Marketing Your Attraction

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Amazon has YouTube envy: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-15/amazon-wants-twitch-to-be-a-youtube-competitor?mod=djemCMOToday

Theme Park Announcements:
Canada’s Wonderland
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Carowinds
Scary Farm

Skullcandy creates live concert series as part of content marketing push
“Consumers today, young consumers are very savvy, and they’re very savvy about paid influencers. Obviously, we’re a commercial entity, and of course we want to sell headphones, but we want the music to be pure,” Klodnicki said. Of course, Skullcandy can — and does — retarget attendees and viewers with more commercial advertisements after the fact. Skullcandy spends the majority of its marketing budget on digital ads. Unlike Apple and Bose, it doesn’t buy TV or print ads.”
https://digiday.com/marketing/skullcandy-creates-live-concert-series-part-content-marketing-push/

Secrets of the Wicker Man at Alton Towers revealed
“Filmed over several months, the documentary follows the team as they complete construction of Wicker Man, a family thrill-ride with a huge sculpture at its heart that appears to burst into flames as the ride rushes through it. As the resort was preparing to open the attraction to the public, senior members of the Alton Towers team revealed to the documentary how important the success of the £16 million ride is, as they strive to rebuild trust with visitors following the incident on The Smiler in 2015 which saw two young women, Leah Washington and Vicky Balch, lose a leg.”
https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/alton-towers-channel-4-wicker-1882935

Main Topic:
Upcharging

How can you charge your guests more and make them feel like they are getting a much better value than guests spending less? How can you create that value?

Airbnb Story: What does an 10 star experience look like?
https://mastersofscale.com/brian-chesky-handcrafted/

Wrap-Up:

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

Visit MarketingYourAttraction.com for blog posts and an archive of past episodes.

Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player.

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
This 18+ Horror-Themed Campground Is The Most Disturbing Place To Go Camping: https://www.narcity.com/ca/on/toronto/travel/this-18-horror-themed-campground-near-toronto-is-the-most-disturbing-place-youll-ever-go-camping

Six Flags launches loyalty program:
https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/six-flags-launches-preeminent-new-loyalty-program-2018-08-15

Main Topic:
Groupon/GoldStar Discounting

Often necessary on slower days. Build the margin into your price.

Make a discounting plan before you begin. You don’t want to be reactive (IE numbers are low, so we’ll reduce price). There’s not getting around that school and work nights are tough for our audiences. Nobody wants to feel like they spent more than they had to. Audiences come to expect something is listed on Groupon/Goldstar. Thus, it’s both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Our recommendation?
Build those margins into the plan from the beginning and form relationships with discount sites ahead of time. That way, when it is needed, you can pull the lever. Those sites are a last resort.

Don’t forget to negotiate with the sites and try to add value on your own platforms first.

Can you add value to your channels first? IE buy a ticket get a free food item, etc.

If the added value doesn't work, try a targeted discount. Keep this discreet if possible.

Wrap-Up:

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

Visit MarketingYourAttraction.com for blog posts and an archive of past episodes.

Subscribe to the podcast and leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast player.

The hosts walk through best practices for working with marketing, creative, and media buying agencies for your attraction.

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Physical products are more valuable than digital products - https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-can-marketers-deal-with-an-oversaturated-digital-space-turn-back-to-physical-products/

Expansion of Dollywood:
“The "new land," a $37 million investment, was the theme park's largest capital investment ever.”
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/dolly-parton-announces-plans-for-new-dollywood-area-set-to-open-in-2019/51-580078465

Snapchat Story Ads - https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/blog/introducing-story-ads-a-new-way-to-showcase-your-brand-or-product-in-discover/
“With one tap, Snapchatters can jump into a collection of 3-20 Snaps and dive deeper into your new fashion collection, movie release, suite of products, and more.”


Main Topic:
Ad Agencies - Help businesses execute marketing strategies and they range from full service to boutique. Think of them as an extension to your marketing department, which differs from contractors because they have support systems in place.

