Marketing Strategies for Attraction

Theme parks

Theme park is a term, which is used for describing a combination of rides and many other attractions for entertainment. These are assembled for providing entertainment for a large group of people. They are bigger than some other city playgrounds or parks. They are organized for not only attracting children but also to attract adults, teenagers and even old people. These are generally built on the basis of one or more themes. The most common example of theme parks is the Atlantis and the American West. Quite often, the theme parks contain many sections. Each of these sections tells some different story. All the rides in a theme park generally go along the main theme of the park. The common example of it is the Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom (Adams, 1991).

Casinos

Casinos are special buildings or vicinities meant for all sorts of entertainment like meetings, public amusements, dancing, etc. These also offer hotels, food & beverages for its national and international customers. These casinos also offer the gambling tables or devices. These are recognized as business establishments whose prime business is gambling.

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After the governments of various countries lifted the ban from gambling, the establishments like casinos came into existence. The largest casinos of the world are situated in the city of Las Vegas. The primary aim of the public visiting these places is gaming and enjoying. In recent years, the structure and organization of the casinos have witnessed broad changes. The establishments have broadened their market segmentation. They are now designed to cater the entertainment needs of the whole family.

Differences in the Marketing Attraction Strategies of the Theme parks and the Casinos

The theme parks and the casinos are both meant for the enjoyment and entertainment of the public at large. The difference, which makes it compulsory for marketers to advertise it differently, is the segment and the type of customers it is intended to attract. The theme parks aim at attracting both the dependent and the independent people, who want to enjoy their lives while the casinos aim at attracting those persons who are independent and can take the decision on their own and are interested in gaming apart from enjoying the entertainment.

The theme park usually markets and focuses its products towards the whole family. It particularly focuses on the adults, teenagers and children below the age of 21. In order to attract this segment of customers, the marketers place their advertisements in the places and articles widely used by the children, adults and the teenagers i.e. in the children magazines, on the rappers of the toys, on cartoon and music channels, etc. On the other hand, the casinos, for attracting its prospective customers, place the advertisements on the business journals, tourism websites, hotels, etc. For example, we can see the advertisements of the Disney theme park on the Cartoon Network but it is not possible for us to see the promotion campaigns of the casinos on these kinds of channels. On the other hand, we can notice the promotion campaigns of famous casinos on various gaming websites and business journals but these places do not register the promotion campaigns of the theme parks like that of Disney.

The theme park is often positioned as a tourist destination for the whole family by both the management of the theme park and the governments of the countries. These are also the preferred destinations for the international and the national tourists. On the other hand, the casinos may or may not be regarded as a tourist destination by the government of any country. They may be developed and advertised by the businessmen at the places where tourists visit frequently. In this case, a casino will attract only that segment of customers, which is interested in gaming; no matter what other kind of family entertainment has been provided by the casino. For example, the Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom has been projected as a tourist destination by the government of the USA. It is positioned as an entertainment destination not only for the children but also for the other sections of the society, while the city of Las Vegas has been positioned as an entertainment destination for the adults and the visitors above the age of 21.

As a part of the promotional campaign to attract the maximum number of visitors, the theme parks resort to sponsoring of the events and the products, which are related to its target market. For example, the Disney sponsors the products of Nestle and tries to enhance the know-how of the customers regarding its existence, while the casinos try to expand their business by sponsoring the events like car races and various other games. For example, the UK based online poker and casino group, 32 Red Plc had entered into an agreement to sponsor the soccer team Aston Villa. This is the UK's one of the leading soccer team. This deal had helped the company to further build its brand through publicity on television as well as through the national press of Britain all around the world.

The casinos, in order to attract and expand the existing as well as new customers, offer the promotions and reward cards. This not only helps them to attract and maintain the customers but also give word of mouth publicity to the establishment. While, the Theme Parks not only offer promotions and reward cards but also the ticket, package and resort discount coupons to the customers. For example, the Disney offers such rewards, tickets, resorts and package coupons to its customers.

