What Brands Should know About Marketing to Cosplay Makers

Cosplay is one of the most popular multimedia arts among makers today. The term cosplay is short for "costume play.” Using a wide variety of craft techniques, like sewing, thermoforming, foam crafting, special effects makeup, wig styling, metalworking, casting, and even electrical engineering, cosplayers create ultra-detailed costumes and props that allow them to embody their favorite characters from TV, movies, video games, comics, and more.

These makers display their hard work at fan events, special interest conventions, and huge online communities where they meet up with other people who share their interests.

However, one of the most important things that every brand in the cosplay segment should know is that cosplay is about a lot more than just dressing up. It’s different from just putting on a Halloween costume for fun (though many cosplay makers do go all-out for costumed holidays and occasions).

With cosplay, the idea is to make as realistic costume as possible, complete with any essential weapons or props, in order to truly become that character for a day. Most cosplay makers will practice the personality, speech patterns, gestures, and movements of their character in order to, well, get more into character while the costume is on.

But beyond allowing makers to proclaim their love for pop culture properties, cosplay also presents the opportunity for makers to continually challenge their costume-making skills and develop their creative passion. Over the years, as the cosplay community and market segment has continued to grow, so has the quality of the costumes.

Through sharing tips and tutorials and generally pushing and motivating each other to continually outdo their previous work, cosplay makers have figured out how to make more elaborate and advanced costumes and props as well as tackle more ambitious characters.

Lights, smoke, robotics, and even more special effects have become more common in cosplay — even among the non-professional makers.

Cosplay is an art and a passion, but it’s also a culture that more makers than ever choose to identify with. And thanks to that passion, cosplay makers constitute an incredibly powerful market segment that your maker brand shouldn’t ignore. But in order to market your brand to cosplay makers, there are some key factors that you need to know about cosplay as a creative outlet and as a market segment.

Cosplay makers are enthusiastic about experimenting in their art, discovering new techniques and innovations, and trying out new products to see if they can perform better than their current supplies. We know that cosplay makers are willing to invest a significant amount of their own money in their costumes, and therefore, they’re generally open to switching up the products they use when they have a reason to. 

The Buyer's Journey for cosplay makers always starts with research. In order to discover new products, cosplay makers use search to determine what products might solve their consistent costume making challenges, ask their peers for recommendations, and browse product reviews on manufacturer or retailer websites. Additionally, when watching tutorials or checking out another maker’s work, they might find out about new products they want to incorporate into their own process.

Cosplay makers shop both online and in-store for the craft products and tools they need. Because some cosplay is made from more common household materials, such as foam, dowel rods, and common adhesives, many cosplay makers find it more convenient to shop in-store for these easy to find items. However, in order to get ahold of more specialized and innovative cosplay products, such as certain fabrics, thermoforming materials, or other tools or materials that they don’t need in a rush, many makers turn to online stores as well.

While beginners might have a more basic tool kit, over time, cosplay makers build up their collection of more advanced (and generally, higher quality) tools and products as they learn more about the craft.

When cosplay makers aren’t gathering at conventions both big and small, they’re meeting up in their favorite online hubs to discuss their projects, learn from each other’s experience, and support everyone’s goals as well as the goals of the community as a whole. While cosplay is much more popular and visible than it used to be in the U.S., it’s still a bit of a niche interest in many ways. In order to find their community, both locally and across the country (or globe), cosplay makers depend on social media.

By following each other on Instagram, joining cosplay Facebook groups, and even posting their own work on Pinterest, cosplay makers reach out to other makers and also keep in touch with the industry.

Many makers also follow their favorite craft brands in order to stay up to date on new products, ask questions, and even see more examples of how others are using the products in new ways.

Cosplay can be a solitary pursuit at times, especially when a maker is scrambling to put on the finishing touches right before a convention, so social media helps makers stay connected to the community even when they're crafting solo.