What’s up with the Gorilla? The story behind our mascot
If you’ve ever come across Stafix, you’ve probably wondered: What’s up with the gorilla? After all, we’re in the printing industry—what does a gorilla have to do with anything? Well, here’s the story.
From students to startup
Stafix was founded while we were still students at the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. Originally, we had planned to manufacture window stickers for window manufacturers, but we decided to shift our focus and create a printable material for the printing industry.
It was 2009 and the largest Nordic trade fair for the graphic arts industry, Finngraf, was taking place in Jyväskylä—right in our backyard. The perfect opportunity to get feedback from potential customers and create interest in our product.
But there was a challenge: no one had heard of us, and we didn’t even have a finished product, just some demo samples and an idea.
So, how could we grab attention?
Like many first-time exhibitors, our initial thought was to do what everyone else did—hire models to attract visitors to our booth. But then we stopped and asked ourselves: Why are we even thinking about this? The answer was simple: because everybody else was doing it. And that’s exactly why we shouldn’t do it.
We needed to stand out
So, instead of beautiful models, we asked ourselves: What’s the opposite of that? The answer? An ugly gorilla.At the same time, “guerilla marketing” was gaining popularity—quick, creative, and disruptive advertising tactics that catch people by surprise. Our product was perfect for this kind of marketing, so we played with the idea: Is this a “guerilla” marketing campaign? Or a “gorilla” marketing campaign?That’s when a new challenge arose—finding a gorilla suit.
We called every costume store we could find, only to hear the same answer
“Sorry, we’re sold out of gorilla suits.” Every shop, every city, the response was the same. Some even asked, “Why does everyone want a gorilla suit right now?”Eventually, we tracked down a tiny, old-fashioned costume shop in a small town. They had exactly one gorilla suit left. Why? Because they didn’t have a website—nobody had found them online. We found them the old-school way: flipping through an online company list.
Later, we discovered the bizarre reason behind the national gorilla suit shortage
That year, Finnish Formula 1 superstar Kimi Räikkönen had been spotted at a yacht party, trying to stay incognito—dressed in a gorilla suit. When paparazzi pictures surfaced, Finnish Formula 1 fans decided to honor him by wearing gorilla suits and waving Finnish flags at races.And there we were, unknowingly competing with thousands of F1 fans for the last gorilla suit in Finland.
Once we finally got our hands on it
We sent our gorilla—our fearless, fun-loving friend—into the trade fair with a mission: get noticed. Armed with bananas and stickers, he roamed the event, interacting with people, placing our stickers in unexpected places, and making a scene—without saying a word.And it worked.People laughed. They took photos. Industry magazines wrote about the mysterious gorilla at Finngraf. And most importantly, potential clients—printing houses and distributors—took notice.
Finally, when we started making cold calls to printers, we realized something
Nobody remembered our company name, but they all remembered the gorilla. That’s when it clicked—this wasn’t just a one-time stunt. The gorilla was a brand asset.Since then, the gorilla has become our official mascot, appearing in our marketing materials and representing the bold, fun, and unconventional spirit of Stafix. And years later, we made it official by adopting a real gorilla in Africa in cooperation with WWF.
So, next time you see the gorilla, you’ll know—it’s not just a mascot. It’s a story of how Stafix made its mark in the printing industry by daring to be different!
See Stafix products in person
Order free Stafix product samples and discover the sustainable future of self-adhesive POS materials. Our products were developed to supercharge your campaigns.
