When the mascot cup made its debut at Heritage Christian High School's fall festival in Indianapolis, it rocked the crowds! That a dancing cup drove crowds to the Starbucks tent was no surprise!

The big surprise was that during just a few short hours, thousands of photos were snapped! Commonly heard was, "Get my picture with Starbucks for myspace and facebook.”

Such Kodak-moments were repeated when the mascot cup went to the Race for the Cure in Charlotte. Teams of walkers wanted their photos snapped with the Starbucks cup!

Giving the mascot cup a try sold both districts on the concept! When you go into your community, nothing builds goodwill like a 10-foot-tall cup of Starbucks working the crowds!

When looking for lifesavers, blood centers know mascots mean business! Mascots are central to initiatives aimed at building community with kids before adolescent fears of giving blood begin.

From mascots that visit schools to mascot activity books that give a virtual tour of blood centers, these charities leverage the ability of mascots to engage children. Once engaged, it's easy for a kid to learn that, within them, beats the heart of a hero!

No food service franchise leverages mascots more than Chik-fil-A!

Being closed on Sundays inspires ideas to boost Saturday sales! A best-practice for selling chicken is putting hoofs on the street! Paying a partner to become a cow for a few hours brings chicken top-of-mind to every family passing by. That brings parents to choose Chik-fil-A for lunch!

Mascots mean business at Chik-fil-A. It pays to have a partner in the cow costume. While the cow is outside, corralling kids to eat more chicken, sales climb 10 to 15%.