Usain Bolt & Berlino the bear

Berlino the Bear is apparently the top celebrity of the moment. Berlin 2009 Athletics World Championships' mascot has been constantly at the centre of the attention!

First it threw himself in a hug with pole vault champion Anna Rogowska.
Next came a little dance-and-drop with javelin gold medallist Steffi Nerius, then he was even hoisted onto the back of discus champ Robert Harting!

Later came the poses with Usain Bolt, who showed off a t-shirt with the words “Ich bin ein Berlino” written on it in biro, followed by a 50m race down the back straight in the aftermath of Bolt’s 200m demolition.
The climax though was reached with the ride he gave new 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker.
A new star has born and it potentially has all the skills to become a web star too.

Stamford the lion

There are some great examples of big clubs or companies using their mascot’s popularity as a bridge to their online audiences, making them become de facto spokesman of the team: it is a very efficient way to gain popularity and affection.

One of the most popular mascots in Twitter is Stamford the Lion, that constantly updates Chelsea FC fans with news from the club and the locker room.

Outside sports another top celebrity is Aflac Duck, the voice of Aflac Insurance Policies.

Aflac Duck

A mascot with an online role allows to set a different tone in the conversation with the fan base, giving additional flexibility to the Organisation’s online communication strategy.

I love when creativity takes off and brings a down to earth, friendly, strong and loyal relationship between Organisation and fans: isn’t what we are supposed to build anyway?

If you know of any local mascots and good examples of their online roles, please share with us!

Alessandro De Zanche