27 Some good examples of merchandising are, for example, chocolates, chewing gum, or other small snacks being put on display near the till at caf s. Can you give a few examples of this practice? How is this practice different from franchising? Can you name at least five mascots of popular brands? to emblazon: esibire, mostrare to entice: indurre till: cassa 68 MERCHANDISING AND MASCOTS Merchandising 1 Merchandising is everything that is done to promote and sell a company s products once the potential customer is in the store (be it physical or virtual). In other words, it refers to which products are available for sale, the way these are displayed to appeal to customers, and all the strategies used to highlight them and entice customers to buy them. Since the sales process often starts with the eyes, merchandising typically involves presenting products in a visually favourable light to try and encourage purchases. The aim is to make people buy something else besides the main product they came in for: customers enter the shop to buy something, but if your merchandising is successful, they will leave with more than just the product they had in mind. For example, you enter a bakery to buy some bread, but chocolates are on display together with a reminder that Mother s Day is approaching, so you feel encouraged to buy some of those as well. Merchandising 2 Merchandising, though, is also the practice of using a brand to sell another: popular trademarked brands authorise manufacturers of other products to make or emblazon their products with their names, logos, or character images so that they can sell their products better. This system is profitable for both businesses: while the former earns from the royalties coming from having granted a licence to use their image, the latter exploits the former s visibility and reputation. MARKETING ANd AdvERTIsING Mascots In order to be successful, merchandising often takes into consideration using a brand mascot, too. A brand mascot can be a live animal, a person, an object, or a puppet, in any shape or form, that reflects the company s look and feel. The human brain easily associates things with visuals of heroes and characters. Mascots bring visual, verbal, and auditory elements to the brand, which enable users to remember a brand and boost brand recognition, brand identity, and brand awareness. The name is also chosen with accuracy since it has to be memorised and it is aimed at stimulating empathy.