As the digital revolution continues to grow at a rapid pace, Adrian Lennox takes a closer look at the subtle – and not so subtle – marketing techniques currently flooding the market.

Anyone who has visited a theme park over the last 40 years will understand the sheer power of the rides, attractions and brands contained within leisure venues. From all-pervasive environments and characters such as those conjured up in any one of Disney’s sprawling resorts to the individual worlds and atmospheres created within the latest themed rides, the marketing possibilities are almost endless.

Physical, analogue marketing methods were quickly adopted by theme parks even before the advertising boom in the late 1950s, as operators sought to capitalise on branded take-home merchandise and, later, branded perishable items such as confectionery, food and beverages.

Technological advances in the photography sector soon led to what is often considered a game-changer in long-lasting theme park marketing initiatives, as operators, particularly in the mid- to late-1908s, started to install quick-printing systems that allowed park visitors to take home images of themselves, their friends and family sat aboard the latest thrill ride – be it a log flume, a roller coaster or a ‘scare’ attraction.

Crucially, many parks began to realise the benefits of inserting a simple logo onto the photographs, which were often housed inside a branded wallet or envelope. This not only provided a tough weather (and ride) resistant packaging, but it also ensured that the park’s valued brand would last for years, in addition to being seen by all those with whom the visitor chooses to share their exhilarating experience.

Of course, the advent of cheaper, more accessible digital technologies eventually opened up the possibility of being able to provide customers with branded DVDs that trace the entire journey of the ride. However, taking this one step further, Dutch ride photography systems group Image+ Digital recently introduced its latest 3D photo system at Attraction Park Slagharen in its domestic market.

"The development of this 3D photo system started a few years back when Philips introduced their 3D WowX monitors to the market," explained the company’s Jan Bijl. "The quality of these 3D monitors was such an improvement compared to the other available monitors on the market that we decided to take 3D photography serious. The biggest advantage of these Philips monitors is that you can see the 3D effect on the monitors without the use of any glasses.

"Visitors are photographed with a custom made 3D camera and within seconds these photos are converted into a 3D image and shown on the 3D Philips monitors. Printing is done on a specialised printer, making it possible to print photos with 3D experience within minutes."

The project, called 3D for Fun, is a co-operation between Image+ Digital and two science centres in the Netherlands and Germany.

"Innovations on photo-related souvenirs in the leisure industry has always been a slow process because of the expensive production costs," Bijl added. "The last decade we saw improvements on cameras, printers and other involved hardware, but in my opinion 3D photography will have a bigger impact on your photo revenue then the introduction of video ever had. The emotional impact is greater of viewing your image right away in 3D and has a greater impact at home."

Keeping the customer closer than ever

The opportunities to promote your theme park, FEC or leisure venue do not, of course, end with physical merchandise or related take-home swag. However, operators must tread a very fine line when it comes to promoting their brands and services, as the digital revolution is fast becoming a double-edged sword; for although the possibilities afforded by technological advances are many and varied, they have at the same time heralded the birth of a new, media-savvy, über-sophisticated consumer who doesn’t want a message to be, in the words of many contemporary bloggers and theme park forum members, "rammed down their throat".

One company who has got the balance right between providing value-added services a consumer may want but doing so in a subtle manner is the award-winning virtual queuing systems giant, Lo-Q. The group’s flagship queuing systems are currently deployed in over 20 of the world’s largest theme parks, and during the past 10 years have been used by in excess of seven million guests, generating over US$130m for operators.

The Lo-Q virtual queuing system allows guests to reserve a ride, be called forward for that ride without having to wait in line, and to be informed in real-time about ride status. And by virtue of its mobile delivery mechanism, using wifi, mobile telephones or smartphones consumers are also provided with geographic and near-field communication services such as proximity marketing and cashless services.  

Lo-Q CEO, Tom Burnet, said: "The resulting guest satisfaction, premium ride access and cash generation for the parks has consistently resulted in a virtuous circle where our major parks now work with us to market these features on their web sites, hotels and through social media sites to increase park attendance, increase return visitors, and up-sell to higher premium services – all of which generate more revenue for the park.

"We see this as a complete reversal of the way in which parks now view their ride/guest relationship. Rather than putting the guest on the ride we are now able to put the ride in the hands of the guest. This opens up great revenue, marketing and additional sales potential for our parks.

Lo-Q has already ported its technology onto smartphones and mobile devices and has also integrated its queue management solutions with mobile payment services, cashless payments and the world of value-added mobile ‘apps’.

The viral effect

Digital Visitor is a social media agency that specialises in creating and delivering social media solutions, services and strategies for travel and leisure organisations specifically. The company works with many visitor attractions in the UK to allow them to interact, engage and inspire their customers via their own website using social media.

Digital Visitor’s award-winning product, Visitor Review, is a review and online community solution that can be seamlessly integrated into clients’ own websites, allowing their online visitors to contribute photos, videos and reviews, and start discussions about their specific venues, services or products.

Photos, videos, reviews and other content uploaded to the organisations solution can then easily be shared with other social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter, helping to drive traffic and new audiences. If a friend of yours has added a review to a website then you are likely to click the link to see their experience, and this really helps with the viral effect.

"A good example of a recent client we are working with is the Severn Valley Railway," said Simon Jones, co-founder and director of marketing for Digital Visitor. "They introduced the Visitor Review platform only a few months ago and have already seen an additional 400 unique visitors to their website per month.

Considering the fact that the percentage of Facebook users over the age of 26 is now above 56 per cent and growing all the time, the opportunities within the rapidly growing realm of social networking are becoming increasingly apparent to theme park operators. "Social media marketing must play an important role for organisations, especially those in the tourism and leisure industry," Jones added.

"Why? As an industry, we are all about selling experiences and holidays to people, so by including inspiring videos, photos and reviews, this helps the customers to actually visualise what to expect. "Today, people want to see what their day out or experience will entail and they want the peer-to-peer reviews. They will trawl the internet to find advice and reviews from other like-minded customers, so whether you encourage it or not, they will search for it."

Social media marketing has many advantages over more traditional marketing routes, the first being that it is an excellent way for attractions operators to open up a conversation with their customers, helping to discover brand advocates and build long term, loyal relationships.

Secondly, social media is instant, so it is an excellent way for tourism and leisure organisations to transmit important information quickly and to an expansive audience.

Third, and perhaps most important, social media is a great customer service tool. Not only does it allow businesses to connect with and engage with customers online, but it also means that when you respond to one query, you do so publicly for all to see and for all to share, thus saving you time and effort."

"Social media is constantly developing and changing so it is essential for organisations to future-proof for what is yet to come in the social media world," Jones said. "The future of the marketing sector will be shaped more and more by digital marketing and specifically social media marketing as it continues to further secure its place in the marketing mix. People are talking about your brand, products and services, and if you don’t join in you are missing out."

Ultimately, when asked how important it is for operators to utilise innovative marketing techniques in the current trading climate, Burnet said: "It’s fundamental! All of our park customers are exploring ranges of different techniques to increase guest satisfaction and increase in park spend.

"By removing hundreds of guests from queue lines, the Lo-Q queue management system frees these patrons to spend money elsewhere in the park. The system also supports ‘proximity marketing’, and our current mobile and smartphone-based solutions provide support for everything from integrated park maps to near-field communication functionality."