Oz Mascot Making

Bringing Oz the Ostrich into the Real World!

Producing and directing the making of Mrs Wordsmith’s Oz mascot.

The Brief

To create a mascot costume from one of the core Mrs Wordsmith characters. The mascot will be used for marketing activations in the UK and US. Find a suplier that can do both, local so you can work closely with them to make sure the quality is good.

Process

We settled on Oz as the character to be chosen, and I found Rainbow Productions to create the mascot. I visited their studio to have a look around before hand and get a feel for the company. They we’re just great. Really knew their craft well, really cared for the characters they made and it showed. They just soaked me in info and took time to answer all the questions I had with great knowledge and examples of past projects, similar to Mrs Wordsmith’s Oz bird.
We went through 3 rounds of feedback and draw-overs for their teams to get the most Oz-like costume.
We spent a morning at Rainbow Productions to iron out the final adjustments and tweaks. Oz’s bow was by far the most difficult to get right. The Rainbow Production team was great, and took on all the feedback, even fixing, cutting and pinning as we talked with them. We also got a tour of their facilities as they re made Oz’s bow, so we could approve the final shape that same morning!
Activations, Oz was made twice, one costume delivered to our London office and one shipped to the US for our Boston Pop-Up shop events. She’s now ready to come to life!

The Impact

2 Oz mascots, ready in UK and US for marketing activations.
Tons of social content and PR to be made with Oz’s character out in the real world
Many more opportunities opened up, like the Boston christmas toy drive, and the Easter egg hunt at the White House!
Countless happy and engaged children (and adults 😆) giving Oz hugs and high-fives!

My Favourite Part

Organising this project from start to finish. Really getting the essence in the detail of Oz. Having all worked with the character for 5 years at this point, it was very fulfilling to have high praise from the entire team of artists who draw Oz every day!

Not forgetting being able to bring my nephews along to Comicon to see her in action! 😁