For this assignment I will be focusing and investigating the marketing of a new themed ride for Thorpe Park.

Unit 3: Investigating Marketing

Section A

Introduction

For this assignment I will be focusing and investigating the marketing of a new themed ride for Thorpe Park. I will be investigating the different sort of marketing essentials for my new ride. This will include:

A clear explanation of the marketing objectives, segmentation and target market
Inclusive research by collecting data from a wide range of source for the development of my marketing aims and objectives.
Investigate the sizes and structures of the different markets.
Produce Aims and Objectives for my marketing campaign
A detailed theory of the 4Ps
A clear evaluation of the marketing mix
A conclusion for choosing my product idea and why it was necessary to develop marketing aims and objectives. Also, why it was necessary to segment the market to find my target market.

In Section B I will be analysing a wide range of data to my target market in my:

Market Research (both primary and secondary);
Analysis of market research.

In Section C I will be giving a full explanation and links to market research and target market of:

Creating a marketing mix for my new ride

In Section D I will be giving an Inclusive summary covering most the things I had been doing for Sections A, B and C.

Evaluation of the marketing Mix, including relevant evidence, arguments and conclusions

Introduction to Business

Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, and UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002. In 2007, Tussauds was bought out by Merlin Entertainments, who now operate the park on a lease from Nick Leslau.

Thorpe Park has around 34 rides. The major attractions for Thorpe Park are the Thrill Rides which includes:

Nemesis Inferno
Colossus
SAW: The Ride
Stealth,
X:\ No Way Out
Loggers Leap
Tidal Wave
Storm Surge

Product Idea

For my product idea I will introduce a new ride that will be launched for the 2012 season in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. This new ride will be one of the most thrilling rides in Thorpe Park. My product will be a 3D simulator that will be able to fit approx. 50 customers. This product will be based on Alice in Wonderland but with a slight difference. This product’s aim is to make the customers feel like they’re in an ‘out of body experience’ or in other words ‘psychedelic’. The name of the ride will be called ‘Terror-palooza.’ In order for this product to become successful, I will need to segment my market in order to determine my target market and acknowledge the customers’ needs and wants. This ride will be related to SAW the Ride as it is also based on a film. In the beginning of the film Alice finds a small key to a door too small for her to fit through, but through which she sees an attractive garden. She then discovers a bottle on a table labelled "DRINK ME", the contents of which cause her to shrink too small to reach the key which she has left on the table. A cake with "EAT ME" on it causes her to grow to such a tremendous size her head hits the ceiling. This product is on this as it is a good interpretation of the ‘out of body experience and the psychedelic feeling.’

I have chosen this specific product as I believe that it will be something that no-one has ever experienced before. It is a unique product, which will increase the profitability of Thorpe Park and maybe even increase the admission growth within a year’s time. It will also increase the revenue Thorpe Park

Size and Structure of the Market

The UK has a large range of Theme Parks. It has been estimated that there are over 29 theme parks in the UK. I have researched each of the following theme parks, investigating which of the theme parks are the largest and which is the smallest.

• Alton towers: 800 acres, UK’s Largest Theme park with 34 rides in Total

• Pleasure beach: 42 acres with a total of 38 rides

• Thorpe Park: 500 acres, with a total of 33 rides

• Oakwood Theme Park, with a total of 30 rides

Oakwood (as seen above) is one of the smallest Theme Parks in the UK, but attracts over 400,000 people per year. It was owned and developed by McNamara family. It cost approximately £1 Million to build and invest in new rides, infrastructure and staff training has continued each season. As a result, Oakwood is now classed as one of Wales' top tourist attractions and one of the Top Ten Theme Parks in the UK. The target markets for Oakwood Theme park would be families (average families being 2 children and 2 adults) that are geographically near the surrounding area (Wales) and tourists. It is also a good attraction for thrill seekers as it includes 5 thrill rides:

Speed
Megafobia
Drenched
Bounce
Vertigo

Alton Towers is one of the largest theme parks and resorts in the UK, and is located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe with around 34 rides, with its major attractions rides which include:

Air
Oblivion
Rita
Thirteen

In 1990, the park was purchased by The Tussauds Group from John Broome. Fifteen years ...