Full-Service, Creative vs. Consultant vs. Media Buying vs. Smaller Specialities (Social Media, PR, etc.)

Pros: They help reduce cost because you get the benefit of their expertise without needing to hire. Additionally, they provide an infrastructure for those that do not want to manage a piecemeal team. It’s a benefit for smaller companies until you’re large enough to make your own worth it (Disney). For example, Universal uses multiple agencies for different campaigns.

Advice:
Try to avoid lengthy contracts. Agencies try to get you to sign a longer contract, but try to take it project by project.
Costly retainers. Retainers can be high, and be aware that an agency has many clients; they’re not always working on your attraction.
Some will charge an hourly wage and others charge a fee on top of the spend. Example, for $10,000 spent on Google ads, they will take 10% added on top. The agency manages the ads so you don’t have to worry.
Craft your RFP and outline exactly what you need.
What’s campaign distribution?
What specifically do you need?
Sit down with at least 5-10 agencies; treat this like hiring employees (both in terms of testing and in terms of cultural fit).
It’s OK to wait if you don't find a good fit.

There are three broad functions to cover: Media Buy/Placement, Campaign Strategy, and Creative.


Wrap-Up:

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Empty Malls - https://digiday.com/marketing/online-retailers-using-empty-mall-spaces-test-products/

The Science of Storytelling -
https://marketingland.com/the-science-of-storytelling-245561

The Expanding Market:
“DXB Entertainments saw the number of visitors to Dubai Parks and Resorts rise 48% during the second quarter and 46% during the first half of 2018. International guests accounted for 38% of visitors during the first half, while annual pass holders made up 25% of visits.”

Another Reason to Monitor your Brand:
“A post on a Facebook page called 'Six Flags Club' has been shared over 100,000 times with over 40,000 comments. The post writes that every single person who shares and comments within the next 12 hours will get 4 free Six Flags tickets. Western Mass News confirmed with a spokesperson for Six Flags Wednesday night that the page is not associated with the amusement park. We're told Six Flags is working with Facebook to try and take the post down.”

Peter Weishar is UCF’s new professor of themed entertainment design.


Main Topic:
SEO for Beginners

Step 1 - Keyword Research
Think about what keywords guests will use to find your attraction. Make sure to think about general categories and other terms that the general public might use. For example, not just haunted house, but also haunted maze, Halloween things to do, etc.

Step 2 - Setup your site correctly
Don’t put your text into images on your website. Make sure you have at least 150 - 300 words on each part of your page and you naturally include the keywords a few times in that text.

Google factors in how mobile friendly your website is and how long it takes to load. Make sure to compress the images.

Google Webmasters Program: https://www.google.com/webmasters

Plug-In for Wordpress -> Yoast SEO: https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/

Step 3 - Get other websites to link to your site:
Social Media Platforms
Community Event Calendars
Contact your local Visitor Bureaus and ask them to promote you on their website
Partner Pages
Local Bloggers, Newspapers, other media outlets
Attraction Directories, search “Things To Do”

Where to go next?
Creating a blog. Adding more content onto your site. Writing guest blog posts for other blogs and linking back to your site. Using keyword tools like Moz.com:
https://moz.com/explorer/
https://moz.com/free-seo-tools
https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo


Wrap-Up:

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Alien: Descent vs. The Void

Midsummer Scream: A great convention chuck full of marketing examples for attractions. All the attractions in the Southern California area participate and each is a great example of attractions connection with guests at conventions. Track the hashtag online to see some of the examples. Six Flags brought a scare zone, scare actors, and hosted a main stage announcement panel.
​
Main Topic:
Yelp and TripAdvisor Review Websites
https://hbr.org/2018/02/study-replying-to-customer-reviews-results-in-better-ratings

“Harvard Business Review found that when hotels start responding, they receive 12% more reviews and their ratings increase, on average, by 0.12 stars. While these gains may seem modest, TripAdvisor rounds average ratings to the nearest half star: A hotel with a rating of 4.26 stars will be rounded up to a 4.5, while a hotel with 4.24 stars will be rounded down to a 4. Therefore, even small changes can have a significant impact on consumers’ perceptions.”

