With the increase in government mandates as a result of COVID-19, many businesses have had to close their doors and are using the time to develop new business strategies for the future.
Once everything normalizes and social distancing measures begin to lift, schools and entertainment venues re-open, you will want to be sure your organization is prepared to launch back into your regular day-to-day operations.
A great way to welcome your students, fans and customers back after the time away, while also putting a smile on their faces, is with a new mascot. Now is an optimum time for your marketing team to start creating the perfect mascot, and planning for its grand unveiling at a reopening event!
Creating Your Mascot
When deciding on your mascot, you want to be sure to keep your primary audience in mind and the elements that will attract your fans and resonate with them.
If you are a brand whose audience is families, choose a mascot that is easily recognized, approachable, and friendly-looking. However, if your mascot is for a brand that sells sports equipment and apparel, you may want your mascot to look intimidating and strong, maybe even fierce.
Be sure to think about the mascot’s purpose, the message it will be sending, how your audience absorbs new information and your brand identity. This will assist our talented and expert design team, in helping you select the facial expression, colour, fabric, body padding, hands, feet and enhanced features to create a costume that is perfect for attracting your ideal audience.
Here are some BAM blogs that offer advice on the design process:
- Creating your brands first ever mascot costume
- How much will a brand mascot cost?
- Designing your first mascot character?
The Story Behind the Mascot
While you are taking the time to create and design your mascot, you will want to come up with a name and a backstory. Your mascot is a real, moving, three-dimensional character and having a great backstory will add depth and motivation. It makes your mascot's behaviour more consistent and gives your performer a context to draw from when interacting with fans.
Is your mascot shy in front of a young audience or the life of the party? Perhaps your mascot is always curious, and this leads to comic interactions? Considering attitude and interactions will help make your character come to life!
Read more about Mascot backstories and character development:
- How to create the perfect mascot marketing plan through character development.
- Reach more fans with social media.
Revealing Your Mascot
There is nothing more impactful than the element of surprise. Whether you plan on keeping your mascot project a secret or generating pre-event excitement with teasers, think about ways you can reveal the final design to your team and to the public.
On the big day, remember to record the event in photos and videos so that you can introduce your mascot to the rest of the world through social media, emails to clients, or on your website.
Here are some articles that will help you launch a new mascot!
To start designing the perfect mascot to welcome back fans, guests, customers or students, fill out our quote form and we’ll get back to you to discuss your project.
