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by Jim Futrell
It is no secret that one of the keys to success for any business is effective marketing. As several people in charge of marketing smaller amusement facilities can attest, while the tools and strategies behind an effective program have changed dramatically in recent years, the old standbys still remain important.
“Today, you have to think differently; you have to educate yourself to trends,” says Ron Gustafson, director of marketing for Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut. “We’re beyond the standard outlets now.”
Any conversation on how facility marketing has changed must start with the advent of the digital age. From the expansion in the use of computers in almost all facets of the business, to the emerging opportunities presented by Facebook and Twitter, the impact has been profound.
“The computer has changed everything,” says William Robinson, who has been marketing amusement parks since 1975. As the head of his own agency, William H. Robinson Inc., computer technology enables production capabilities once considered a pipe dream, such as digital photo enhancement and video editing. Press releases and even radio spots are now distributed electronically and through it all, turnaround is accelerated.
Gustafson agrees, noting 2009 was the first year that no hard-copy press kits were distributed by the park. “No one wants them anymore,” he says. “Editors want digital. We put our releases in Associated Press style so it can be dropped right into their publications. The stuff gets used.”
Evolution of Web
Of course the digital revolution goes way beyond making traditional marketing programs more efficient. Most parks have had web sites for well more than a decade; today they have evolved into much more than a source of information but a critical two-way medium for the park. “Over the last decade, there has been a transition away from traditional to digital,” says Gustafson, “But it’s not about what you spend but how you can interact.”
Tally Rhodes Green of Lake Winnepesaukah in Rossville, Georgia, says the park’s web site has become an important sales channel. The park first started selling tickets on its web site in 2009 and is already seeing a large increase in 2010. (The site also includes group-booking forms.)
The Internet has also revolutionized how parks execute their promotional strategies. Paul Borchardt of Wonderland in Amarillo, Texas, makes regular use of electronic promotional mailings, not only through its web site but also via media partners. Offering special deals, discounts, and giveaways, the strategy has resulted in redemption rates of 2 percent to 3 percent, more than twice the 0.9 percent redemption rate for all coupons in 2009, according to a study by Inmar Inc. In 2009 this strategy completely replaced the coupons Wonderland had long placed in area phone books.
 Seabreeze Park in Roches - ter, New York, embraced this trend by using promotional codes to allow customers to purchase discounted tickets online. However, Vice President John Norris sees this as a complement to the park’s traditional couponing program, rather than replacing it entirely. “We try to give people options; we don’t want to get rid of coupons,” he says, noting that redemption currently runs two to one coupons over promo codes.
But Internet marketing goes well beyond the park’s web site. It has become an important advertising channel, and it is more critical than ever to be proactive in selecting web sites where the park’s ads will be seen by the target audience. Quassy’s Gustafson spends a lot of time reaching the right web sites for banner ads, looking for family-oriented events that fit the park’s target market. “You need to focus on areas where you get the best return,” say John Chidester, marketing director for Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, in Santa Claus, Indiana, specifically citing banner placements on Google and other search engines.
Social Media Tools
The next great frontier in the digital revolution is the spreading influence of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. “Social media can get across the message quicker and in greater depth,” says Chidester of Holiday World. “I like the genuine nature of it; it’s word of mouth in its own way and helps identify trends.”
Holiday World also sees video site YouTube emerging as an important promotional tool. “People put up memories instantly, and we also have the chance to put our own images up.”
Lake Winnepesaukah has been utilizing social media only since 2009 but already sees the value. “It’s a great means of spreading the word about the park, particularly in special events,” says Green, also citing the value to generate word of mouth. “It’s a great extension for publicizing the park.”
 Given the more freewheeling nature of social media sites, there is often concern about controlling the message in a way that is consistent with the rest of the marketing strategy. However, Jack Morey, executive vice president of the Morey Organization in Wildwood, New Jersey, takes a high-level view. “The trick is to manage your business. Focus on your guests, and social media will work for you,” he says. “With the right guest focus, you don’t have to be paranoid about what people are saying.”
Again, as with other Internet-related marketing strategies, most small parks see social media as a complement, rather than a replacement. “It does not have the mass yet to use as a promotional tool,” says Chidester, although the park’s Facebook page has more than 76,000 fans.
Most parks interviewed agreed the cutting-edge nature of social media means they must carefully select the person who manages their social media strategy. “No one over 30 should do Facebook,” quips Seabreeze’s Norris. His park’s Facebook fan page launched in 2009 and got 5,000 fans in the first month; that number now stands at nearly 10,000.
Hold on to Traditional Media
As big an impact as the digital era might have had, most parks are in agreement traditional media is still important to the strategy. But even there things have changed.
 Among traditional media, there is general agreement television remains critical. “It provides more immediacy; it’s easier to get in front of the customer,” says Green. “We’re a more visual society than we used to be.”
And among most smaller facilities, the audience they are trying to reach has largely remained unchanged—women aged 25 to 54 with children, since they tend to drive purchase decisions. As a result, most parks interviewed focus on “mom shows”—chiefly morning and evening news programs. Gustafson says a key advantage of those programs is that they occur at times when people tend to be inside. “I pay a premium for the best spots,” he says.
Robinson says the quality of television commercials has increased over the past several years: “You have to now tell a story. People need to pay attention. Your spot now has to compare to a national spot.”
Many parks have had to adjust their strategies to accommodate the changing demographics of the country. For instance, Quassy Amusement Park operates in a state where the Hispanic population has increased by a third since 2000. Gustafson was particularly challenged in reaching this growing market. Radio did not work. Print didn’t work. So he reached out for help and consulted with account executives experienced in marketing toward the Hispanic market. A program was developed to highlight the park’s Saturday evening family promotion via the local affiliate of the Telemundo network. The result was immediate, as business doubled.
While television remains important for most parks, print has taken the biggest hit in the digital age. Chidester notes that in many major markets, the local newspaper now has the most visited web site. For most parks, the print strategy has become more focused emphasizing summer guides and travel publications.
It is interesting that two of the oldest and most low-tech marketing media are still considered valuable tools. Most parks interviewed still consider billboards an important part of their strategy. “We do more outdoor than we used to,” says Norris. “People are more mobile.”
In addition, even in this digital age, the brochure appears to be here to stay. “Nothing is better than a good brochure,” says Robinson. “People tend to keep them.” (See more on rack card marketing in the FUNWORLD’s April 2010 issue.)
Holiday World’s Chidester agrees, “No matter what, so many times people want that brochure.” He notes, however, that with increased use of downloadable electronic brochures, the park’s annual print run has been consistent over the past five years, although they are distributed over a wider area.
“We need to be everywhere,” says Norris. He notes brochures now include promo codes for discounts while the park has cut back the print run over the past decade from 70,000 to 50,000 despite a broader marketing area.
In the end, no matter what media parks embrace or how they adapt to emerging technologies, the goal of any facility’s marketing strategies has not changed. “If we don’t break through we are just talking to ourselves,” says Chidester.
Jim Futrell has been historian for the National Amusement Park Historical Association since 1984. He serves on IAAPA’s Hall of Fame and Archives Committee and oversees the association’s Oral History Project. His fourth book, “Amusement Parks of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware,” was released last year.
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