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Speed
Megafobia
Drenched
Bounce
Vertigo

Air
Oblivion
Rita
Thirteen

In 1990, the park was purchased by The Tussauds Group from John Broome. Fifteen years later Alton Towers was acquired by the investment group Dubai International Capital (DIC) when it purchased Tussauds for £800million in 2005. The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control. In July 2007, the resort and park was sold to Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury who now lease the park back to Merlin Entertainments to operate on a 35-year lease. Alton Towers is a family based resort, but also attracts the thrill seekers (including young thrill seekers) from the ages of 16-25 onwards. Most of their Target markets are from tourists that come and visit the UK (approx. 49.7 million6)

Definition and Explanation on Marketing

“The all-embracing function that links the business with customer needs and wants in order to get the right product to the right place at the right time”

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves.

In other words Marketing is a term used to describe a range of activities within a business (products, services, etc...)That is designed to keep existing customers and gain new ones. Marketing is constantly meeting the needs and wants of the customers. Marketing is about understanding the customers and discover new ways to provide good products and services which the customers had asked for.

: An example of marketing in a diagram that summarizes the key elements of marketing and the relationships:

The marketing mix (4Ps) in detailed theory

‘GETTING THE RIGHT PRODUCT to the RIGHT PEOPLE at the RIGHT PRICE at the RIGHT TIME’ (Adcock).

The four Ps, Product, Price, Promotion and Place, are one of the most useful and helpful things in Marketing as they provide a focus for a good understanding of the marketing activities and planning carried out by a business/company.

Price

Price is one of the fundamentals of the marketing mix. The marketing mix is the term used to refer to the balance between these different elements. Businesses need to get the mix right and, to do this; they need to decide on a price that is appropriate to the product.

The theory of Pricing

Promotional Pricing: Designed to increase sales quickly. This can be done by using low prices or discounts, special offers or BOGOFs(buy on get one free)
Penetration pricing: A temporary low price is set so that a business can gain a share of a market.
Competition-based pricing: the level of competition determines the scope to control price.
Skimming: a new luxury product may be introduced at an initial high price to take advantage of the segment of market that is willing to pay to be ‘the first’ with the product.

Product

This refers to range of products supplied by a business. Products can either a good or a service. It is just one part of the marketing mix and will only be successful if properly combined with price, promotion and distribution i.e. effective marketing. Good market research will indentify where new products are needed or existing products can expand. A business can find how each product is performing through a product audit or by looking at the position of each on the product life cycle. An audit can show costs, revenues, market share and whether this growing or not.

An example of a product life cycle:

Promotion

‘It is not enough for a business to have good products sold at attractive prices. To generate sales and profits, the benefits of products have to be communicated to customers. In marketing, this is commonly known as "promotion".’

Promotion is all about companies communicating with customers.

Promotions involve telling customers that a product exists, and attempting to persuade them to buy it. Promotion is usually divided into advertising and sales promotion. It is helpful to define the four main elements of the promotional mix before considering their strengths and limitations.

Advertising promotion

The acronym AIDCA is used to remember the properties that advertising should have. It should attract:

Attention
Interest
Desire
Cognition
Action

Advertising is only successful if it’s aimed at the right target market. Therefore it is important to use the right media. A business should try and make sure that the benefits from advertising, in increased sales, are worth the costs.

Branding

A successful brand can achieve all parts off AIDCA on its own. A brand is used to convey the image or the name of a product. For example, the search engine Google, as a brand name, is not only strong enough to attract the target market (customers) but they are also strong enough to be transferred to other products. Successful brands such as ‘Google’ are protected by the law to stop them from being copied. Public relations are designed to give the business a positive image to its customers.

A promotion encourages customers to:

Bringing forward a decision to buy;
Encouraging repeat purchase;
Encourage stockpiling;
Encouraging long-term loyalty;
Encouraging consumers to try a new product.

Place

Place refers to the means by which your customer acquires your product. This includes the actual place it is purchased (the shop, the telephone, the web page, the warehouse) as well as the actual route of distribution. Most consumer goods are purchased from a retailer, who purchases them from a wholesaler/distributor, who purchases them from the manufacture. If the goods were imported there might be more merchants in this distribution chain.