Why? “If the consumer notices a manager responding to past reviews, they might decide not to leave a trivial or unsubstantiated negative review, to avoid a potentially uncomfortable online interaction with the manager. Once hotels started responding, they experienced a sharp drop in the rate of short negative reviews. And while longer negative reviews still cropped up, these reviews often contained constructive feedback that could be useful to managers trying to make changes.”

Example of how to handle hecklers: https://tim.blog/2018/07/16/aisha-tyler/

Tips:
Encourage reviews, but focus on one platform at a time (one CTA).
Make sure you have a dedicated team member to managing feedback and reviews.
De-escalate the situation and remove them from the public view as soon as possible.
Assign responses to someone who is trained is guest service and knows how to handle these situations and resolve them.

Wrap-Up:

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Theme Park WiFi - http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-theme-park-wifi-20180720-story.html

Reviews of Comic-Con Activations including escape rooms: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jack-ryan-walking-dead-san-diego-comic-con-activation-hits-misses-1128727

TEA Masters: http://www.inparkmagazine.com/tea-masters-call-for-nominees/

Nine Ways To Build Brand Relationships With Teens On Social Media: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/21/nine-ways-to-build-brand-relationships-with-teens-on-social-media/#580c7517324b

Six Ways You Can Use Yoga Principles In Your Social Media Marketing: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/20/six-ways-you-can-use-yoga-principles-in-your-social-media-marketing/#3d453d6a4639
​
Main Topic:
Digital vs. Traditional Marketing for big and small attractions

Understand the difference between Mass Marketing and Direct Selling; most traditional marketing is mass marketing.
As always, you must understand your market.
Crossing The Chasm has a great definition of ‘market’ as “a set of customers who have similar needs/wants and ref each other.”
Toggling between mass marketing and direct selling will depend on your market and the ability you have to reach a tipping point within that market.
Marketing is only useful if it can maintain a market.

The Marketing Funnel
Top: Cold leads go in
Bottom: Conversion
Digital marketing is at the bottom and Traditional is at the top.
You begin with general awareness and work them down.

Targeting Rating Points (TRPs): The percentage of the audience you’re targeting will be reached and the frequency. You must run a full campaign (5-7 times); otherwise, you’ll have no impact.

Wrap-Up:
Leadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4
Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFF

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

Picking Partners: How To Evaluate Sponsorship Opportunities


NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Elevating Moments Into Lasting Memories article: http://bradjashinsky.com/memorable-moments-themepark-attraction/

Live stream from a roller coaster: http://bradjashinsky.com/live-stream-roller-coaster/

Changing The Game: Socialize Founder Akanksha Goel On The Evolution Of Her Digital Media Agency: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/316645
Explanation of strategy: “Goel reveals its strategy to be something she calls “ART + SCIENCE.” “ART stands for thumb-stopping creative,” she says. “In a region where people spend so much time on mobile, a brand’s content/message/story needs to stand out while their audience is scrolling. Our creative team specializes in creating this content that is built for the mobile newsfeed. SCIENCE stands for innovative media, harnessing the power of real-time social data to target audiences with military precision, allowing our personalized messages to be seen by the right people, at scale– driving measurable business growth for clients.”

How museums are attracting new audiences with creative ways to enhance guests’ well-being: http://www.iaapa.org/news/funworld/funworld-magazine/cover-story---namaste---july-2018

Alton Towers set for major expansion with 102 'camping pods': https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/alton-towers-set-major-expansion-14887771 “each pod will have a double bed and two singles, as well as electricity, with communal shower and toilet blocks elsewhere.”

