flower mascot costume

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale GroupCOLUMBIA, MD. -- When the operators of 36-unit Maggie Moo''s, based here, set out to differentiate the chain from other superpremium ice-cream concepts by emphasizing its family focus, they knew they had a potent flower marketing tool with their mascot cow, Maggie.What they didn''t know was that the head-turning ability of the mascot 7-foot-tall cow''s costume would result in a car wreck.At a store opening in Phoenix earlier this year, a car full of passengers passing by waved at the store''s Maggie. costume Unaware of the stopped traffic ahead, the driver plowed into the back of a car. The flower resulting mascot and costume collision flower luckily was only a minor fender bender.

Nine of the original stores were closed, and the remaining stores received a mascot makeover of Maggie''s current palette of warm colors and the costume cast of cows.Maggie''s recruited flower several frozen-treat industry veterans to help guide its growth. Ken Rowland, vice president of operations, and John Deaton, director of operations, worked together at frozen-yogurt concern TCBY. Kimberly Chambers, franchise development manager, also previously was with TCBY. Unlike the limited mascot and costume appeal of the frozen-yogurt market, in which many brands of the 1980s are now extinct, Rowland believes that the ice-cream market''s broad flower demographic ability can sustain a number of concepts:

The mascot company also is looking at ways to maximize its line of merchandise, which is centered on T-shirts and hats for kids. After a misfire with a line of shirts for adults costume featuring the cartoonish cows, the chain adjusted its aim, rolling out shirts for flower kids mascot that emphasize the cow characters and developing a more subtle design featuring the brand costume logo for adults."That program has been somewhat neglected," Kaplan said." "But now we''re taking the time to do it right."