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Promoting an attraction 1 /
Promoting an attraction
How a range of methods can be used to promote an attraction.
Episode 1: How shall we tell people?
Twenty years ago, if an organisation wanted to promote itself and attract people’s attention, it bought advertising space. It might have been on TV, in a newspaper or even on a large display board but it had to attract people’s attention. They might get lucky and be mentioned or used by a celebrity but usually people’s interest had to be bought.
People might talk about the organisation if they liked it (and certainly if they didn’t) but they probably didn’t get listened to by many other people.
These days it’s more complex. There are far more ways to advertise and or promote a product or service. THORPE PARK Resort is the UK’s largest thrill ride theme park and each year their marketing team are tasked with attracting a lot of people through the gates. This isn’t just about a lot of promotion, it is about getting it right.
1. Make a list of all the ways that a theme park can advertise itself.
Put your ideas into groups and see what ideas other people have come up with.
2. Think about the kind of people THORPE PARK Resort wants to attract. Take into
account the age range and the location.
3. Consider the type and location of people you’re trying to attract and the kinds
of media you can use, what would you do? Suggest a plan for an advertising
campaign and justify what you would use (and what you wouldn’t bother with.)
Promoting an attraction 2 /
Episode 2: Is the best advertising free?
On a large sheet of paper set up groups - example shown on page 3.
Do some research online and see how THORPE PARK Resort is represented there. This won’t show all forms of advertising but it will give you some ideas.
See if you can find out, for example:
- TV adverts that THORPE PARK Resort has used. - What their website is like? - What their Facebook page is like? - How they feature on Trip Advisor? - Other mentions that someone searching online might find.
This is designed to help you think about effective promotion which is divided into three areas.
1. Look at the three headings: ‘paid for’, ‘owned’ and ‘earned’. There is an example of
each of these – see if you can add some more examples and add them to the lists.
2. Now take one of these areas, such as ‘paid for’ and think of strengths of this kind
of advertising. What’s effective about this kind of advertising? You might decide, for
example, that it’s good at reaching a lot of people, so list that as a strength and try
and think of some more.
3. Now think of a weakness. Paid for advertising is expensive, so you could put that
down and think of some more.
4. Now think of opportunities it offers. TV adverts offer the opportunity to present
values such as excitement, so add that to the list and think of some more.
5. Think of threats. It could be that a competitor runs an advert immediately after
yours and negates any benefits.
6. Now look at the other two areas and explore those in the same ways.
Promoting an attraction 4 /
Episode 3: How do you know what works?
Companies can put a lot of time into advertising and spend a lot of money on it – but how would you know if it was working? You might say that if you had a lot of adverts and a lot of people came that it must be working, but maybe they would have come anyway.
Whilst you can never be completely sure, there are things you can do to see if people are actually using promotions such as websites. One of the most popular is called ‘Google Analytics’, it shows all kinds of information about your website.
Look at the dashboard on page 6 showing the use of a website.
For example, it shows:
- The number of people that visited the site in a month.^ These aren’t necessarily different visitors, but how many visits there were. - the average number of pages they visited whilst they were on the site - the bounce rate, which is the percentage of visitors who moved straight on elsewhere - the number of page views (if your visitor looks at three pages, that counts as three page views) - the average time on the site - the percentage of the visitors that were new, as opposed to returning visitors - where in the world those visitors were - whether they came directly or using a search engine
Consider if you’re designing or modifying a website:
1. Why might it be useful to know the number of pages that visitors tend to view? 2. Why is the bounce rate useful – do you want it high or low? 3. Why is the average time on the site useful to know? 4. Something like this doesn’t only help with seeing if the functionality of the
website works. What impact do you think a TV advertising campaign might
have on these figures?
Using the sample analytics on page 6 and see if you can answer these questions?
Promoting an attraction 5 /
1. How long did the average visitor spend on the site? 2. How many pages did they view? 3. How many knew the website address to enter (and didn’t have to search for it)? 4. How many moved straight on? 5. If you were the manager of this website: - What might you be pleased about? - What might you be worried by? - What might you try and do to make it more effective?
Something to take away with you 1 /
Something to take away with you
Exploring how themed merchandise can reflect the themes of an attraction.
