The BAM Mascot Family Blog

Your mascot has impact beyond physical appearances at events, and can elevate your marketing efforts way beyond what was possible a decade ago. Our last blog discussed the importance of social media for mascots; this week we will focus on how video can build a rapport with fans.

The use of rich media content such as video, is an incredibly effective way to engage your audience and extend your reach beyond your geographic location.

 

“Video is becoming the most popular and influential form of digital content for businesses today and if done right, it can have a very positive impact” - (Forbes, 2017)

 

Research from Hubspot found that around 50% of marketers were planning to add either Facebook or YouTube video or both to their efforts in the next year (Hubspot, 2017).

 

With consumer attention spans decreasing, due to sheer volume of marketing efforts and advertising, it is not a surprise that video content would be a priority, Understanding this change is obviously important and shouldn’t go unnoticed, but how can you implement this change into your mascot’s strategy?

 

For starters, when your video features a quality mascot with a charismatic personality, the potential for engagement with your organization, sports team or school rises dramatically. People love to see mascots in action! Videos are a quick way to be entertained for a moment, and mascots always deliver a smile. 

 

Ready to begin? We’ve come up with some top tips to help you create some fantastic videos easily.

 

It may sound simple, but there are many amateur videos online that are not framed correctly. Someone’s head is out of frame or you miss the action because it happened too far to the side.

 

Taking videos is much like setting up a photo, there needs to be an element of planning. Of course some will just be taken off the cuff, and sometimes those are the best, but videos should be a mix of scripted and unscripted to truly capture the best of your mascot.

 

It’s a good idea to think about how to frame your video, and how to get to great vantage points. For example, a video taken from the bleachers would give a perfect view of the mascot.

 

Think about your angles as well. What is the message you’re trying to convey, is it community spirit? Take the video up high with a crowd. Is it to be intimidating to the competition? Take the video from low down to make the mascot and or team look bigger and more of a threat.

 

 

There are millions of videos on the internet, and countless examples are what to do right. However, with the good often comes the bad, and one of the major issues with amateur filmed videos is the shakiness of the footage.

 

If you have a shaky video chances are that people aren’t going to want to watch it for long, and will automatically assume it is not good quality. The potential of shakiness increases if you are using zoom, so be very careful with your use of zoom as it not only reduces the quality, it increases the shake.

 

The age-old way of getting a less shaky video is to lean on something or use a tripod. Talk to your camera shop about other stabilizers and devices available.

 

Even if you are shooting from a phone camera, there are handheld devices to stabilize the shot. Having a steady video improves the quality tenfold and will help you get well on your way to a better end video.

 

 

No we aren’t talking about the Bruce Willis movie - your sixth sense for video! As you record and create more video, you will start to develop a sixth sense for where the action or best shots are going to be, maybe before they even happen!

 

Get used to filming extra elements for quick cuts and dynamic shots. Film more footage than you’ll need at the event, and you’ll likely capture something spontaneous that makes your video sparkle.

 

Here at BAM mascots we specialize in mascots for sports teams, schools and brands, we've brought thousands to life and we'd love to discuss your mascot project with you, to speak to one of our team click the button below: