Hire ip licensing & custom characters
in Chicago.
We design and develop a custom character (with story, voice, and look) that your brand can deploy across multiple events and seasons.
Chicago corporate character work runs heaviest at Mag Mile and Fulton Market retail openings (where a branded mascot or themed performer anchors the launch crowd), employer-brand family days produced by Loop and North Shore corporates, and themed performers for corporate murder mysteries and immersive offsites at private River North and West Loop venues. We staff custom mascots for trade-show booth activations at McCormick Place, themed performers (period, prohibition-era, sci-fi) for corporate immersive events, and IP-safe costumed characters for Navy Pier and Wrigley family-day brand activations. Captains brief on Chicago winter outdoor realities — rotation, layering, hand-warmer protocol. All staff are 100% W-2.
Showcraft serves Chicago and the surrounding IL area with 100% W-2 talent, full insurance, and senior captains on every event. Chicago is the trade-show capital of North America. McCormick Place runs IMTS, RSNA, NRA, the Auto Show, and IPPE — each a 50,000+ attendee week — and we staff exhibitor booths, lead-capture leads, and brand-activation crews across all four McCormick buildings. Beyond McCormick we cover Loop corporate events, Magnificent Mile retail openings, festival sampling along the lakefront (Lollapalooza, Taste of Chicago, Air & Water Show), and family days at Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field. Our Chicago captains know the McCormick freight elevator schedule, the union jurisdictions for booth setup, and how to actually get a 25-person crew through Loop-area load-in during commute hours.
- IP Licensing & Custom Characters dispatched anywhere in Chicago
- 100% W-2 staff, fully compliant
- Comprehensive GL + workers' comp on every event
- COI naming your venue and additional insureds
- Captain on-site for events with 6+ staff
IP Licensing & Custom Characters at Chicago venues we know.
Other character experiences we offer in Chicago.
IP Licensing & Custom Characters in nearby cities:
Questions Chicago buyers ask about ip licensing & custom characters.
What does IP licensing mean at Showcraft for a Chicago brand?+
We design and develop an original character — costume, story, voice, look — that your brand owns and can deploy across multiple events and seasons in Chicago and beyond. Think of it as a recurring mascot with story DNA: the same character shows up at activations across Chicago and builds equity over time.
What's the timeline for a custom character build for a Chicago brand?+
Full builds (concept, design, costume fabrication, performer casting, and rehearsal) run 8-16 weeks depending on complexity. Once built, the character can deploy to activations in Chicago and across Chicago with standard 2-3 week lead times for individual bookings.
Do we own the IP after Showcraft develops the Chicago character?+
Yes — full IP ownership transfers to your brand on delivery. Showcraft maintains the costume, casting, and performer rotations, and you can deploy the character across any market we serve, including Chicago and Chicago. Licensing terms are spelled out in the build agreement.
Are the performers behind your licensed characters in Chicago W-2 employees?+
Yes. Every performer who steps into a Showcraft-built licensed character in Chicago is a W-2 employee with workers' comp and general liability coverage. COIs name your brand and the activation venue. In California, the structure is fully AB-5 / AB-2257 compliant.
Hire ip licensing & custom characters in Chicago today. on demand.
Tell us what you're putting on. Quote in minutes, talent on-site in days. No phone tree.