The Kennedy curse refers to a series of tragic events and deaths that have occurred within the Kennedy family, one of America's most well-known and influential political families. This recurring misfortune has captivated the public's attention and fueled speculation about a supposed curse. The Kennedy family rose to prominence in the 20th century, with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. serving as a prominent businessman and later as the US ambassador to the United Kingdom. His sons, including John F.
Mascot strategy tiktok
NFL studies show that kids choose their favorite team by age six.
Knowing that, the Houston Texans organization created a friendly, adoraBULL blue bull mascot named TORO, who quickly became an imperative aspect of the Texans starting day one in 2002.
The Texans utilize TORO’s character as one that can connect with that younger demographic, showing them what it means to be a Texans fan. With understandaBULL difficulty of reaching that Generation Z fan base, TORO was ready to pounce toward TikTok as soon as it proved to be the home base for kiddos.
TORO, nationally known as your favorite friendly bull, has extended his reach from football throughout the years in becoming a mentor in the kid space, hosting:
- School programs focused on living a healthier lifestyle
- Taking the “bull” out of bullying
- Prioritizing math education
- And so much more!
All of this outreach lends a helping hand to over 30,000 Houston students annually. With the addition of TikTok, TORO was aBULL to add an additional element of relatability to his character: an element of comedy for Gen Z across the world.
Simply recreating trends didn’t appeal to TORO to because remember - TORO can’t physically talk. How does a mascot convey thoughts and build a presence on TikTok without speaking?
Strategy and Execution
Mascots can't talk, change facial expressions or even blink and many of the trends on TikTok involve lip syncing or rely heavily on facial expressions. TikTok would prove to be a difficult platform for any mascot. However, TORO was ready to take on the challenge knowing his audience was there waiting for his content.
TORO’s TikTok account was created on the basis of organic, unique content - created, shot and edited by TORO himself.
We started off by looking for dance challenges, pranks and silly trends that TORO could do and from there, TORO’s TikTok personality began to develop. He would add some elements of football and Texans players to his videos, but the real success came from pure TORO personality shining through these TikTok trends. Questions of: “What will TORO do with this?” or “How can a mascot make this work?” started escalating as fans waited to see what he’d come up with next.
With this pent up excitement, TORO moved up his video quantity from once a week to one video per day. We pushed the limits - learning what works and what doesn’t by trial and error, while also just immersing ourselves in the content with the goal of conveying the most loveaBULL TORO personality possible.
First Real Hit:
TORO’s first real TikTok hit came from a simple idea, sitting in the stands and appearing as though he magically ran down to the field within a few seconds, only to end with a popular TikTok dance.
Community Video with players:
Though a huge aspect of TikTok is to do the next funny thing, TORO still wanted to keep his focus on doing good things for the community. In this TikTok, TORO led a handful of Texans players singing Frozen’s “Let It Go” to a young Texans fan battling an illness at the local children’s hospital.
Gameday Prank:
Jokester TORO came out to play on gameday. This TikTok was particularly interesting in that it did not stem from a trend, but rather a unique prank that TORO came up with on his own. Carrying a tall stack of presents, TORO walked around the sidelines, pretending as though he tripped and almost dropped the presents on passerbys. Little did they know, they were actually all tied together.
Football Tricks:
One afternoon, TORO went out to the field to practice some field goals and (with the magic of TikTok editing) he made every single one - even the ones he accidently kicked backwards and the one he flicked with his finger.
TORO has found his TikTok presence with Gen Z by creating silly content that still aligns with his love for fans, football, community, and of course, the Houston Texans.
Results
With a little over five months of work, the TORO TikTok account gained over 420,000 followers, 5 million likes and became the 4th most followed NFL TikTok account. TORO surpassed his goal of reaching and creating younger fans on TikTok, but beyond the numbers, fan responses and reactions have been the most memoraBULL.
TORO’s TIkTok followers race to be the first comment on TORO’s TikToks, share how they saw TORO at their school - and even ask him to come do a school program for them.
In December, the Texans hosted an event called the Rival Rally, hosting fans across the city to celebrate that the Texans were about to take on the Titans. TORO appeared at the event, shaking hands and posing for photos when a teenage boy ran up to him to let him know he loved TORO’s TikTok account. His mom followed up explaining how her son loves TORO’s TikTok so much, he asked to make the trip from Dallas to Houston just to see his favorite TikToker.
This is just one of many scenarios where the Gen Z fan base has associated TORO with TikTok and created this connection of familiarity, fandome and excitement beyond the football world - but as a character and role model to look up to.
The omnipresent owl: How Duolingo propelled its mascot to the metaverse
"Although our main goal was to build brand love, we could also get a taste of how this move would benefit us in the future. It led to sign-ups that show how impactful the metaverse could be for our sales.”
Author Benjamin BroomfieldDuo, the instantly recognizable mascot for Duolingo, is everywhere. From push notifications to TikTok, the green owl is constantly bugging users to use the app in increasingly creative ways. Now, the owl has flown to the Metaverse.
