Costumes
need to not only look convincing, but need to allow the
performer to animate in a convincing manner. Many costumes
often lack in either one of these characteristics. It's
crucial to the performer to have a grace period of "breaking
in" a new costume to see its limitations. and propose alterations
to improve his or her performance.
The second
element is finding the right performer who understands
comedy and how to work with the promotion department. They
also need to have the correct skill set. Performers
with a hockey team who can't skate will not have credibility
with "educated" hockey fans, although there are
many great hockey mascots out there who can't skate. They
enhance their grace, or lack thereof, with slapstick clumsiness. The
performers also must be a fan of the team and enthusiastic
about the team, since you really can't fake that. Finally
the performer must understand the game and it's intricacies.
The final
element of a good program is to put some marketing behind
the character. As a team you must develop a game
plan. Determine how to best incorporate your mascot
into the game, contests, skits, advertising, community
programs, charity events and team merchandising.
The marketing
aspect is the most important and the one that is most often
overlooked. If you don't highlight your mascot, you
are telling your fans that it is not really an important
part of the team. Then when you need your mascot
to represent the team if wont carry the same value.
Gameops.com: What
is the best way to incorporate you mascot into your game?
Erin
Blank: You
really have to look at it from your fans perspective. Look
at the age groups of the fans, and ask how they might
want your mascot to be perceived. Are your fans
conservative aficionados or younger fans looking for
a carnival with a game going on in the middle?
For example
the WNBA mascots are more energetic and play a bigger role
with the fans, because the audience is much more youth-oriented
and less sports purist.
Gameops.com:Once
you have found your mascot what sort of guidance should
you be giving them?
Erin
Blank:The
more you can verbalize your expectations the better. A
good first step is to give them the rules of your sport
or league. In baseball, a lot of mascots think
they can just go off and run around wild like the Chicken. So
teams need to be clear about what is allowed and encouraged
and what is not.
Major
League Baseball actually has rules stating that a mascot
can not incite the crowd. If an umpire feels like
the mascot has done this, they can report it to the league
and the league has the authority to fine or suspend the
mascot.
As a
Game Operations Director you also should get familiar with
your mascots skills and capabilities, both in and out of
costume. Can your mascot ice skate? If so can
they also safely skate in costume. Some skills wont
translate into a costume as well as others and it's important
not to put your mascots in positions where they can not
succeed. Like rappelling in a huge inflatable. Not
gonna happen...
I also
think it's great to invite your performer into your daily
routine once in a while. Let them see all the other things
a Game Ops director has to juggle. When I first started
working in my team's office I finally realized why my mascot
role was where it was at.
Gameops.com: Seems
like a couple times a year you hear about some fan trying
to sue a mascot or a team, how do you deal with those situations?
Erin
Blank: Obviously
trying to avoid problems is the best bet, but accidents
happen and some situations can get sticky if a mascots
actions are misinterpreted or handled improperly.
I recommend
that you keep an open dialogue with between the mascot
and the Operations Director. If a problem occurs
write down what happened and all the details you can each
night. Develop a process to log problems and complaints
so you have some documentation should a problem arise.
Another
common stumbling block between mascots and Game Ops coordinators
are
differences between the mascot's previous venues and the differing
personality of the crowd concerning the mascot's new job. If you hire
a new mascot who has experience in another sport or town, they will
need to consider that some of the same material in which they used
elsewhere can draw different responses in your arena with your fans.
You probably won't get rave reviews if your mascot is using a toy gun
to shoot down a villain in an inner city arena. Make sure the performer
understands that what they did in college or minor leagues may not
play the same everywhere.
Gameops.com: How
about revenue? Can a mascot program generate revenue
for the team?
Erin
Blank: I
think it can. A good mascot program can make
money. Look at what the Phillies have done. From
the early years they had all 3 elements working, great
costume, great performer and strong marketing plan.
The revenue
generation come from 3 main sources: merchandise,
appearance, and sponsorship.
I
have heard the Phillies makes high six figure income in
Phillie Phanatic merchandise. Now most teams won't
generate that kind of revenue, but merchandise can be a
significant source of income. Now as players move
between teams with trades and free agency, mascot merchandise
becomes a "safe" order. You mascot is an
on-field property that the team has long-term control over. Griffey
Jr. left the Mariners, but the Mariner Moose can be there
forever. A lot of teams are recognizing that and
beginning to increasingly utilize the mascot on merchandise. Team
mascots may end up being the final static link between
teams and fans.
Paid
appearances are a way to both garner public awareness for
the team and supplement the mascot's salary. The
Jaguars had their mascot, Jaxson, out in the community
for 1,000 hours this past year. That's not only impressive
revenue, impressive logo exposure, but also impressive
Public Relations directive. How many players spend that
much time in the practice gym, let alone on the streets
of their towns?
Sponsorship
is another method to profit from your mascot. Several
minor league mascots have sponsorship or presenting sponsorship,
like Sabre-ru (For Wayne Fury Mascot is sponsored by a
local Subaru Dealership). Some teams have even named
their mascot for a corporate sponsor (Minnesota Timberwolves).
I believe
it takes about 4 seasons to fully realize the value of
your mascot. In that time the impact your character has
on the local community and the awareness of your local
corporations to see the value of the mascot is significant
to make a big jump in your mascot program. The timetable
can be longer or shorter depending on the commitment level
of the team to promote the mascot.
Gameops.com:So
what are some examples of creating this kind of revenue?
Erin
Blank: We
have a good example here in Detroit. We just
moved into a new stadium that has several restaurants
on-site. Requests have started to come in for
Paws (the Tiger's mascot) to make appearances at the
restaurants both during games and in the off season. That
becomes revenue that was not available, and year round
exposure to fans that is often difficult to generate. Many
other teams like the Oriole's have "Brunch with the
Bird" on weekends, encouraging families to come out
on Sunday Mornings when business is slow at Camden
Yards...
Gameops.com: There
is an increasing trend of mascots starting events, large
and small. Can you talk about some of these?
Erin
Blank: There
have been a number of these events starting up recently. Some
are small local events and others have expanded nationally. They
can be a tremendous way to gain positive exposure for
your mascot and your team. Some of the events
even generate large revenues for charities.
A number
of minor league baseball mascots have started Holiday mascot
events. Some of these are simple appearances at a
mall during the holidays or even their own sports
venues. The mascot dresses up as Santa for photo ops with kids
and the teams create a forum to meet with fans and promote tickets
and merchandise. The money raised from photos can be donated
to charity.
Concerning
charity events, SJ Sharkie (San Jose Sharks) holds a mini-golf
tournament every year with kids and Bay area athletes.
The event, while
closed to the public except for the families of the children, garners
rave reviews from the press and the community at large.
Maybe
the biggest mascot event is the yearly Celebrity Mascot
Games. This invitation-only event brings in mascots from
all around the country for a four-day charity initiative
that combines good hospital bedside affection with an "Anything
Goes/Gong Show" list of wacky, non-competitive games. This
event has grown tremendously over the years and along with
the gate revenue and sponsorship the event brings in over
$100,000 for The New Hope Foundation of Central Florida.
Thanks
to Erin Blank for her time and insight in this month's
interview. Erin also deserves credit for her work
on the mascot web site (mascot.net) which is a tremendous
resource for mascots.
