear: Not All Mascots Are Created Equal

A mascot isn’t a magic trick. It’s not a gimmick you slap on top of an underwhelming brand and expect people to care. (In fact, please don’t do that.)

A good mascot works when it feels like a natural extension of your brand voice. When it reflects your tone, your values, your audience. It can be playful, weird, witty, sweet, sarcastic. Whatever works for you. But it has to be thought-through.

And no, it doesn’t need to be a person in a foam suit. Sometimes a sticker is all it takes.

Case in Point: Camy and Cameron

If you’ve seen our client work, or gotten your hands on a sticker sheet, you’ve probably met Camy and Cameron. They’re not mascots in the traditional sense. No foam suits. No giant googly eyes. Just two little cartoon cameras doing surprisingly relatable things.

When we created them, we didn’t just doodle something cute and call it a day. We did audience research. We looked at what makes the people managing security systems tick—not just professionally, but personally. What do they care about? What would actually make them smile?

One sticker shows a camera spinning a basketball on its finger. A nod to the surprising overlap between physical security pros and sports fans. Another holds the holy trinity of camera maintenance: a tangled wire and a screwdriver. Because if you’ve ever managed a VMS, you know those tools are practically extensions of your own limbs.

These aren’t random design choices. They’re small, strategic expressions of a brand voice that says, we get you. Camy and Cameron aren’t just friendly faces, they’re avatars for a brand that knows how to speak your language and still stand out doing it.

They make the technical feel human. The serious feel a little more fun. And the brand feel a lot more like something you’d actually want to talk to.

We haven’t dressed up our engineers in full mascot suits… yet. But if we do, we’re definitely giving them branded screwdrivers and ethernet cables to hand out.

So… Should You Get a Mascot?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But if your brand is constantly fighting to be remembered in a room full of sameness—and your only personality trait is “we’re passionate about excellence” then yeah, it might be worth asking what your audience is actually going to remember.

Because in a world full of “innovative solutions that unlock potential,” sometimes the smartest thing you can be is a little more human.

Even if that human happens to be a bear.

• • •

Want help building a brand people actually remember?

Mascot or not, we’ll help you become the one they talk about after the tradeshow.
Let’s make some magic.

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https://digiday.com/marketing/maybe-this-time-theyll-get-lucky-why-marketers-believe-in-mascots-againw/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marketcast-brand-effect-research-reveals-the-most-effective-insurance-mascots-in-advertising-302416006.html