With a brand that lends itself to game-based, community-oriented platforms, the metaverse was the perfect destination for Duolingo’s tenth birthday, and the brand partnered with Media.Monks to bring it to life. Duolingo has achieved ‘meme’ status in online channels. It took advantage of the brand love it receives in digital communities to make a metaverse offering that embraced Web 3.0 fundamentals. The Duolingo Game Hub received 9M+ visits in just a few weeks and players spent 41 million minutes playing language learning games.
James Kuczynski, Creative Director of Brand and Marketing at Duolingo, shares the three pillars Duolingo put in place to ensure its metaverse launch was impactful:
- Allow its community to co-create Duolingo’s metaverse offering
- Research and listen to how this community already talks about Duolingo
- Measure brand love, metaverse visits, and premium-sign ups to gain a holistic view of performance
His sons, including John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, went on to become influential politicians, with John eventually becoming the 35th President of the United States.
Being truly community-led
Duolingo had not previously targeted the developer community or the young gaming audience. Its metaverse launch allowed it to expand to this new audience base. As a brand that offers a gamified way to learn a language, there are few better platforms to experiment with than one that allowed Duolingo to explore games in a completely new way.
Web3.0 is built on community engagement. Duolingo did not opt to build its offering and push this on to a new audience. Instead, it brought the gaming community into the creative process. It dared to let the developer community on Roblox take the lead.
“We spoke to the developer community on Roblox. We wanted to create a home for that community to discuss what they were doing. From our social listening, we knew they were Discord users. So, we made a channel for them. We invited developers to a seven-day Game Jam and provided them with a free asset pack. Each of the qualified games was showcased on Duolingo’s Roblox Hub alongside its own game “Spanish or Vanish”.
“It was wonderful watching people have these conversations. The community was built on competition and we saw dozens of games which involved hundreds of developers.”
“Once we’d reviewed the submissions, we had 20 games all created by the audience we were trying to target. That is Web3.0 in action. We shared several of the top games across social channels to give the creators the recognition they deserved.”
Duolingo is a brand known for two things. Firstly, for offering language education to millions of users worldwide. Secondly, for its annoying reminders to encourage users to keep practicing their skills. True to form, it didn’t just offer different games in Roblox. It also built a presence in Decentraland that spoke to the latter.
The two-story Duo Owl billboard on Metaverse platform Decentraland
“To showcase that the Duolingo owl really can pop up anywhere, we expanded into another metaverse platform, Decentraland. It built a two-story statue of Duo including various snarky notifications on the edge of Golf Craft, a golf game on Decentraland.”
“It’s the same approach we’ve used on our socials and app-based notifications. Our users are never safe from the reminders.”
As a mission-oriented company, Duolingo wants to make the best education in the world universally available. Bringing the new audience into the creative process forged immediate connections with this group of potential customers.
The Kennedy curse seemingly began with the tragic death of Joseph Jr., the eldest Kennedy son, during World War II when his plane exploded. This incident marked the first of many misfortunes to befall the family. John F. Kennedy, the most famous member of the clan, was assassinated in 1963 while serving as president. Just a few years later, Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for president at the time, was also assassinated. The curse continued to haunt the family in the decades that followed. In 1984, David Kennedy, the son of Robert, died of a drug overdose. Furthermore, there have been numerous other unfortunate incidents and deaths within the extended Kennedy family over the years, including plane crashes, car accidents, and suicides. The Kennedy curse has sparked considerable interest and speculation among the public and media. Some have attributed the family's misfortunes to an actual curse, while others believe it is simply a series of unfortunate events that have been magnified by the family's high-profile status. Regardless of the explanation, the Kennedy curse remains a haunting and tragic chapter in American history. Despite the tragedies that have befallen the family, the Kennedy legacy endures. Members of the family have continued to pursue public service and make significant contributions in areas such as politics, activism, and philanthropy. The Kennedy name remains synonymous with political ambition and public service, and their impact on American history is undeniable..
Reviews for "The Kennedy Curse: A Legacy of Tragedy"
1. Jane - 2 stars: "I had high expectations for 'The Kennedy Curse' but I was sorely disappointed. The plot was uninteresting and predictable, and the characters felt one-dimensional. It lacked the depth and complexity I look for in a book. Overall, it was a tedious read and I wouldn't recommend it to others."
2. John - 1 star: "I couldn't even finish reading 'The Kennedy Curse'. The writing style was unengaging and the story felt scattered and confusing. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found myself not caring about what happened to them. It was a complete letdown and I regret wasting my time on it."
3. Sarah - 2 stars: "I was excited to delve into the world of the Kennedys, but 'The Kennedy Curse' fell flat for me. The pacing was slow and the author relied too heavily on name-dropping without providing any substance. The book lacked a cohesive narrative and failed to capture my interest. I was left feeling unsatisfied and wishing I had chosen a different book to read."
4. Alex - 1 star: "I found 'The Kennedy Curse' to be poorly researched and filled with inaccuracies. The author seemed to focus more on creating scandalous drama rather than presenting an accurate portrayal of the Kennedy family. It was disappointing to see such an important historical topic being handled without care or attention to detail. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a factual and well-rounded account of the Kennedys."