The TikTok algorithm works in mysterious ways, but one thing’s for sure: Brand mascots have been popping up left and right on the platform lately.

Duolingo’s owl mascot, Duo, might be the category’s A-lister, helping the language-learning app rack up nearly 3 million followers on TikTok (compare that with McDonald’s, which currently has 2 million).

But Duolingo isn’t alone: Brands including Sour Patch Kids and The Empire State Building are also leaning into mascots as part of their TikTok strategy, finding that characters seem to resonate with users more than other types of content. While none have been able to pin down exactly why mascots perform especially well on the platform, some think it’s because they provide an easy vehicle for jumping on TikTok’s quickly changing trends.

Flying high

Duo’s often seen jumping on the same TikTok trends as its users. One recent video shows a crowd of people applauding Duo as a Christian worship song (that’s currently trending on TikTok) with the lyrics “our God is an awesome God” plays in the background. Text overlaid on the video says “when all you can say in French is bonjour.” It’s a little unhinged in the best way, as popular TikTok content often is.

Trial and error: But the brand hasn’t been committed to Duo from day one. When Duolingo first started creating TikTok content in February 2021, it tested lots of different TikTok strategies that didn’t include its mascot, Zaria Parvez, Duolingo’s social media coordinator, told Marketing Brew. Think: language-learning influencers teaching the audience words for different foods or slang in other languages. 

• Even though Parvez said that content seemed on-brand to her and, on average, received between 20k and 30k views, she noticed a huge jump in views when Duolingo started using its mascot in TikToks later that year. The mascot content “easily” generated a million views, Parvez told us.
• Of course, it’s possible that TikToks featuring Duo only performed better than Duolingo’s early TikToks because they debuted after the account had some time to gain momentum. To be sure the increase in views came from Duo’s presence rather than time, Parvez tested some more Duo-free content later in the year. But those videos still didn’t perform as well as the content with the owl in it.

By the numbers: Currently, Parvez told us, Duolingo’s mascot-centric videos average 3–5 million views, with some hitting as many as 22 million. The brand’s TikTok content is all organic, with zero dollars spent on advertising.

The drawbacks to putting someone in a giant Duo costume for the videos are mostly logistical, per Parvez. “It’s hard to fit the suit through doors,” she joked.

Read the full story, including how the Empire State Building and Sour Patch Kids are finding luck with mascots on TikTok, here.—PB

The New York Times is shifting the lens to its readers in its latest campaign, “Independent Journalism for an Independent Life,” which kicks off today. Running across TV, digital, print, audio, and OOH through April, it builds off its five-year-old “Truth” campaign, which has largely focused on the publication’s journalists and coverage.

According to details shared with Marketing Brew, the goal of its new push is to “tell the story of the individual reader—weaving together their interests, reading history, and personal story to illustrate their independence.”

• One ad, focused on a reader named Jordan, superimposes headlines from stories about being grateful, learning French, and Basquiat over videos of him doing things like playing the trumpet.
• “[Jordan] was born and raised in Atlanta but moved to Montréal after meeting a French-Canadian woman. The two are now married, he’s learned French and the two connect over their passion for music, playing gigs together in Montréal. His story is unique to him, and The Times has helped to play a part in that story,” Amy Weisenbach, The Times’ SVP and head of marketing, told Marketing Brew in an email.

“We hear often from our subscribers that they turn to The Times to challenge their thinking, to help them understand and engage with the world,” Weisenbach said. “This campaign is about celebrating the role independent journalism plays in our subscribers’ lives, helping them discover new interests, and become who they want to be.”

Zoom out: The campaign arrives days after the publication passed 10 million subscriptions thanks to its recent acquisition of The Athletic. In Q4 2021, the majority of its new digital subscriptions came from its non-news products, like Games, Cooking, and Wirecutter.—KH

This Valentine’s Day, Macy’s is showing some love to podcasters.

The retailer is running branded content segments across two pods to get listeners shopping for the holiday, working with podcast company Acast on the marketing push.

• On “Giggly Squad,” a comedic pop-culture podcast, hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo exchange stories about their worst Valentine’s Days ever during a Macy’s segment that lasts about 10 minutes. The hosts share their Valentine’s Day outfits for this year—which, of course, they bought at Macy’s.
• “Naked Beauty,” a show about beauty trends and self-care, takes a slightly different approach. Host Brooke DeVard launches more quickly into her experience shopping at Macy’s for Valentine’s Day this year alongside her partner, followed by a description of the outfit she picked out.

Different strokes: The segments are part of a longer campaign Macy’s is running with these two podcasts. Macy’s requested the campaign target women under the age of 40 and tie to specific moments throughout the year, said Acast creative director Shantae Howell, so she pitched segments on two very different shows.

• “We really dug in with our podcasters to say, ‘What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?’ Whether that’s your worst memories, or your best memories, or what that means to you with your partner, tell us those stories and let that be the guiding context for what you are going to wear this Valentine’s Day,” Howell told Marketing Brew.

+1: As part of the campaign, the hosts of both shows also post their Macy’s Valentine’s outfits on social media, Howell said.

Break it down: Both “Giggly Squad” and “Naked Beauty” have audiences who are primarily between the ages 18–34, according to Acast. Acast declined to share further listenership stats, but on Instagram, Berner and DeSorbo have more than 1 million followers combined, while the “Giggly Squad” account has more than 90,000 followers. DeVard has more than 39,000 followers on her personal page, and more than 27,000 on the “Naked Beauty” account.

Zoom out: Branded podcasts have taken off in recent years, but not every brand should necessarily develop its own show, according to Howell. “In some cases, it’s done really well, and in some cases, it’s clear that folks just want a podcast and haven't necessarily invested,” she said. “It is still kind of the wild, wild west.”

That’s where options like host-read ads and branded segments or episodes come into play. But traditional retailers seem to be behind on podcast advertising: None made eMarketer’s list of the top 15 US podcast advertisers based on spend from last January through July, although Amazon clocked in at no. 6.—AM

Aesthetic: Good morning to the top design trends on social media in 2022, and only to the top design trends on social media in 2022.

Do you remember: Because it can be hard to keep up, here are the top Facebook updates for marketers from January.

Brainstorming: February, the Tuesday of months, isn’t exactly a hotbed for creative idea generation—so check out these campaign ideas for inspo if you’ve been coming up dry lately.  ​​

Live smarter: Say hey to Sidekick, our spunky newsletter sliding into your inbox with the internet’s best recs for smarter living, from entertainment and productivity hacks to recipes and more.

And the award for copy that has nothing to do with the ad’s image goes to…this 1960 Coca-Cola ad.

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