Disney World holiday plans include Toy Story Land, 'Up' show
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-et-disney-christmas-toy-story-land-20180709-story.html

Facebook Tests New Info Labels for Branded Content Partnerships
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-tests-new-info-labels-for-branded-content-partnerships/527783/

​
Main Topic:
Evaluating Sponsorship Opportunities
Make sure you vet them properly:
Media Kit - Are they giving you real numbers? Distribution?
Website- Is it updated, responsive, good meta, etc?
What is their social presence like? Are people reacting?
Referrals - Who else has worked with them and what did they say?
Make sure they truly reach the market you’re targeting.
Focus on your call to action and simplify the steps.
Tie it back to your ‘why’ so that it is coherent.
Don’t forget to think outside of the box; good partners are always responsive.
Understand this takes more work.
Is the team excited to work with you?
Problem versus the ‘Potential’ mindset.
Brad’s examples:
Foodbeast.
Crypt TV.

Wrap-Up:
Leadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4
Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFF

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

NEWS

Blooloop’s Top 50 Theme Park Influencer List
An interesting read to see the diversity of the industry.
https://blooloop.com/blooloop-50-theme-park-influencer-list/#top50

How Cedar Fair Scaled An Immersive Mobile Experience
Jim Denny VP of eCommerce: https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/2018/06/how-cedar-fair-scaled-an-immersive-mobile-experience.html


Main Topic:
Ask More: A Simple Guide to Asking More Effective Guest Survey Questions

Recommended Reading
1.Ask: The Counterintuitive Online Formula to Discover Exactly What Your Customers Want to Buy. By Ryan Levesque https://amzn.to/2ztMn7k

2.Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip & Dan Heath https://amzn.to/2u8ZeGQ
3.Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini https://amzn.to/2KKVSEe

General Notes
1.Everyone should be surveying, no matter the size/level of experience.
1.It doesn’t have to be complex.
2.Understand what you’re going to use the data for and how to codify it (see below for biases)
3.Don’t make the surveys too long, 3-5 questions max but 3 is ideal.
4.People are terrible at predictions.
1.Ask: What did they not like, what did they do in the past.
5.People are bad at giving examples without proper framing.
1.Ask: ‘On a scale from 1-10 how would rate the ride?’ and then ‘why did you not rate it lower’
6.The longer the response, the closer you are to a pain or peak point.
7.Understand the Net Promoter Score below
a.Remember we want to move people up ranks to have incredible experiences and not waste too much time on the pits if they aren’t realistic.
8.Understand the genre of the survey:
Quantitative
Qualitative
Observing
Net Promoter Score (below)
9.Use surveys to counter biases
Narrow Framing
Confirmation Bias
Short-Term Emotion
Overconfidence

About the Net Promoter Score:
“On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this company’s product or service to a friend or a colleague?” Based on their rating, customers are then classified in 3 categories: detractors, passives and promoters”
https://www.medallia.com/net-promoter-score/

Brad’s Invisible Asymptotes Reference
“I see many companies spend time analyzing funnels and seeing who emerges out the bottom. As a company grows, though, and from the start, it's just as important to look at those who never make it through the funnel, or who jump out of it at the very top.

When companies run focus groups on their products, they often show me the positive feedback. I'm almost invariably more interested in the folks who've registered negative feedback, though I sense many product teams find watching that material to be stomach-churning. Sometimes the feedback isn't useful in the moment; perhaps you have such strong product-market fit with a different cohort that it isn't useful. Still, it's never not a bit of a prick to the ego.

However, all honest negative feedback forms the basis of some asymptote in some customer segment, even if the constraint isn't constricting yet. Even if companies I meet with don't yet have an idea of how to deal with a problem, I'm always curious to see if they have a good explanation for what that problem is.

One important sidenote on this topic is that I'm often invited to give product feedback, more than I can find time for these days. When I'm doing so in person, some product teams can't help but jump in as soon as I raise any concerns, just to show they've already anticipated my objections.

