Sep03MarketingPlus

In an environment where a visitor’s decision-making process to go to a theme park is affected by so many factors and is usually last minute, tactical advertising can help maximize the return from your advertising dollar.

Depending on what market you operate in, the first step is to have a thorough understanding of your target market and a clear profile of your visitors.

For example, at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the United Kingdom, visitors can be broken down into two distinct groups: local residents visiting the park and visitors staying in the Blackpool resort area. The local group, who usually live within a 90-minute drive of the park and can act on a moment’s notice, respond well to tactical advertising.

Timing is very important. When deciding on an advertising plan, ask yourself these key questions:
• Do you advertise when business is low?
• Do you need to raise attendance, but the market isn’t available?
• Do you advertise at your peak, when the market is available, to assert your strength among your competitors?
Though this article’s focus is not low- versus peak-season marketing activity, it’s crucial to make sure there is an available market before you commit your advertising dollars. With tactical advertising, you’re trying to generate immediate responses from your consumers.

Conversely, brand-building advertising is for developing your business brand and perception in the marketplace—tactical advertising doesn’t do this. Rather, it attracts consumers at that moment but will not leave a lasting impression on them. Therefore, this type of advertising is best used during low-season periods.

At Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the park wanted to pull the start of the season forward by opening one month earlier. The decision was made to operate the park on weekends only during this period to guarantee an available market; however, poor weather and tradition needed to be overcome to get the visitors to show up. The consumer offer was simple but powerful: “All rides £1 this weekend at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.”

To communicate the message, a 10-second television commercial targeting the day-visitor market was developed. It was a simple message, with a clear consumer “what’s in it for me?” offer.
The campaign was a success and has now developed into a very important period of the company’s annual trade.

One of the key reasons for its success was the straightforward message and the method of advertising. Using price to create an attractive advertising message is probably the most common way to deliver a tactical campaign. However, it is essential to use the discount offer for limited time periods only. Continual price discounting will eventually erode underlying profitability. Try to create strong tactical advertising messages by adding value or offering something unique.

Another example of tactical advertising is a campaign run by Blackpool Pleasure Beach designed to drive more sales of theatre tickets at a time when competition was high. The decision was taken to offer one free child seat when accompanied by a full-price adult. A campaign was created called “kids go free,” and the offer was limited to one month only. Advance sales were not affected by the “kids go free” campaign as it was not announced until the first day of the month in which the campaign ran. To get the message out quickly, a number of advertising methods were used:
• All frontline staff were issued with red T-shirts to wear with the “kids go free” message printed across the front. This created huge visual impact.
• Outdoor posters were placed at key entry points to the resort and a mobile advertising vehicle drove throughout the resort.
• A press launch was held, and key influencers within the resort were also invited along to help spread the “kids go free” message.
• Local press and radio advertising was used to help launch the campaign.
All the activity was designed to create an instant big noise about the “kids go free” promotion. The fact that the campaign only ran for one month also added a sense of urgency to the advertising, and it gave the campaign that all-important call to action, which is at the heart of a successful tactical campaign.

For more information on advertising, attend the marketing workshops at the IAAPA trade show in Orlando (November 17-22). There will be a marketing lounge where you can attend workshops, information exchanges, view Brass Ring award winners’ material, and network with other marketing professionals from our industry.
Lounge Schedule
November 18—“Free Advertising”
November 18—“Making a Difference”
November 19—1-2 p.m. Info exchange
November 20—“Group Sales”
Thursday 20—4-5 p.m. Info exchange, cocktail time
The marketing lounge will be open daily Tuesday through Thursday.