In order to attract more visitors and reach their target markets, the theme parks, advertise and promote their vicinities and products by placing their advertisements on a large number of media like television, video, the Internet, radio, print, brochures and collateral, billboards and cinema. Not even the smallest means of media has been left by the theme parks for attracting people from all walks of life. On the other hand, the casinos target only certain section of the society, i.e. the people who have the capacity to pay and game huge sum of money in various entertainment and gaming sections of their casinos. Therefore, they do not use all the means of Media for promotion. In very rare cases only, one can see the promotion of casinos on the billboards and brochures. For example, the Wet'n'Wild Water World places its advertisement on all means of the media including television, video, the Internet, radio, print, brochures and collateral, billboards and cinema, in order to attract more visitors (Marketing Strategy of Wet'n'Wild Water World, 2008), while most of the casinos in the US, apart from placing their advertisements in business magazines, take the help of the Casino Media Group for their global advertising needs.

The marketing strategies of the theme parks are liable to changes all round the year. These strategies keep on changing with the occurrence of different events, vacations and festivals in different parts of the year; it is also possible that many theme parks change their strategies for different weeks of the month. For example, the marketing strategy of Wet'n'Wild has been different all through the years (Marketing Strategy of Wet'n'Wild Water World, 2008). On the other hand, it is not possible for the casino owners to change their marketing strategies as frequently as the theme park owners do. They do change their advertisement and other promotional campaigns during the year but a change in their strategy is restricted to only some of the festive events.

It is also a common practice of the theme parks to appoint some brand ambassadors to their brand and promote them with their help, thus attracting a larger proportion of visitors from all round the world. For example, the Mickey Mouse is regarded as the brand ambassador of the Disney. On the other hand, generally, in the case of casino industry this practice of appointing a brand ambassador and then promoting their brand through them is not a common practice. They advertise with the help of their offerings and special features of their casinos (Effective Casino Marketing Makes All the Difference).

Thus, from the above discussed points, it is clear that though both the theme parks and the casinos cater the entertainment needs, yet their market segmentation is different.

Essay 2

Zoos and aquariums have been used as contact points for humans and the creatures existing in the nature. In general, zoos and aquariums are facilities where animals are restricted within a certain geographical area. These facilities are open to the public for viewing the creatures, both terrestrial as well as aquatic in an artificial habitat. At the same time, they also provide ideal conditions for the breeding and mating of animals.

The experts working in these facilities have a variety of goals that includes bio-diversity conservation as well as public education. Among the premier objectives of these facilities, research, education, conservation and rehabilitation efforts are prominent. However, issues have been constantly raised against these facilities due to differences observed in their assertions and their actual implementation. On the other hand, it is observed that while some of these facilities are serious in the direction of protecting these creatures while others breed them specifically for the motive of displaying them to the visitors.

Both these facilities have to deal with a huge variety of issues during their operations. In fact, these issues are common with all similar kind of facilities in various parts of the world. Among the major operating issues which zoos & aquariums need to pay significant attention are:

• Public Safety

• Animal Safety

• Breeding and Conservation Activities

Public Safety

The issue of public safety is constantly gaining high priority for facilities like zoos and aquariums. In fact, it is a very crucial issue which needs to be addressed by the management and authorities of such facilities, in an effective manner. Generally, people, especially smaller ones tend to disassociate with each other while visiting these facilities.

In order to address this problem, these facilities need to recruit a properly trained group of employees capable of taking care of young individuals. These facilities should be well acquainted with first-aid stations and walk-in clinics, in case any of the visitors gets injured or experiences a minor health problem. The management should ensure that adequate safety-arrangements are made for the visitors not only from the animals but from other dangers as well such as those related to fire and electricity in aquariums, particularly (Olney, Mace, & Feistner, 1993).

In addition, any kind of buildings, structures and other areas constructed within the premises of zoos and aquariums should be strictly maintained in safe condition. Moreover, the public visiting these facilities should not be allowed to enter any areas which could cause an unexpected risk to their safety. At the same time, the authorities managing these facilities should ensure that the pavements and walking lanes for the public visiting these facilities should be well maintained and properly taken care off, in order to avoid any kind of injuries.

