At SXSW, Duolingo's creative director, James Kuczynski, discussed the controversial decision to 'kill' their mascot, Duo. The unexpected move sparked significant social media reactions, equating to substantial media impressions without high costs. Kuczynski revealed this strategy had been in the works for a couple of years, aimed at creating buzz around the brand. Duolingo's playful and gamified approach to both language learning and marketing emphasizes embedding their brand within contemporary culture, leading to future surprises surrounding Duo's resurrection planned for April Fools' Day.
Honestly, it was an idea we had a few years ago," says James Kuczynski, creative director of brand and marketing at the language learning app, casually dropping that Duolingo has been playing the long game on offing its own mascot. "We always knew it would generate a reaction - but even we didn't predict just how big it would get.
We're still adding up the numbers, but it's by far our biggest brand moment to date," Kuczynski says. "Equivalent to three Super Bowl spots in terms of media impressions. That's millions of dollars in earned media - for the cost of an app update and some good old-fashioned chaos.
We've got some fun tie-ins coming," Kuczynski teases. "We love planting the seeds of debate: Is this real? Is it not? The internet runs with it and that's the magic.
Our product is built on gamification. We make learning fun, so our marketing has to be just as fun."
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