Mascot Ideas

Mascots are an important part of promoting a company, school or team. A mascot is a three-dimensional representation of a logo, school or company name. Properly used, a mascot can provide instant recognition for the group it represents. Schools, teams or companies named after animals have a built-in mascot. For groups with less obvious choices, a mascot can be a difficult decision.

  1. Budget Concerns

    • For a mascot to work efficiently, it must look professional and move freely. A homemade costume might save money up front, but it will not produce the same results as a professional mascot costume. To save money chose a more common mascot, like an animal, and dress it in a T-shirt and hat with the group's name on it. A group may wish to create a mascot that is wholly unique to its school, company or team. A completely unique mascot will require a completely custom costume, which can be costly.

    Approachability

    • It is important that a mascot look friendly and inviting. A mascot should promote a positive feeling about the group it represents. Avoid mascots that are considered pests, like rats and snakes, or mascots that could scare children, like a witch or goblin. Animal costumes should be smiling and not growling. No one wants to approach a growling tiger or bear. People-themed mascots, like pirates or kings, should laugh and smile often to create a fun and friendly atmosphere.

    Consistent Look

    • The best mascots have closed heads with no skin peeking through. (reference 2) This allows the performer inside of the costume to change without changing the audience's perception of the mascot. Not being able to see the actor inside the mascot also adds to the overall effect of the mascot. People-themed mascots without closed heads should use elaborate head decorations, like a long beard and mustache and a fancy hat. These items will help distract from the performer's physical features and make it easy to interchange actors.

    Personality

    • Mascots are most effective when they are interacting with the audience and drawing attention to themselves. Working a mascot costume is not like wearing normal clothing. An over-sized costume can hide small actions, like waving. To convey personality, every action must be exaggerated. Marching instead of walking and waving hands and arms wildly helps to create a friendly and high-energy mascot personality. Given enough space, a mascot may want to employ acrobatics like cartwheels and tumbles to draw attention. In smaller areas, hopping and waving should do the trick.