Your mascot costume will be a vibrant symbol of your organization! It embodies all your brand values while telling your story. It may be overwhelming trying to choose the right provider to design and create your organization’s mascot (especially if you’ve let your imagination run wild and have a complex vision in mind!). The truth is the provider you choose can have a huge effect on the outcome of your mascot costume.

It may be tempting to buy costumes from companies offering cheaper options, but buyer beware, there are some things you should know before taking this leap. You may save money upfront but consider how much a lesser-quality mascot costume will cost you in the long run.

Here are four reasons why you should avoid cheap mascot costumes:

1. Inferior Fabrics and Materials

Some mascot companies have factories that produce costumes in bulk with low-quality materials and sub-standard production methods. In contrast, professional mascot companies tend to use materials that are superior both in terms of quality and durability. In addition, more solid construction makes the most of those materials. For instance hand-sewing seams rather than just gluing them down. This goes a long way to creating a final product that stands the test of time.

Mascot fabrics and materials need to be strong to withstand all of the ways mascots move – from jumping to cartwheeling. If your mascot costume is worn frequently, there’s a higher chance that materials in a cheaper mascot will wear faster. This may mean you’ll soon be on the hook for another costume!

2. Safety and Comfort

Custom mascot costumes from reputable, professional suppliers are not only designed better, but a lot more care and attention goes into the overall safety and comfort of the costume. Things like vision, ventilation, mobility, costume weight and ease of use are all important factors that are considered with good mascot design. All too often, the complaints about lesser-grade mascots include the performer not being able to see well, the costume is too bulky, the head doesn’t stay on, etc. You get the idea. With a custom mascot, not only are you investing in a unique, high-quality product, but also one that prioritizes overall safety and comfort.

3. Limited Customization

Off-the-shelf mascots rarely give you the opportunity to make customizations to create a truly standout and unique character for your organization. You’re limited by either whatever mass production can accommodate or the limited skills of under-paid workers.

Whether it’s adding branding elements like your logo or colours, customizations are what make your mascot special! Professional mascot companies will give you plenty of options for customizing your costume from head to toe because they’re truly passionate about bringing your vision to life. They’ll be open to your suggestions and can share their expertise to guide you each step of the way.

4. Built for the Camera

When mascot costumes are cheaply made, their features often do not photograph well. In an age of social media exposure, your mascot is going to get a lot of screen time or have pictures taken, and you want to make sure every angle is a good one.

Mascot design is an art that requires strong attention to detail to ensure the costume has properly-placed features. Do the eyes look alive? Is the mouth smiling down at people, or staring up at the ceiling?

Aside from a properly-trained performer, a mascot costume that looks good on camera will be integral to your overall success.

This Ellen mascot is professionally designed and looks great both on and off screen.

5. No Point of Contact

Another common complaint about purchasing ready-made costumes online is about the limited customer support available before, during and after the purchase. You may even discover once the mascot arrives that it doesn’t even look like the character you ordered, and it can be very challenging to get the support you need to solve any issues after the fact.

There’s no doubt that investing in a higher quality custom mascot will avail you of more support at every stage in the process, and you should feel better knowing that you are purchasing from a reputable supplier that has properly researched materials, has strong design skills, reliable customer service, and that pays their skilled craftspeople appropriately for their amazing work.

Reach out to your local Toronto mascot design experts at Hogtown Mascots and let’s start creating the mascot of your dreams!