I advise just listening all the way through the first time, to hear the why of someone's feedback, before cutting them off. You'll never be there in person with each customer to talk them out of their reasoning, your product or service has to do that work. The batting average of product people who try to explain to their customers why they're wrong is...not good. It's a sure way to put them off of giving you feedback in the future, too.”

How do you set Prices for your attraction?
Pricing is expensive or cheap depending on who you are targeting, therefore, framing & testing is critical.


NEWS/Quick-Takes:
California Data Privacy Law Passes
“The bill -- AB 375, or the California Consumer Privacy Act -- turns the tech world's business model on its head by letting regular internet users ask for the data a company has collected on them and whom the data has been sold to. That alone could be eye-opening for consumers. Most people understand their online activity is being tracked for targeted advertising, but we don't have a broad understanding of what data's being used. The bill will take effect at the beginning of 2020.”

Facebook/Twitter now publicly show all ads a brand is running
“Every Facebook Page carries a new button called “Info and Ads.” That new section will display the ads the Page is currently running across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook’s partner network. Facebook also will have a button to report each ad. Facebook also will publicly share more information about Pages. Pages will display changes to their names along with the date they were created. Facebook said it plans to add more information in the coming weeks.”

Pinterest is Growing Faster than Twitter and Snapchat, and Offers Significant Opportunities
Pinterest may not be growing at the rate the company had once anticipated, but the platform is expanding, with new data showing that the app is now closing in on 250 million monthly active users, up from the 200 million it reported back in September.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/pinterest-is-growing-faster-than-twitter-and-snapchat-and-offers-significa/524417/


Main Topic:
Pricing Your Attraction
Consider: Are you a Value or Luxury Play?
Have you tested pricing through digital A/B tests, etc.?

Examples:
Pricing is expensive or cheap depending on who you are targeting, therefore, framing & testing is critical.
Pat Flynn - Testing your product before the product is built.
Use the contrast principle.
Stay away from predictions; people are terrible at predictions.
Always offer tiers.
Find out your optimal capacity; you can make a fatal mistake if you misjudge your capacity. Whatever you think the capacity will be, divide it in half and price from there.

Wrap-Up:
Leadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4
Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFF

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com

There is no easy answer to which platform you should choose, but here’s a guide to follow!

NEWS/Quick-Takes:
Instagram TV is pulling us ever closer to a future full of tall videos
https://www.popsci.com/instagram-tv-is-pulling-us-ever-closer-to-future-full-tall-videos
“Everyone spends time on Instagram,” he said. “Every single person is always on Instagram. When you go to YouTube, you’re actively looking for something. Instagram, you’re waiting in line and it’s like, let me just go waste some time.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/style/instagram-igtv.html

Tours and Activities Sector Still Faces Challenge of Moving Bookings Online (I thought this could be an interesting conversation about last-minute bookings for seasonal events)
https://skift.com/2018/06/12/tours-and-activities-sector-still-faces-challenge-of-moving-bookings-online/


Main Topic:
Social Media Starter Kit
There is no easy answer.

Here are a few things to try:
Register your name at least on everything to keep it (yelp, facebook, and Google my business).
Maintain consistency on platforms (keywords, logo, name spelled the same, etc).
Family targets: Facebook/IG
Younger: Snapchat/IG
Twitter: Reporters and professionals
LinkedIn: B2B / Business Development

Understand why you are using the platform.
Answer these questions:
What are we trying to get from the platform?
Awareness
Engagement
Authority
Leads
Sales
Business Development
Traditional Media
Customer Service
Who specifically are we trying to engage?

Why do people use social media?
To stay in touch with friends
To stay up to date with current events
To fill u spare time
To find Entertaining Content
General Networking
Because of Social Groups
To Share Photos or Videos
To Research/ Find Products to Buy


Wrap-Up:
Leadership Symposium: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seasonal-attraction-leadership-symposium-2018-registration-45141589710?aff=0a3e2d60b4
Use ‘GANTOMINSIDER’ for $30 OFF

Free Subscription to Seasonal Entertainment Source: http://seasonalentertainmentsource.com