Putting a Face Back on Ask.com

Ask.com has decided to bring their butler “Jeeves” back into the fold in the UK. This aligns with the search company reverting back to its previous name, “Ask Jeeves.” The company also intends to leverage social media outlets to give Jeeves a personality. According to the Reuters article,

“Jeeves will have an account on social network Facebook on which he will post pictures of his fictional travels around the world searching for answers to users’ queries, as well as a presence on micro-blogging service Twitter.”

I recently read an article in Neuroscience Marketing that discussed how patient care was impacted as a result of having the patient’s photograph on medical files. Using this study, the author speculated that this information could be used by companies and businesses who wish to add personal photos to business cards and websites to give them a personal touch and a better likelihood of closing a deal.

Perhaps Ask.com is also subscribing to the belief that adding a face and personality – albeit a cartoon character face and made-up personality – will create a personal connection for visitors, and as a result, will increase usage?

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Comments (3)

Mike Maddaloni - The Hot Iron

April 20th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

The Chicago Tribune’s social media guru created a persona in Colonel Tribune – an irreverent reference to the famous editor of the Trib Col. McCormick – and it has done quite well for them.

Ask.com, in my mind, lost its identity when it retired Jeeves, and it’s good to see him back.

Having a mascot or persona doesn’t always help the cause. Wally worked well for the Red Sox, but I don’t think Lucky has helped the Celtics much…