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ebookers (Europe) - Geneva, Switzerland
Please give a big bonjour to Ebooky, the mascot we developed for ebookers (Europe).
ebookers.ch is a travel website that makes it super simple to book whatever type of travel you're after. Now you may be asking yourself, "What does a travel website need a mascot for?". Well it just so happens that mascots are excellent marketing tools, that can take something that is virtual (like a travel website), and give it a positive, readily embraced (literally), presence in the physical world. After working with the Geneva Eagles Hockey Club, they saw firsthand the impact that a mascot can have on the general public. They asked the Eagles where they got their mascots from, and were then referred to us.
We have to admit that the development of this super cute bear was a longer process than usual. It started off with three fantasy-type concepts, which was whittled down to one bird-like fantasy character. We refined that concept further and added color. Then it morphed into a bird, losing the all-fur look for a more natural smooth beak. Then ebookers underwent a branding change with their logo and slogan. Along with that came a complete change in direction with the mascot, resulting in the bear you see before you. We bring this up to demonstrate that developing a mascot isn't always as easy as just whipping up a concept, coloring it, and then getting it signed off. We make every effort to ensure that a Street Character mascot is unique, and is exactly what the customer has in mind for their mascot.
One might then ask why a yellow bear? Well we're not sure if it's a Swiss penchant for bright colors (the Geneva Eagles' Calvin and Calvina are bright orange and yellow, and the Lausanne HC Lion is bright yellow with a flame-red mane), or if it's as simple as bright colors attract attention. Either way, our mascots that reside in Switzerland are anything but neutral, unlike the country itself. One other point with this mascot that is different than usual is that camera you see him sporting. This plays on the "tourist" idea that helps tie Ebooky the bear to ebookers, the travel site. It's a custom closed-cell foam camera that has a bright flash, but does not take actual photos. It seems that it's a mascots lot in life to have his, her, or its photo taken with anyone and everyone. It's number two in their job description!
ebookers operates all over Europe under several domains, thus we produced three different Tshirts for Ebooky. There is a separate T-shirt for ebookers.ch, ebookers.de, and ebookers.at. The logos and slogans were embroidered directly onto the shirts, and onto a removable front panel for the ball cap as well.
Ebooky has embarked on a lifelong quest to bring ebookers (Europe) into people's minds, and he will be busy participating in events all over Europe to meet that goal. We're just upset that we didn't get to hand deliver the mascot in person. A trip to Europe would've been nice. Nevertheless, we wish Ebooky and ebookers a very bon voyage!! |
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