What first comes into your mind when you hear brands like M&M's, Kool-Aid, and Pillsbury? What do these brands have in common? These are just among popular brands that have hopped on using iconic characters to boost their businesses.

Brands spend lots of time and effort coming up with ideas to create their characters. Some represent their values, some target to appeal to their demographics, and some are both.

Using animated characters provides benefits to brands. Since these are intellectual properties, brands can save up on expenses in their campaigns. They could use these characters in promotions and not worry about fees for celebrity endorsers and the like. Another is memorability. When consumers see these, they immediately know the brand and the products. Successful animated characters are even imprinted in merchandise, replicated as toys, and used for entertainment.

With the development of software and culture, animated characters have evolved over the years, but most have remained very iconic and nostalgic. It is crucial to carefully design your characters, making sure that it is not only visually appealing, but it also is something that your target audience would be able to relate and connect.

Credit: DigitalArts Why Animated Characters in Brand Advertising Are Grrrreat