Creating Icon Characters To Market Your Haunt

Ben Armstrong NETHERWORLD Haunted House

www.Fearworld.com

Marketing! For some it is a fulfilling part of the haunting mix, the chance to get the message to the masses, a moment in the spotlight. To others it is a complete and utter nightmare. We all must love the haunting part, the building and designing.... the lurking in the dark... but how do we convey that love to the customers before they cross our thresholds? We have found a way that seems to work for us, a method to reveal the theme of the show, the enthusiasm of the cast, and the vital information that will bring them to our doors, all in one swoop... .The icon character.

Before I get into definitions of the icon character I would like to digress into what I call The Devil's Triangle Design Theory (covered in detail in HAUNTWORLD Magazine # 7/8) This theory proposes that the patrons of a haunt want three things. Imagine these as the points of a triangle:

• Fear: They came to be scared... that is the most important thing.
• Spectacle: They came to see cool stuff and get wowed by effects.
• Interaction: They came to interact with great actors.

Following this logic, there is only one element in the haunted house that can give them all of these things... a really great actor. Thus to give potential guests a preview of your show, to tip the scales in your favor, who better to get them in the door than an icon character?

What is an icon character?

An icon character is a hybrid between a mascot and a spokesman. Mascots are fictional characters that generally do not speak. Typically in our industry they are ghoulish characters that exist primarily in static artwork advertising our haunts, and in some cases, they are portrayed by large stalk about type characters. In the world at large we are inundated with them every day in the form of brand mascots, diverse and often fanciful characters that you instantly recognize as associated with a product. We can all name a million of them... The Jolly Green Giant, Mr. Clean, and a certain mouse of wide spread fame come immediately to mind. Tons of thought goes into creating brand mascots as they will be forever linked to the product or service they represent. Successful ones must have traits that relate them to the product or convey emotions that associate them with the brand...otherwise they are doomed to fail. I found the Chick-fil-A Cows to be amazingly clever mascots... .after all, the bizarre thing about most food mascots is the fact they want you to eat them! The Cows turned that concept on its head, encouraging chicken feasting to save their own hides... in one stroke you are directed to the sponsor's food, and falling for the cow's plight, you are discouraged from eating the competition's hamburgers.

Spokesmen are usually real people who will represent the product or event in advertisements. They are generally of two types, recognizable celebrities who bring their appeal and credibility to the table, or unknown actors often representing an archetype product user. Celebrities are increasingly important in today's advertising as generations of kids jaded by hearing commercials are very skeptical about product claims (The 2003 Entertainment Media & Advertising Market Research Handbook). Hardened consumers are more likely to take the advice of celebrities they like and respect, or more importantly people they know. We in the haunt business realize that when the chips are down, word of mouth rules the day, and that every satisfied customer is the best spokesman we can hope for! But the most important job of the spokesman is to convey important information about a product or event across multiple media, and to be the recognizable face of the business.

So back to our hybrid, the icon character. He looks like a mascot, and talks like a spokesman! The goal is to kill two birds with one stone... create a thing that brings the traits and emotions that relate it to your event, that can still talk in radio and TV commercials, and more importantly, to the media when they come to call. With any luck your icon character can quickly become a celebrity in his own right...

Why an icon character?

What use is such a character for a haunted attraction? It grabs peoples attention! When you have a compelling actor in a great costume as an icon character that can talk the talk, the media eat it up. When the TV crews come, mascots stand around like lumps as human spokesmen try to get the point across, but nothing works better than a well rehearsed icon character that can really give the folks at home a taste of what is to come. Powerful icon characters also set you apart from other attractions... it shows you have an attention to detail that holds up under the harsh lights of a live shot, a representative that can provide Fear, Spectacle and Interaction at the same time. You use them to:

• Be the logo on print or web art
• Be the voice on radio
• Be the star of TV Spots
• Be the greeter on pre-taped video messages
• Be the main character on remote appearances
• Be the greeter at the door of the Haunt, or the ultimate final monster your guests must face.

What are its traits?

Like a mascot, the icon character must have traits that represent your business. It must be scary, but not too scary. If a character is way over the top it might succeed as a logo or mascot but fail as a spokesman. Remember this character will be talking with the media, greeting the public and doing appearances in all sorts of environments... ..over the top violent types will not be welcome in many situations. Drew Hunter aka DR. BLOOD, did pioneering work in the use of icon characters in haunts and offers similar suggestions (In Haunted Illusions, with Paul Osborne). If the character is too scary, it many not be able to effectively talk to the media or guests. Often such characters need to have elements of humor in their performance to be completely successful. Many experienced haunt actors already know that the well timed use of humor as a tool can enhance a performance and quickly turn around an ugly situation. When icon characters act as greeters they need to have that skill, and switch from horror to humor in an instant as required.

