The conclusion first
Repeated use alongside the company name, value and use situations can provide a cue for recall.
- What is known
- One experiment found higher brand-attribute recall scores when the same character appeared in both advertising and product packaging.
- Conditions
- Place the company name near the character
- What remains unknown
- It remains unclear whether people can independently recall a company name long after a sales meeting, or whether this leads to sales or contract renewal.
What research tells us relatively clearly
One experiment found higher brand-attribute recall scores when the same character appeared in both advertising and product packaging.
Remembering a character and remembering a company are different. Check precisely what participants were asked to recall.
Which conditions seem important?
- Place the company name near the character
- Focus on one value you want people to remember
- Repeat the same appearance and meaning on websites, sales materials and other touchpoints
Representative studies
What was compared, and what changed? Read the findings together with the participants and conditions. YataLogic’s practical interpretations are distinguished from the study results.
Use consistent cues in advertising and packaging
In an experiment with adults, using the same character in advertising and on packaging produced higher brand-attribute recall scores. A consistent cue across touchpoints may help people retrieve memories.
- What did the study compare?
- The same character in advertising and packaging versus words only in the advertisement
- What was measured?
- Whether brand attributes could be recalled
- Participants or setting
- Adults: Experiment 1 n=105; Experiment 2 n=364
What this does not establishRecall scores are not percentages. This finding also does not demonstrate increased long-term sales.
YataLogic’s interpretation: Repeat the same character together with the company name and intended value across the website, sales materials and application screen.
Read the study details（Use consistent cues in advertising and packaging）
- Study design
- Controlled experiment
- Comparison and conditions
- The same character in advertising and packaging versus words only in advertising
- Measures
- Brand-attribute recall
- Main findings
- Brand-attribute recall was higher when the same character was used across touchpoints.
- Key figures (scales differ between studies)
- 0.25 vs 0.17、p=.05
- What can be said
- Consistent visual cues across touchpoints may support memory retrieval.
- Important limitations
- 0.25 is a mean recall score, not 25%. This is not a long-term sales effect.
Go to notes on statistics and research methods ↓Show the character with the company name
In research comparing advertisements, directly displaying the brand name often produced better recall. Visual cues such as logos and characters may also help, but should be considered together with the brand name.
- What did the study compare?
- Advertisements displaying the brand name directly versus those conveying it through logos, characters and similar cues
- What was measured?
- Whether the brand name was recalled
- Participants or setting
- Multiple categories
What this does not establishThis does not show that images are superior to words in every situation.
YataLogic’s interpretation: Especially for a new character, place the company name and a short explanation nearby.
Read the study details（Show the character with the company name）
- Study design
- Comparative advertising study
- Comparison and conditions
- Direct brand-name presentation versus indirect elements such as logos and characters
- Measures
- Brand recall
- Main findings
- Direct brand-name presentation often produced higher recall, while visual indirect elements produced stronger recall than verbal ones.
- Key figures (scales differ between studies)
- Multiple categories
- What can be said
- A character can serve as a visual cue that reinforces the brand name rather than replacing it.
- Important limitations
- This is not a general rule that images always outperform words.
Go to notes on statistics and research methods ↓Repeated cues can lead back to a name
In experiments with children, an image of a frog helped cue recall of a brand name. An experiment involving repeated exposure also improved recall without presenting the cue.
- What did the study compare?
- An experiment using a green frog image as a cue for brand-name recall
- What was measured?
- Recall with the cue and recall without any cue
- Participants or setting
- 2 experiments, 40 participants each
What this does not establishThese were small studies with children. The same results cannot be assumed for adults or business settings.
YataLogic’s interpretation: Test whether the same cue helps your own customers.
Read the study details（Repeated cues can lead back to a name）
- Study design
- Experiment
- Comparison and conditions
- A green frog used as a brand retrieval cue
- Measures
- Cued recall and free recall
- Main findings
- The cue supported cued recall, and repeated exposure also improved free recall in one experiment.
- Key figures (scales differ between studies)
- 2 experiments, 40 participants each
- What can be said
- Repeated visual cues may support name recall.
- Important limitations
- Small studies with children do not provide direct evidence for adults or B2B settings.
Go to notes on statistics and research methods ↓Additional studies considered
Consistent product appearance can help distinguish brands
Research on product-family appearance found higher brand-name recall and correct classification rates for more consistent product families. However, one of the examined categories showed a result in the opposite direction.
