A few days have passed since the Philadelphia Flyers unveiled their new mascot, and Grittymania has yet to calm down. The towering orange behemoth has been Photoshopped and meme’d ad nauseam, with morning news media and late-night talk shows covering his every hip swivel. Since midday Tuesday, Gritty has doubled his Twitter followers to more than 82,000.

Ken Wisnefski, a social media marketing expert and founder/owner of digital marketing agency WebiMax, sees the character as marketing brilliance on the part of the Flyers. Wisnefski spoke with Counselor about the public’s reaction and why other brands should be following in the professional hockey team’s footsteps.

Flyers new mascot and viral sensation, Gritty

Q: Do you think the Flyers expected this kind of reaction?
Ken Wisnefski: Companies recognize that they need to do something that’s a bit more powerful for brand value. It has gotten to the point that if Gritty had been some sort of plain, toned-down mascot, he wouldn’t have gotten the level of buzz he has received. Social media is a low cost, low entrance point for marketing, and the Flyers are clearly playing around with it. Gritty has a Twitter and Instagram, and he’s responding to people.

Q: The mascot went viral and significantly increased the Flyers’ visibility. But if local fans hate the mascot and kids are scared of him, doesn’t that cancel or outweigh all the social media buzz?
KW: Well, my youngest son is 6 years old and he was a bit concerned about him, too. But keep in mind the audience that the Flyers are playing to, which is the Philly audience. In those games when the Flyers are getting killed, Gritty is in for a long night. He’ll be the whipping boy for the fans. That’s done by intent and creates a little more buzz about the team.

Q: It seems like every brand is showing more personality these days, especially on social media. Is that the best way for brands to connect with their audience in the digital age?
KW: There is so much information and content out there that being unique is truly the only way to go viral in today’s digital world. You see brands like Wendy’s and IHOP going back and forth in social media battles. These brands have these personalities that work for them, and then they allow actual spokespeople to have somewhat of a personality unique to them. However, one of the challenges with developing these personalities is being able to create something that resonates with your audience, but doesn’t come off as being off-putting.

Q: How does the Gritty marketing effort compare with something less off-the-wall like Dunkin Donuts’ just shortening its name?
KW: They’re both done with the same type of reasoning. They just want to promote the brand and get people talking about it. These moves bring the brands to the forefront of things. The reality is that with all the information that has been passed around, look at how much free advertising Dunkin’ Donuts is getting compared to all the commercials they run. From an advertising perspective, it’s low cost and very high return.

Q: Did the Flyers catch lightning in a bottle or will we see more brands come out with unusual mascots?
KW: You have to be the innovator now to get that kind of buzz. If someone decides to get an unusual looking mascot, they’re not going to get the same level of publicity. The next brand that tries to put forth the goofy mascot has a lot more potential for real failure. People will see it has already been done, so it’s not as authentic as Gritty was.