A quick observation about humor and horror... while writing this I realized why sometimes Jason and Michael Myers are so funny ---they are living cartoons! Drop an anvil on their heads and they fall down and get up again! They do the same to normal people and look almost confused when the victims don't survive. Perhaps they should face off with Bugs Bunny or the Roadrunner next!

Another important factor in creating icon characters is to have multiple actors in the role. You will of course have your main performer that does your prime media, but it is unlikely one person can be the same character at your door every night. We prefer to have costuming that conceals enough of the actor to allow several people to play the character. This will require multiple costumes, but you will need that anyway if you have the icon performing every night.

Ultimately, the character must be very well executed and cool, it represents you. It must have a strong image.

Possible pitfalls

A well executed icon character can be a marketing gem, but a poor one lacking in imagination or uniqueness may bring you down. Many haunts use other people's creative work to market their attraction, characters like Freddy and Jason.This is clever in a way, as it taps into all the marketing that the movies have done. These sorts of characters have a deep link into our culture, and in many cases provide an instant response. We all know that playing music from the Exorcist or Halloween will take patrons back to the fear they felt when they were first exposed to these movies. Established characters are powerful tools to be sure, but there are some major drawbacks to using them.

• It is stealing - You do not have the rights to use these characters. If you find your attraction growing to the point where it gets major recognition, you may find lawyers on your doorstep. Most of the time you will get a cease and desist, but good copyright lawyers can get big bucks out of you.
• You get the negatives of the character as well, i.e. it is old, over used etc. Also you become just another Haunted House... there is nothing unique in you presentation.

A far better way is to use traditional themes without being a direct rip off. If you have crazy hicks for example, people will automatically associate them with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but you don't need to put out an identical Leatherface. People understand classical themes and characters - the success of STAR WARS was due in part to the classical nature of the story and settings. Although the world in which it was placed was original, it was at times a western, a serial, and a swashbuckling Errol Flynn movie, filled with characters that were new, but still familiar and comfortable. For an interesting exercise, compare the characters in Lord of the Rings (The original books predate STAR WARS by far) with STAR WARS and draw parallels.

Unique stories, logos, and names for your event drawing on classical themes put forth by a strong icon character are a great way to brand your event. This approach will set you apart from other haunts that simply re-use other peoples work.

NETHERWORLD Icon Examples

2002 Inner Sanctum: Dr. Vargas

In 2002 our main haunt's theme (we have multiple shows) was Inner Sanctum, an insane asylum storyline. We had always used costumed characters to talk to the media, but this was the first time we designed a very theme specific icon character, in this case, Dr. Vargas. The storyline revolved around his twisted experiments, and he was featured prominently in print media, web advertising and especially as a video greeter at the beginning of the show.

2003 Dark Harvest: The Harvestman

In 2003 our core theme was Halloween, and the name of the show was Dark Harvest. The icon character was to be the Harvestman, an evil plant creature with a vague resemblance to Jeepers Creepers. It was wrapped in a tale with elements from the Phantasm series... Evil that travels from town to town, and mixed with many other mythic elements. The ultimate representation of the character was unique, but many thought he was a troll, or an Ent from the Lord of the Rings, or the aforementioned Jeepers Creepers. But as a icon character he was great!

The costume itself was a tattered greatcoat of many layers, covered by assorted vegetation. The head was a prosthetic mask that moved perfectly with the actors face, covered by fungus, moss, rusty nails, and other cool details. Long root like hands, expensive contact lenses, lift boots and a rusty scythe completed the look.

We got him out in public a few weeks before the haunt opened, and a character unlike the creepy thing in the storyline began to emerge. He became an angry scowling old curmudgeon, a comedian, and still to some, a thing of utter horror. The reason he developed in this way was simple... survival! When you are out in public, there are many people around unprepared for "The Haunted House Experience"... i.e. you can't run down and terrorize people on the street or you will be arrested! The Harvestman developed an act that let him entertain without relying on just his evil looks.