- What did the study compare?
- Product families with consistent versus inconsistent appearances
- What was measured?
- Brand-name recall, correct brand classification and classification time
- Participants or setting
- Product families in five categories
What this does not establishThis does not isolate the character’s effect. One of five categories showed the opposite direction.
YataLogic’s interpretation: Set shared rules for outlines, base colors, faces, distinctive parts, drawing style and company-name placement.
Read the study details（Consistent product appearance can help distinguish brands）
- Study design
- Visual consistency study
- Comparison and conditions
- Product families with high versus low visual consistency
- Measures
- Brand-name recall and classification
- Main findings
- The high-consistency group showed higher recall and correct brand classification, with shorter classification time.
- Key figures (scales differ between studies)
- Recall 36% vs 19%; classification 79% vs 35%; 2.3 min vs 3.8 min
- What can be said
- Visual consistency may support brand classification and recall.
- Important limitations
- This is not an isolated character effect. One of five categories showed the opposite direction.
Go to notes on statistics and research methods ↓Studies without positive results and other cautions
At 24 hours, the difference was in the same direction but was not clear. Research on consistent product appearance also does not isolate the effect of the character alone.
Be cautious about next-day memory
At 24 hours after viewing an advertisement, brand-attribute recall scores remained directionally higher when the same character was used. However, the difference was not statistically clear.
- What did the study compare?
- Viewing packaging 24 hours after advertising: a matching character versus a text-based advertisement
- What was measured?
- Whether brand attributes were recalled 24 hours later
- Participants or setting
- Adults: Experiment 1 n=105; Experiment 2 n=364
What this does not establishThis does not establish that the effect persists into the next day or beyond, and cannot substantiate a long-term effect.
YataLogic’s interpretation: Assess immediate memory separately from memory after a delay.
Read the study details（Be cautious about next-day memory）
- Study design
- Controlled experiment
- Comparison and conditions
- Advertisement → packaging 24 hours later; matching character versus text-based advertising
- Measures
- Brand-attribute recall
- Main findings
- The difference was in the same direction but was not significant at the 5% level.
- Key figures (scales differ between studies)
- 0.23 vs 0.16、p=.06
- What can be said
- The findings suggested a consistency effect at 24 hours.
- Important limitations
- A long-term effect was not clearly demonstrated.
Go to notes on statistics and research methods ↓Not finding a difference does not mean there is no effect in every situation. Adverse effects should also be read within the conditions studied.
How YataLogic interprets this
These are design ideas drawn from several studies for practical use. They do not guarantee the same results for your business.
What the study foundIn an experiment with adults, using the same character in advertising and on packaging produced higher brand-attribute recall scores. A consistent cue across touchpoints may help people retrieve memories.
YataLogic’s practical applicationRepeat the same character together with the company name and intended value across the website, sales materials and application screen.
Check the original study and conditions ↑ What the study foundIn research comparing advertisements, directly displaying the brand name often produced better recall. Visual cues such as logos and characters may also help, but should be considered together with the brand name.
YataLogic’s practical applicationEspecially for a new character, place the company name and a short explanation nearby.
Check the original study and conditions ↑ What should you look at in practice?
Assess the following responses separately, according to the job assigned.
- Is the character itself familiar?
- Can people identify the correct company when they see the character?
- Can people recall the company name independently later?
- Can they also recall the value offered?
Research notes
The main text can be understood without reading the statistics. Use these notes to check what the figures mean.
Understand the statistics and research methods
Figures supplement the findings by showing measured differences and uncertainty. Different measures cannot be converted into one common improvement percentage.
- p-value
- An indication of the probability, under the null hypothesis, of obtaining a difference at least as extreme as the observed result. It is not the size of an effect. Even p<.05 need not indicate a practically large effect. Do not equate p<.05 with a large effect.
- NS / no significant difference
- A statistically clear difference was not found. This does not necessarily prove that the effect is zero. State that no significant difference was found under these conditions.
This synthesis is YataLogic’s practical reading of multiple studies. It is not a scientifically established proprietary model.
What about your business?
Apply these ideas to your business
Together, we consider the role based on your business and customer touchpoints.
Talk to YataLogic →English summaries and any translated source titles are provided by YataLogic. Linked papers and source documents have not been translated and may be in Japanese or another language.