On the other hand, clearly visible warning-signals must be installed at appropriate places in aquariums & zoos to minimize potential dangers. In the case of traditional theme parks, these problems were handled in a slightly different manner. For instance, tags are provided to the children, in case they disassociate with their parents. They also maintain proper arrangements of water in order to avoid any kind of accidents. The authorities also provide written instructions to the visitors prior to entering the park. The management should also hire professionals and some emergency services through which the management would be able to handle the critical situation and accidental cases in the zoos and aquariums.

Animal Safety

In Zoos, there are certain animal concerned service personnel, who are known as keepers. They make the diets of the animals and wipe off the areas in which animals are placed and at times nurture the young ones. They look for any kind of disease or damage caused to the animals. In addition to this, they also observe feeding pattern or any kind of alteration in the activities of the animals. Keepers also confirm that the people who come to visit the zoos should act responsibly to the animals. Keepers have to look after a large group of animals including Birds, Reptiles or mammals (Animal Care and Service Workers, 2008).

In the aquarium, certain rules and regulations are exposed to the people visiting there to ensure animal safety including:

• Prohibition of tumbling of objects including coins, memento, garbage, etc. into the pools.

• Cleaning of hands is restricted prior or after feeding the animals

• Human refreshments are not allowed to be given to the animals.

• Feeding the animals with fish that have been dropped on the ground.

• Picking out of the brood from water for a better look of the animals.

• Restricting the people from touching the eyes and blowholes of the animals.

A traditional animal theme park originated from the pleasure gardens that focused on entertainment of the public. Little importance was given to the safety of animals. They have now converted into amusement parks.

Many groups like People for the ethical treatment of the animals (PETA) and Human Society of United States (HSUS) are devoted to the animal safety and they are quite significant for the animal safety in the theme parks.

Breeding and Conservation Activities

The zoos and aquariums bear a compulsion of making a straight contribution to conservation of the animals and aspire to become more effective in the process of conservation internationally.

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) have prepared World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy (WZACS). It is an appropriate manuscript that brings ex situ organizations in the stream of conservation of biodiversity and continued development. Their strategy offers a widespread idea for the zoos and aquariums all over the world and describes the standards and policies to attain the conservation goals (Building a Future for Wildlife, 2008).

A direct action for enhanced habitats and increase in the number of target species, or indirect action like education, taking up of financial help and research to direct policy and practice can serve the purpose of conservation of the animals. Conservation of animal populations in zoos is carried out with the help of breeding and reintroduction. Zoos & Aquarium help in setting up suitable social entities for good breeding and rearing, looking for the behavioral requirements and preparing the diet.

Incorporating these features of husbandry, putting in practice the training programs along with making them acquaint to the environment and conducting research would enhance breeding and reintroduction process. This would aid to the identification of the suitable animals that need reintroduction in the wildlife (Building a Future for Wildlife, 2008).Traditional theme parks lack the proper researches on the breeding and reintroduction aspects of the conservation, which are important for the conservation of the animals.

References

Adams, J. A. (1991). The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills. Boston: Twayne Publishers.

Animal Care and Service Workers, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos168.htm

Building a Future for Wildlife, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from http://www.waza.org/conservation/wzacs.php#chapter2

Effective Casino Marketing Makes All The Difference. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from http://www.noels-isulong-seoph.com/effective-casino-marketing-makes-all-the-difference/

Entertainment Animals - Animal Theme Parks, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2008, from http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2194/Entertainment-Animals-ANIMAL-THEME-PARKS.html

Marketing Strategy of Wet'n'Wild Water World (2008). Retrieved May 10, 2008, from http://wetnwild.myfun.com.au/Schools/Project-Information/Marketing-Strategy.htm

Olney, P.J., Mace, G. & Feistner, A. (1993). Creative Conservation: Interactive management of wild and captive animals (Hardcover) (1^st Edition). Springer Publishers.