Corporate Mascots in 2023, From Animation to Giant Sculptures

In 2023, companies launched new characters or found new uses for existing ones. The industries ranged from financial firms to a construction company and a duty-free operator. The ways they used characters also varied, from animation and emoticons to sculptures. News about the characters of five companies came out from May to November 2023.

NH Savings Bank, Animation Starring Fictory the Squirrel

NH Savings Bank launched its squirrel character Fictory in 2023. It ran a series of short-form animations featuring Fictory on its official YouTube channel, and in May 2023 the channel's total views passed 1 million. NH Savings Bank made Fictory the star of its short videos.

Hanshin Engineering & Construction, Safety Character Safety Helmet Doo

Hanshin Engineering & Construction, the company behind the Hanshin The Hue brand, unveiled Safety Helmet Doo, a safety character it developed in-house, in October 2023. It also added a separate character menu to its official website. It is a case of a company creating its own safety-themed character.

Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance, New Character Kkumi and Emoticons

Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance unveiled a new character, Kkumi, in October 2023. With Kkumi joining the existing characters Puni and Boni, the company made emoticons of the three characters as GIF and PNG files and gave them away for free on Instagram.

KB Financial Group, Lamu at Its First Character Exhibition

KB Financial Group held its first character exhibition in November 2023 and installed a large sculpture of its character Lamu. Lamu is part of KB Financial Group's character family, along with Kiki, Agu, Bibi, Coli, Liv and Starbi.

Shinsegae Duty Free, Paul & Bani

Shinsegae Duty Free created its own character IP, Paul & Bani, in November 2023. Paul is an artistic character who expresses himself through art and music. He starred in a sculpture and photo zone at the Myeongdong store and in a shopping theme park campaign. Bani is Paul's partner.

Five Ways to Use a Character

Each of the five companies used its characters differently in 2023. Fictory met people through animation, Kkumi through emoticons and Lamu through an exhibition sculpture. Safety Helmet Doo took on the theme of safety, and Paul & Bani took on the duty-free store's spaces and campaigns. The three financial firms expanded their contact with customers through animation, emoticons and an exhibition. The construction company and the duty-free operator built their characters around their own themes, safety and space.