A Dive Into Duolingo's Brand Strategy Success

November 13th, 2024

By Mia Leduc

Article topics: Brand Strategy, Gen Z Marketing

If you were to be playing a 'Guess the Brand' game with a friend, and they hinted "green bird" to you, what brand comes to mind? 

When this question was asked to a sample of college students, almost all of them responded: "Duolingo."

So why is this? What makes Duolingo the most recognizable language-learning app globally?

Duolingo's rise in dominance can be largely attributed to its gamified approach to language learning, as well as its strong brand presence in the market. As of the 3rd quarter of 2024, the Duolingo app currently has 37.2 million daily active users (DAUs), which is a 54% increase from the previous year (24.2 million DAUs). They achieve this through consistent customer-facing marketing strategies through online and offline methods as well as a cohesive branding kit. 

As mentioned earlier, Duolingo is best recognized for the "green bird," Duo the Owl. Using a playful mascot like Duo creates a welcoming environment around the brand image, attracting potential customers to engage in the product. They also use this same green color throughout their app to signify completion and success, further alluding to customers' benefit of the application. Duolingo's unique art style also establishes a recognizable aesthetic to further contribute to the brand's strength. 

Most recently, Duolingo is known for its humorous and Gen-Z-catered marketing approach, otherwise known as "Unhinged Marketing". Active TikTok users can find the brand in the comments section of any viral posting. The comments range from light humor to snarky fun about the TikTok post. It is such a low-cost approach to capturing Gen Z marketing, but Duolingo executed its strategy in the best way possible. Now, the brand is positioned as fun, outgoing, and even sassy -- making the overall experience with the company feel more genuine for users. 

With Duolingo's commitment to delivering a fun and engaging learning experience for its users, Duolingo has set a new standard for language-learning apps to match up to. By adopting similar strategies, other brands can benefit from this type of brand success as well!