Duo the Owl on TikTok
Duolingo2021
Duo the Owl on TikTok is a 2021 social media (TikTok) channel for Duolingo, created in-house (Duolingo social team).
Why it works
A language app that decided its TikTok should not be about languages. From September 2021, Duolingo's in-house social team rebuilt its channel around Duo, the green owl mascot, played by a person in a giant costume who jumps on trending sounds and memes and turns up in other creators' and brands' comment sections with a passive-aggressive, deliberately unhinged persona. The team treats its own comment section as the brief. It is studied as the template for a brand behaving like a creator rather than an advertiser, with a mascot that is a personality first; Adweek notes a wave of imitators. In its 2022 Shorty Awards entry, Duolingo said it had grown from 50,000 TikTok followers in September 2021 to 2.9 million, with 55 million likes and no budget; by 2025 Adweek counted 16.8 million followers and tied the strategy to monthly active users rising from 40.5 million in 2021 to 116.7 million. It won the 2022 Shorty Award for TikTok Presence and a 2024 Webby for Best Overall Social Presence.
Techniques
- Mascots and characters The green owl mascot, played by a person in a giant costume, becomes the channel's star and a personality first, ahead of any language lesson.
- Humour A passive-aggressive, deliberately unhinged persona hijacks trending sounds and memes and pops up in other brands' comment sections for laughs.
- Real-time and newsjacking The team takes its cues from trending sounds, memes and its own comment section, reacting to the platform as it moves.
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