The business of mascots

I have been introducing some of Saitama Prefecture's famous and popular mascots. So far i have introduced mascots that represent a city, but there are other types of mascots too. I will introduce some of them too, but in this post "the business of mascots".

The role of mascots is to help promote a region. Most of the mascots are designed to highlight a product or location that the area is famous for. For example, in the posts I've written so far, Kawagoe city's mascot represents sweet potatoes and the city's bell tower, Tsurugashima's city mascot is modeled on a dragon festival of the city,  and in Ogose town the mascot was designed to evoke the image of plum blossoms. By participating in different events, the mascots are like an ambassador and advertisement roled into one for the city or town they represent.

But, more than that, for mascots that really make a name for themselves, they can create new business and transform local branding into multi-billion yen industries.  Take for example, the mascot of Fukaya City "Fukkachan". After coming second in a nationwide mascot competition, it became famous throughout Japan. The demand for Fukkachan goods was such that ultimately a Fukkachan shop was opened in Fukaya city, where you can buy Fukkachan dolls and plushs and all sorts of goods with the Fukkachan emblem or designed to look like Fukkachan. 

There are many other mascots who have created new business in Japan. Kumamon (Kumamoto) and Funayssi (Chiba) are prime examples. The "free license" of the Kumamon image led to a huge merchandising boom. There are dedicated stores to Chiba's pear fairy Funayassi not just in Funabashi but in Osaka, Harajuku and Nagoya too. These mascots function almost as "sales managers" rather than mere mascots, creating diverse tourism and revenue streams and boosts for local economies.