Jan04TOPFecs

This year IAAPA invited FECs from around the world to enter its inaugural Top FECs of the World awards program. Eleven winners were chosen, and each issue of Funworld this year will feature one of the winners.

Adventure Landing is changing before its customers’ very eyes. The Raleigh, N.C, family entertainment center has embarked on a three-year re-branding and expansion program that has proved instrumental in maintaining a sense of freshness for its loyal customer base. This is a must because Adventure Landing is located in a residential market and relies on repeat business from neighborhood regulars.

“A big percentage of our business comes from families and teenagers we see nearly every weekend. So without a doubt, our big challenge is to make sure that repeat visits are fun and unique,” explains General Manager Brent Hardin. To meet that need, the FEC has developed a campaign that allows Adventure Landing to capitalize on its strengths while expanding its offerings.
The process began with the re-branding effort. Founded as a Putt-Putt miniature golf course in 1989, Adventure Landing became an independent operation in 1997 and used a pirate theme to establish a unique identity. But with its continued growth, that theme became a limitation—it no longer reflected Adventure Landing’s varied offerings. Now visitors are greeted with a crisp logo and new slogan that reflect what is really on offer: “Adventure Landing: The Place to Play!”

And visitors find plenty of ways to play. Adventure Landing features a quarter-mile go-kart track, three complete miniature golf courses, state-of-the-art laser tag, batting cages, and 100 video and redemption games.

The 10-year-old go-kart track has been renovated in ways that shrewdly add new value to the ride. Now repainted with a checkered finish line and new color scheme that matches the new Adventure Landing logo, the rechristened Adventure Speedway track features a new timing system with a large scoreboard that helps create a realistic race setting. “Instead of just getting in your go-kart and racing around for five minutes, now you can see what place you’re in and what your lap speed is,” says Hardin.

Equally important, people waiting in line can now watch TV monitors that add drama to the spectacle and often entice other customers to join the queue. Hardin says this element is particularly appealing to corporate groups that come to Adventure Landing on team-building exercises. “We market to a lot of adult groups and they get pretty competitive out here. By the time we line them up on the starting line, they’re ready to go.”

Adventure Landing also features a two-story laser tag arena that Hardin says is one of the largest in the Eastern United States. “We opened that in 1997 and keep it open year-round; it’s a big draw,” he says.

The center’s arcade expansion has focused on transitioning from video games to redemption games. “When I started in the industry, it was loaded with video games,” Hardin says. “But now kids have these games at home. What they don’t have are Skee-Ball and air hockey, the kind of competitive games that can result in prizes.” With that in mind, Adventure Landing’s arcade now contains 60 percent redemption games.

The final element of the re-branding plan involves marketing. Adventure Landing makes frequent use of “special day” promotions like Hawaiian Day, Spin Art Day, and NFL Jersey Day. Employees are encouraged to dress up, and their participation is yet another way that things stay fresh for all involved.

Additionally, Adventure Landing uses a variety of advertising and direct marketing strategies. More than 20,000 coupons are delivered to local schools, and Val Paks of special offers are mailed each month of the summer. These Paks entice customers to attend during the month in which they are received. Hardin says that these discounts are especially important to customers who want to return again and again.

With an annual attendance of 400,000, its highly motivated, service-oriented staff, and the plan for growth and re-branding under way, Adventure Landing appears to be well positioned to maintain its reputation as one of IAAPA’s Top FECs of the world.