The Marketing Tools of the Lost World of Tambun

Question

What are the marketing tools implemented for the Lost World of Tambun ?

Answer

Sunway’s marketing of their Lost World of Tambun (LWOT) attraction is undertaken in a diverse fashion, using a variety of tools. Since opening in 2004, the theme park has expanded, including a market expansion strategy seen with the team building park and product expansion strategy seen inducing building a hotel (Sunway, 2016), so visitors may be retained for longer increasing spending. This strategy is common to larger theme park operators, such Disney and Universal (Clave, 2007). However, the key to marketing is the initial attraction of visitors, which LWOT undertakes with the communication of a unified message of eco-friendly fun, heritage, and education, creating the competitive advantage of differentiation (Porter, 2014). The promotional elements include social and traditional mediums/tools. On social media, Facebook is actively leveraged, attracting 286,916 followers, with LWOT posting videos, images, news, and special offers (Facebook, 2016). Twitter and Instagram communications emulate the Facebook strategy. However, with only 321 Twitter followers, and 4,923 Instagram followers, social media is not optimised (Twitter, 2016; Instagram, 2016). However, You Tube is more effectivity utilised, with widely watched special experience videos. Traditional media include press and billboard advertisements for general experiences and special events, and use of strategic alliances for promotion: for example, in 2016 Sinar Harian offered readers 5,000 free tickets (Ahmad, 2016). Public relations strategies support the experience message - activities have included performances by the Lost World Flaming Percussion Group at roadshows, where Sunway have also sold newly launched annual passes (Tan, 2015). Pricing tools are also activity used: discounts are offered for online purchases, with the website offering packages to increase attendance during quieter periods, and increase spending through packages (LWOT, 2016). LWOT uses many marketing tools, with vast improvement potential for the social media tools, while traditional tools appear well leveraged.

References

Ahmad, S. 2016. 5,000 Ticket Untuk Direbut. Sinar Online. Clave, S.A., 2007. The Global Theme Park Industry. Wallingford: CABI Publishing. Facebook. 2016. Lost World of Tambun. Instagram. 2016. Sunway Lost World of Tambun. Lost World of Tambun website. 2016. Great Tickets and Everyday Deals. Porter, M., 2014. Competitive Advantage. New York: Free Press. Sunway Group. 2016. About the Lost World of Tambun. Tan. J. 2015. Perakians can have fun all year. The Star. Twitter. 2015. Lost World of Tambun.