In other words, Place is often referred to as the ‘fourth P’ of the marketing mix. It has two key parts to it. Firstly, it is the market where goods and services are sold. This may be a physical place like a shop, marketing, trading floor, or it may have no physical existence but a market that exists on the phone. The place where something is sold does not have to solid but it just refers the place where the transitions occur. Secondly ‘Place’ refers to the efficient distribution of goods.

Distribution Chains

The chain of distribution describes the way that a product gets from the manufactures to the consumer. Here is an example (diagram) of a distribution Chain.

Marketing objectives

‘Goals or targets that firms set themselves to achieve and which to provide a focus for decisions making for and devising strategy.’

Marketing Objectives are targets that businesses set themselves. They state how the business will achieve its aims and are therefore more specific. Marketing objectives provide a goal and help to encourage businesses/companies in the marketing department and provide a focus for the organisations. Marketing objectives mostly focus on products, sales and marketing and are linked to their corporate objectives (the overall objectives of the business/company). Their objectives might be to:

Anticipate customer’s needs
Improve standards of service
Target a different type of customer.

Some examples of marketing objectives:

To Increase market share
To maintain market share
To enter new markets
To increase the market
To develop new products
To enhance product image
To establish the product as market leader
To increase sales revenue(Thorpe parks Corporate Objectives)
To increase customer awareness
To enter new market segment

In order for the marketing objectives to be effective, it must be created by using a SMART model. This is an acronym. The acronym stands for:

Specific – Clearly understood and not too vague
Measurable – It is easy to see when and how well the objective has been met.
Achievable – The objective or task set can actually be met by the person who has been asked to complete it.
Realistic – The objectives is achievable and the resources are available to allow the task to be completed.
Timely/ Time related – The objective has to be met within a specific time frame or deadline.

Here examples of Marketing objectives that have been created using the SMART model:

Businesses need to choose the appropriate method to reach their own objectives and will need to plan carefully to achieve their objectives. A business will therefore need to use different marketing activities depending on what it wishes to achieve. Marketing objectives all involve meeting customer’s wants and needs.

Aims and Objectives for my Product

Thorpe Park needs some aims and objectives so that they can achieve their goals. I have come up with some aims and objectives for my marketing campaign. The SMART objectives I came up with and how I plan to achieve them is as follows:

My first aim will be to:

To increase the marketing budget for Thorpe Park, as the Saw ride alone made £3 million in 2010.
To increase the revenue sales by 20%
To target different types of people(the target market)
To increase customer awareness of the product

I will achieve these four aims by:

Making sure the sales and marketing department has an adequate amount of funds and observation provided so that they will be able to advertise the product successfully.

To increase the customer awareness, the advertising will have to have made the

general public around the targeted areas to be aware of the product.

To increase customer awareness I will have to lower the price so that people are willing to pay for the product.

Segment the market in order to discover my target market

To gain my 20% revenue sales, I will need to make sure the price is reasonable and at the same time high enough to make a good profit.

Segmentation

‘Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function.’

‘Is the process whereby the overall market is divided up into separate sets of customers (segments) who have separate identifiable product needs’ (Fardon, M. Et. Al, 2005)

Segmentation describes the way that a market is divided into separate groups that can be targeted by different products. All markets can be segmented, some into much smaller units than others. Of course, the amount of segmentation depends on the size of the market. Some markets depend on the size of the market. Some markets are too small to break down any further. On the other hand, many businesses rely on providing an exact service for just one customer and have therefore managed to break the market into segments containing just one person. This is usually called a niche market.

Segmentation depends on there being recognisable differences in a market. Businesses need to be able to measure these differences using market research methods. They need to be able to find out about not just the size but also the composition of a market.

The reasons why it’s necessary to segment a market are:

It is good for matching the needs of the customers
It enhance the profits for a business
It retains more customers

Here are the different examples on how to Segment the market:

Gender
Price
Interests
Location
Religion
Income
Size of Household

How I will segment the market

Firstly, I will start by dividing my market into four groups:

Geographically
Psychographic
Behavioural
Demographic

For Geographically I will divide markets into different geographical areas. I will do this because consumers in different areas may display certain characteristics and behaviours in that particular region.

