What’s a better way to interact with your target audience than to literally pop a human being into a space as the walking representation of your brand? That’s exactly what Deb Australia decided to do when they placed an order for a set of custom made inflatable costumes to patrol the floors of upcoming medical expos and other promotional events.
The client is a brand under SC Johnson, a popular manufacturer of mostly cleaning supplies. In this instance they wanted to promote their Aussie skincare and hygiene product line, which sells sanitation and care solutions targeted towards industrial, institutional, and healthcare users.
We know how important these types of items are to the safety and well-being of patients, and we were very much looking forward to doing our part to further brand engagement!
What’s Up, Doc?
One of the client’s products is probably very familiar now thanks to 2020, and is definitely an obvious choice to try to replicate because of the general shape; the Cutan Alcohol Foam Antiseptic Handrub.
Because it is a real product, it was very easy to copy and translate the overall design and logo. In fact, we are quite experienced with scaling up real objects. The challenging part for us here at Inflatable Anything was figuring out how to make this custom made inflatable costume essentially in two parts, the square receptacle for the body, and the foaming pump for the head.
Luckily, the client came to us because they trusted our judgment and knew we would take all precautions to make sure the costume and the event achieved exactly what they wanted to, and there was no way we were going to let them down. We got to work!
Choosing a Specialty
There are quite a few bespoke units we construct that require more of a finite shape without sacrificing portability, which is why polyester is such a popular choice. It was definitely the correct one for this custom made inflatable costume as well.
Polyester possesses a fair amount of qualities that make it stand above the other materials that could be used in a custom made inflatable costume. First of all, the fibres in this polymer sit quite close together, giving it an overall more solid and impenetrable structure. Because of this, polyester is much less likely to lose its shape for example through contracting or wrinkling, and is also resistant to damage from ultraviolet rays.
However, there are 2 features that especially render the material ideal for this kind of project. Since the custom made inflatable costume would obviously have to be worn for who knows how long, it needed to be both lightweight and comfortable, and easy to wash. Polyester fits both bills quite well. To fully facilitate this custom made inflatable costume’s purposes, we also included a portable blower to allow the wearer unrestricted ability to boost the client’s brand. As mentioned, this costume can be thought of as two separate pieces, and the top half still needed a little something extra to make it functional.
While polyester is a quality material for inflatables, it doesn’t quite have the capacity to work for every situation. Though polyester perfectly suited the 90 centimetre wide and 170 centimetre high body piece, the 55 centimetre diameter and 70 centimetre high head piece also needed a window so the wearer could see where they were going, which was made out of polyvinyl chloride in a way that complemented the replica without adding a burden to the person walking the floor.
Applying the Dressing
The great thing about scaling up items is that the guesswork is for the most part taken out of the equation; all you have to do is make sure the sizing stays proportionate. When it came to copying the logo and design onto the sewn polyester panels for the Cutan custom made inflatable costume, we knew from experience that a full print would be best. Basically this just means that we printed the image all at once onto the polymer instead of in layers. With this method, a design can be much more detailed and have a crisper finished look, which is typically exactly what a client wants when promoting their brand.
The Final Test
The promotional events the client attended must have been great successes for their business. They were so stoked about what they accomplished through that conference season that they placed an order for a third custom made inflatable costume the following year!
Here at Inflatable Anything, we love taking on new challenges to help businesses relate better to their target audiences. Contact our team today and let us help you do the same!
