A recent article in Fast Company shines light on one of Amazon’s lesser known facts — Amazon has a mascot and its name is Peccy.

He’s called Peccy because he represents our peculiar ways. We call ourselves at Amazon very peculiar.

Mascots are easy ways to identify yourself with others. Sports teams use them for a reason. They are a flag of sorts, an embodiment of a group to others in the group, and an amorphous projection of the ideals of that group. It is no surprise then that Peccy is used internally as an embodiment of the things Amazon sees in itself and its employees.

We earn trust with our customers by making precise, high-bar promises and then keeping them.
We are willing to make long-term investments—sometimes at the expense of short-term gain.
We share the good and the bad to help customers make informed buying decisions.
We work to avoid the bland personality that customers typically associate with the big homogeneous, corporate Borg.
We take credit for (i.e., brag about) the impressive things we do in a way that is subtle and sophisticated.
We endeavor to speak to our customers in a tone that is neither boastful nor boring.
We use specificity when possible and sensible.
We prefer to title features factually with a degree of precision.
We don’t make content look like an ad.
We stay away from creating new icons.

It’s also a way to build unity and kinship for people who might not otherwise be connected.

He also seems to transcend cultural boundaries with ease. As I pinged people who had posted Peccy imagery, I found myself talking to folks such as a woman in the Philippines who had helped her sister create Peccys wearing local outfits such as a Maria Clara gown for an Amazon employee contest.

It’s an interesting story on the development of culture, and how community can be based around ideals, but also on a shared sense of identity.

Check out the story here.