Psychographic I will divide the markets into:

age,
gender,
income,
And family lifecycle amongst other variables.

For Behavioural Segmentation I will the divide the markets to include information about how the subject uses products or services.

For Psychographic Segmentation I will the divide the markets to include;

lifestyle
data like hobbies,
interests,
Opinions, etc...

For Demographic Segmentation I will divide the markets to include:

age,
sex,
nationality

Target Markets

A target market is a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy. The target market and the marketing mix variables of product, place(distribution), promotion and price are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determine the success of a product in the marketplace.

Business will decide to aim at a particular market segment or a part of a market. A business may decide to target a particular age group, income group, gender or racial group. Business can build a consumer profile to show that it is that is actually buying a particular brand or watching a particular programme. Often a business will differentiate products so that each targets a particular part of a market.

Target markets are groups of people separated by distinguishable and noticeable aspects. Target markets can be separated into:

• Geographic segmentations, addresses (their location)

• Demographic/socio-economic segmentation (gender, age, income occupation, education, sex, household size, age, and stage in the family life cycle)

• Psychographic segmentation (similar attitudes, values, and lifestyles)

• Behavioural segmentation (occasions, degree of loyalty)

• Product-related segmentation (relationship to a product)

Why it’s necessary to have a target market

‘You need to identify your market to save time, effort and money. In trading, it’s not enough to live by the rule that everybody will appreciate, buy and patronize your product. This is because not everybody has the money, time and opportunity to do so.’

Another reason why target marketing is a must is, it will help you maximize your chance to make sales and earn profits. If you were in the right place at the right time, you’ll make the most out of every ‘sale’ opportunity that is presented to you. Besides, if it were the case, you won’t have to exert too much of a marketing effort just to make your product visible.

Most importantly, understanding the location and demographics of your target market help me to focus on advertising and promotion efforts to reach these individuals.

Conclusion

At the beginning of a marketing process there has to be a Corporate Objective. This is usually placed at the highest point of the objectives hierarchy. Corporate objectives are the overall objectives of the business/ companies but are more detailed, functional and specific. The Corporate Objectives for Thorpe Park are:

Increase revenue by 2012
Maintain its status as the nation’s thrill capital

Marketing objectives are important in a business/company as it will increase the profitability and improve the market share for the company. This will also provide a strong focus and direction for the company. Market objectives mainly focus on the products, sales and marketing which are linked to the corporate objectives. Every business should have a marketing objective. This also helps with re-launching a new product the Thorpe Park marketing objectives are:

Further position as “The Nation’s Thrill Capital”
Grow national penetration from 66% to 69% Increase Intention To Visit on national level from 36% to 38%
Roll out Brand Positioning across all communication in 2010 2 day tickets Grow TP in-house bounceback
Develop “Thrill seeker” packages with Bespoke packages direct to Travel & Tour operators

The Marketing Aims are very important for a business as they make a profit, attract new customers, sell or provide goods or services, improve product quality, and beat the competition. The marketing aims for Thorpe Park are:

Biggest EVER PR launch of a rollercoaster, SAW - The Ride, in company history.
THORPE PARK achieved national brand recognition Intention to visit nationally is EQUAL to Alton Towers 90% awareness of
SAW – The Ride in London & S E 1 million promotional visitors Launched new brand guidelines

The most important aspects for my target market were,

The age

The locations

And what they’re opinions and what they looked for in a ride.

In addition, the other most important objectives in most marketing ventures are to recognise the target market. In order to do so, I will need to segment the market. I segmented the market

Geographically (finding out the locations of the target market)
Demographically (the target markets age, gender etc...)
Psychological (life style, personality)

Once I segmented the market, I noticed that I had three target markets with similar characteristics. My target markets are the youth (generation x) from the ages of 16-24+

By identifying the target market it will enable me to carry out the research and meet the needs and wants of the target market. This will also help me, develop my marketing mix.

This will decrease the risk of my product failing as this is what my target market will agree to and they would want to try the ride and like it. This should increase the amount of people to come to Thorpe Park in 2012 which will raise the sales and increase Thorpe Park’s status therefore achieving a total.