For Character References
By Maureen Stroulger

Street Characters director of marketing Terry Willard wasn't surprised to receive a baseball team mascot order by e-mail. With Street Characters' in-depth website, customers often e-mail Willard with questions and requests regarding mascot suits, and the company had created several baseball mascots in the past.

But when Willard realized the enquiry had come from a Venezuelan baseball team he admits he was slightly taken aback. The Tigres de Arugua had found Street Characters through the Internet while searching for a team mascot company. After making the initial enquiry on the mascot suits, followed by a few e-mails back and forth (Willard never did speak to anyone over the phone), the order was placed. Before long, the Tigres de Arugua were the proud owners of a seven-foot tiger mascot and 600 tiger dolls-one of several baseball mascots, among others, made possible because of the Internet.

Although Willard was somewhat shocked when the initial order was placed, he says he wasn't surprised by the ease of the mascot suits order process, knowing first-hand the level of service Street Characters offers.

"Many first-time team mascot customers wonder how the order process is going to work," says Willard. "But it's easy to do, especially with the Internet. We take the stress off of the customer by providing them with some mascot suits sketches, which we can have out to them (via e-mail) in a matter of days."

The Tigres' order process began by Willard asking the team to e-mail him its logo, which appears on the mascot suits. From there, the Street Characters' art department was able to create some sketches of potential baseball mascots, which were e-mailed back to the team. After some minor changes, an image was finalized and the construction process began.

The final result: The best of the baseball mascots in South America - An orange and black tiger dressed in a Tigres de Arugua jersey, baseball hat, tennis shoes and big square sunglasses to shield his eyes from the blazing sun. And, of course, 600 miniature tigers ordered to match. The Tigres also purchased a team mascot training video and a cooling vest for the mascot performer. "An easy sell," admits Willard, considering the Venezuelan heat.

With the big cat now busy running bases, the Tigres de Arugua's main focus (aside from winning) is marketing their team mascot and selling the dolls. But that should be an easy win with Street Characters on their team. Play ball!

Character References is published twice annually by Street Characters Inc., the mascot solutions company.
Phone: 1-888-MASCOTS
Email: info@mascots.com
Glenn Street, Publisher