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Generating Buzz
 How to create excitement this year, even without new attractions by Adam Graves
AMUSEMENT PARK AND ATTRACTION MARKETING MANAGERS will likely be challenged this year to generate excitement in their campaigns, to drive new traffic, and, of course, sustain a certain amount of repeat traffic without a new attraction to announce. The task is easy enough when you have a new ride to do all the hard work for you, but when you have the “same old park,” there are a number of things you can do to bring in that repeat business.
Families give a lot of thought to their next vacation. In the current economy, they are still taking vacations, but downsizing on distance and expense. They want something new, so parks and attractions should be re-inventing their messages without losing sight of their core brands, and carrying it through to the overall park experience.
Refresh Your Brand: The basic tenets of branding tell us to keep our look consistent. The idea here is to maintain the integrity of your brand, i.e. the logo, the personality, and the same key message. However, a refresh of your look with new photography, a new color palette, new fonts, and even a new seasonal tagline will remain true to your brand and still provide a feeling of something new.
Start with the brochure and the web site, and carry it through to your print ads. With Silverwood Theme Park as an example, the underlining message, “Over 65 rides and attractions” has remained a constant throughout the years. However, a seasonal marketing message changes. This year it will be “Turn your summer upside down” to promote the upside- down roller coasters. When compared to previous years, there is no doubt the marketing pieces come from the same brand, but they look updated and new each year.
Photography: Changing your creative may sound like an expensive endeavor, but there are other ways to save money. Schedule one large photo shoot every three years or so; cherry-pick the best 25 images from the shoot and use six or so each year for the next three years. This is a great, economical way to use new photography each year and make your materials look new without incurring the expense of an annual photo shoot.
Utilize New Technology: Using cutting-edge marketing techniques demonstrates you are adapting and, to your younger audience, that you are cool. Mobile marketing and social media tools are an inexpensive way to interact with your customers. Mobile marketing (i.e., text messaging visitors while at the park) enhances their experiences and gives you enhanced revenue opportunities.
Direct Mail: Save costs by combining multiple uses into one direct mail piece. A well-planned design allows for changing the core message in black allowing the printer to change out the black plate for different targeted messages while running the full color background in bulk. This will save when producing multiple pieces for various groups such as season pass holders, corporate group planners, schools, etc.
Deliver on the Experience: Remember your brand starts with guests’ first contact with your organization, be it the web site or a print ad; it carries through to the arrival, and ends with the departure. Despite the down economy, families are still going on vacation, they are just choosing the most economical way to do it. Finding new ways to enhance their experiences will entice your visitors to come back again and again.
Adam Graves is co-founder of Range US, a brand agency based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and has handled marketing for Silverwood Theme Park for the past decade. His campaigns have won numerous Brass Ring Awards for Silverwood (and frequently, he has had to do it without a new exciting ride!) and have helped to increase park attendance 7 percent every year. He can be reached at adam@rangeus.com.
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