A big break came when we took him on a local public affairs TV show. He totally flummoxed the host and got the whole station laughing. Before we knew it, they wanted him to host horror movies on the channel and we got tons of FREE advertising for our Haunted House because of it. Ultimately the Harvestman got on CNN Headline news nationwide, drew massive press, and was featured as one of Atlanta's movers and shakers in a glossy upscale magazine. Patrons coming to the haunt demanded to see the Harvestman, so multiple costumes were made and several skilled actors took cracks at his twisted personality

2004 Spirits of the Dead: The Collector

In 2004 we had a ghost theme for the main show, called Spirits of the Dead. Our icon character was The Collector, a classical looking top hatted spectral gravedigger, who was collecting souls to open a doorway to the NETHERWORLD. The Collector improved on the Harvestman in one way only... everyone knew he was a Haunted House character. With his traditional design (see the Hauntworld cover) there was no doubt he was a creepy Halloween creature - the Harvestman with a more unique look, confused many who saw him. The Collector quickly stepped into the Harvestman's boots, wielding his rusty shovel through multiple TV appearances, hosting movies, marching in parades and scaring visitors to NETHERWORLD.

His costume was highly detailed as before, but even quicker to get into. A custom prosthetic mask and contacts once again allowed good dialogue, but still completely covered the actor. Another improvement on the Harvestman was mobility. The Collector was not so encumbered by vines and roots, so he soon became a slider (stunt actors who slide through the parking lot on kneepads...) as well as a spokesthing. Once again he was played by several actors.

Summary

We have found icon characters, a hybrid of mascots and spokesmen, to be great marketing tools. There are certainly costs in money and time to develop powerful and successful icon characters, but in our case it has been worth it. When well executed they can be one of the best ways to show off your haunt to the public, and a great way to get bodies in the door!

Deep Theme for NETHERWORLD 2003 DARK HARVEST

Legend of the Harvestman

Every spring he begins a journey through small forgotten towns and fertile farmlands, a wanderer on the edge of man's domain, a gaunt figure on the road, a dark shadow in the corn. They call him the Green Walker in some parts of the country, but my granny always called him the Harvestman. He takes a good while as he goes from town to town, looking for the perfect patch of fetid ground to carry out the ancient rituals. The Harvestman is drawn to the lonely places in small towns where great evil has been done, favoring burned out houses, old battle fields and abandoned graveyards.

Finally the perfect place is discovered. Then in late spring during the blackest night of a new moon, the Harvestman begins to dig. With inhuman strength he rips deep into the stinking earth, past pale bloated worms, old bones and forgotten secrets, digging a cradle for the evil tuber he carries within his body. When the moment is ripe the Harvestman tears the cancerous mass from his abdomen, and buries the foul thing in the ground, a rotten slimy seed the size of a mans head. Some say on that night he will take a tithe in blood, and many local people will vanish. Often townsfolk blame failed marriages or wanderlust for the disappearances, but I know the truth. He buries them deep, to provide it with nourishment, and he buries them alive.

All summer the foul mass in the earth grows, and the Harvestman stays close to watch over the thing. Soon a curtain of sorrow falls over the community as the evil begins to spread. The old die, the young flee, and those who cannot escape feel the weigh of its baleful presence draining away their very souls. Evil creatures are drawn to the place from across the land, as the dark day of Halloween draws ever near. These fell beings often bring presents to the gnarled mass of roots and tendrils spreading through the stinking soil, gifts of flesh and blood.

As September arrives, it creates servants, reanimated corpses found in its resting place and staggering scarecrows, both writhing with the obscene vegetable matter that gives them life. Evil men worship the tree thing as a god, and hunt down their own friends and neighbors to provide it with the nourishment it needs.

Throughout the month of October, vast numbers of fiends and monsters continue to prowl the surrounding lands awaiting the night of All Hallows Eve, when the foul fruit the Tree God is growing will be ready for the Harvest. On midnight on that fateful day the Harvestman draws his Sickle, ripping into the ripe fruit of his seedling, and feasts on the rotten ooze. In a burst of pale fire he is consumed, and a gateway to the NETHERWORLD opens in the bowels of the Plant beast.

Horrible things that should not be pass freely between worlds, and dine on the dark fleshy fruit grown by the tree thing. Throughout the night the creatures of darkness revel in a bacchanal frenzy, maddened and intoxicated by the gifts of the Harvest. As dawn approaches, the balefire fades, and the plant god is consumed in flames as the doorway closes. Those beings that remain in our world, some old as dirt and others breathing the pure air of our lands for the first time scamper and hide from the approaching rays of the sun. With a final wail of agony the tree thing collapses into smoking embers. In a few weeks one of the revelers will begin to bloat, as a seed of evil takes root deep inside them. By late winter they will explode in a blast of undead flesh and rotten vegetable matter as the new Harvestman is born.

So how do I know all this you ask? Because my Granny Lupus told me so. This year the whole pack is traveling up to North Georgia for the Dark Harvest, some want to pass into the NETHERWORLD, and others to taste the forbidden fruit. Granny told me that we all came from the garden of Eden you know, and that all the netherspawn chose the serpents gift. Me I just hope the hunting is good in Atlanta this year!