Duolingo : Case Study

In our digital world, it is easier than ever to learn a language. Duolingo offers a skill tree of lessons that use listening exercises, flashcards, and multiple choice questions to drill you on new words, phrases, and sentences. Most questions have a comment thread where users can discuss a particular question in detail. The service also has community features that let you connect with other people who are learning the same language you are

However, while Duolingo is the world’s most downloaded education app and has been praised by many, what sets them apart is their incredible marketing, through the humanization of their brand. 

As many of us know marketing can be one of the hardest aspects of creating a brand, company, or small business as the tides are always changing and social influences seem to be out just as you thought they were in. 

So what has set Duolingo up for success and what can you learn from them? 

Duolingo's claim to fame began when they hired 23-year-old, Zaria Parvez, to take over their Tik-Tok platform. Zaria’s main goal was to humanize the brand thus putting their now star “Duo”, the companies mascot at the center of their marketing plan. Zaria gave Duo a hilarious personality that connected with the younger audience on TikTok. Duo loved drama, memes, and participated in any new trend, as if Duo was a normal user on the platform.  After introducing Duo as a regular character in October 2021, Duolingo’s viral content took off. There was an uptick in people reporting they’d discovered the language-learning service via TikTok, something the team learned via a “How did you hear about us” survey and anecdotally on Twitter with “TikTok made me download it” tweets. Duo’s character has humanized the brand, giving a face to Duolingo on TikTok and ultimately catching the attention of NBC News, Insider, and even Rolling Stone. The key to the team’s success is that the account is less about selling Duolingo to TikTok audiences, who notoriously don’t want to be sold to, but entertaining them.

While digital marketing apps are always changing and shifting, if a company can humanize their presence, they too can shift and change with the times, just as us humans do. While the character Duo is not meant to be for everyone, understanding the minds of your audience and creating a character, persona, or even sharing more intimately with your audience is an incredible lesson Duo, the big green bird has taught us.

At Artist as Brand® we challenge you to connect and share with your audience more, even if it seems untraditional!