Episode 1: Things are not always what they seem
We’re used to the idea that when we look at things we can not only see what they are, but judge how far away they are. This is called binocular vision and is a function of having two forward facing eyes a little distance apart. Animals that are hunters, such as foxes and cats, also have such a facility – knowing where prey is, is really important. Other animals, such as rabbits and mice, have sidewards facing eyes to give a better all-round view.
We can use the fact that we have two forward facing eyes to come up with some interesting effects. Instead of allowing both eyes to see essentially the same view, we can supply them with different images. If these images are slightly different we can fool the brain into seeing things in a different way.
This idea was used in the 1960s and 1970s in a toy called a Viewmaster and is now used in a product called Google Cardboard. What both of these do is to provide a viewing device which is held up to the face and separates what each eye sees. Google Cardboard uses a smartphone which is set to show two images on the screen, side by side. However, what the holder does is to allow one eye to see one image and the other eye to see the other image. It goes further than that however and uses the sensors in the phone that detect the way the device is being held. As the phone is moved, so the image is changed and the effect is one of being able to explore a view. The scene is not only perceived in 3D (i.e. with a sense of depth) but also being explored by looking from side to side and up and down.
1. In the first part of this activity, you will be making up a viewer to hold a
smartphone and enable you to view an image. The viewer needs to be cut out,
folded and assembled*.
2. When finished, load a smartphone with the Google Cardboard app, place the
phone in the viewer and see how it works.
*The template viewer can be found at www.google.co.uk/get/cardboard/get-cardboard/
Something to take away with you 2 /
Episode 2: Looking at ideas for merchandise
When you’re visiting a theme park or attraction, look and see if the merchandise is themed in a way that reflects the nature of the venue. Rather than just having the name of the attraction, it might be that something about the colour, shape, style or even the nature of the attraction. It acts as a souvenir of the visit and may even reflect something of the nature of the attraction.
Try and find examples of themed merchandise. Derren Brown’s Ghost Train has a range of themed merchandise which may provide some ideas. Other possibilities include the Science Museum and Madame Tussauds.
Look at some examples and identify features that you think are successful. Make a list – you will need them for the next part.
Episode 3: Developing a product
This part involves thinking about redesigning the Google Cardboard viewer so that it reflects something of the nature of an attraction. This will work well for something such as Derren Brown’s Ghost Train as this is about how we make sense of things and ways in which this can be manipulated.
Think about the template you used in the first episode to make the viewer and about ways in which that could be modified. The viewers will be sold either as kits or as made up items. You could, for example, consider the colour and whether any words or logos should be used. Think about what it might be called and even with the shape could be modified. Remember it still has to function in the same way, but the outside could look quite different. You could even set it up in such a way that the purchaser could customise it themselves.
1. Produce a spider chart to present your ideas. Put an image of the conventional
viewer in the centre and add ideas about your modifications.
2. Display your chart so that others can see your ideas; they may have something to
add. Look at other people’s charts and see if you can suggest improvements.
You may even be able to use one of their ideas to improve your own work.
A bleak view of the world 2 /
Episode 2: Dystopia in the theme park
In most cases, theme parks are based on positive and upbeat images. At THORPE PARK Resort, you will see many instances of this – the use of colour, shape and images both in promotional materials and the site itself. However, Derren Brown’s Ghost Train is set up in a different way. It presents a dystopian view of the world. If you get chance to visit it, look to see how this is done.
1. As you approach the ride, what indicates a dystopian view? Comment particularly
upon signage, building design, fittings, colours, images and any other factors.
2. How well do you think this works in terms of making the ride successful? Do you
think it would be as good if it didn’t have that feel to it?
Episode 3: Seeing how it’s done
The images on page 3 are ones that were used in developing Derren Brown’s Ghost Train. Look back at your ideas about dystopian visions in Episode 1 of this activity, study these images and see how the designers went about trying to establish a particular feel.
1. Look at the pictures and think about your experience of the ride. - discuss and write down some words that describe how these scenes
make you feel.
- now look carefully at the images and suggest what the designers have done
to achieve that.
2. Develop an idea for the opening scene of a computer game with a dystopian
setting and sketch out what you might show on the screen. Indicate with
annotations not only the objects, but also the shades you might use.
- Promoting an attraction 6 /
- A bleak view of the world 3 /
