Truliant - Truceratops the Dinosaur Mascot
Prior to the Truceratops mascot costume, Truliant Federal Credit Union had a “Dollar Dog” mascot. In 2018, they wanted to rebrand to something more colorful and revamp their mascot program. The Truliant marketing team started brainstorming new mascot ideas, and they came up with the Truceratops mascot – a big yellow dinosaur with a fun and entertaining name that kids would really enjoy. Once the idea was born, Truliant partnered with a local illustrator, Kyle Webster, who created the design.
Mascot Marketing Efforts
At each of the Truliant branches, they have an interactive kids’ section with games and activities including Truceratops. In addition to finding Truceratops in the kid’s section, he can also be found online on Truliant’s social media accounts, and in-person at events. Truceratops attends a variety of different community events throughout the year, and Truliant tries to get him out in the community as much as possible. Truliant even partnered with the Greensboro Swarm, a local affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, and Truceratops handed out game tickets!
Recognizing the Brand Behind the Dinosaur Mascot
Right now, the main goal for Truliant Federal Credit Union is to get Truceratops well known in the community and make him easily recognizable. Truliant has been able to increase its brand recognition immensely with the use of Truceratops as its brand mascot. When members and non-members see Truceratops at local events or online, they associate the big yellow dinosaur mascot costume with Truliant’s brand. Having the mascot allows them to personalize the experience that their members and followers receive; it’s a great way to get more connections with their current and potential members.
Truceratops on Social Media
Truliant used social media to introduce their mascot for the first time with a video skit. Since then, they have created additional videos and posts involving Truceratops, and they participated in the Dolly Parton Challenge. So far, all the posts with Truceratops have received a lot of fan engagement and followers love seeing him in their social feed.
Looking Back on the Mascot Design
Looking back on the design process, Truliant offers this advice: make sure to consider adding cooling and air circulation systems to help ensure a comfortable experience for your performers. In addition, Truliant wishes they would’ve thought about adding some mascot accessories to their original purchase, so everything could have been made at the same time.
An Internal Mascot’s Positive Impact
Unlike most custom mascots, Bee the Solution was created to be an internal mascot for the Franklin Johnston Group. When he makes his regular appearances, no one knows who is in the costume. The bee mascot exists to motivate employees and is part of an internal award system program. Every week, employees will nominate one another for the “Bee the solution” recognition award. When the email announcing the winner is sent out, it generates a large amount of employee engagement.
The bee mascot also walks around the office handing out candy and wishing employees a happy birthday. Employees always know something good is coming every time they see the bee buzzing around the office!
Mascot Tips From truliant
Tip 1
Make sure to do your research and find a good professional team like Olympus Mascots.
Tip 2
Make sure you have a set idea of how you envision the mascot and have good illustrations to start.
Tip 3
Don’t be afraid to ask questions during the design and production process.