Adventure Park USA
Attendance Case Study
Background
Adventure Park USA is Maryland’s largest Family Entertainment Center in Monrovia, which is just outside of Frederick. With 17.5 acres and a Wild West theme throughout, they offer year-round fun, with seasonal outdoor attractions opened April – October.
They are one of the only, if not the only, family entertainment center with three roller coasters.
As the economy started to recess, we were hired as their agency of record contracted for all-inclusive marketing and advertising services to increase attendance and overall revenue.
Framing the Challenge
Park Visitors Radius (before)
As we reviewed customer insights, we determined that almost 80% of all Adventure Park USA visitors resided within 10 miles of the park.
We also discovered that, while repeat business is good, the park was struggling with getting new business, especially with companies cutting back on group outings, schools not paying for class trip transportation and the overall economy in general being down.
Since Monrovia is only 40 miles from Washington DC and Baltimore, we saw this a tremendous opportunity to increase attendance through marketing to heavier populated areas. However, Washington DC and Baltimore markets are also more expensive.
Advertising used to promote special events to attract a wider audience.
Uncovering Insights & Building Opportunity
Website redesign expanded Parties & Groups section to attract a wider audience.
In between Monrovia, Washington DC and Baltimore are some of the country’s wealthiest counties with residents most likely to have expendable income. We targeted these residents through direct mail by sending them new offers and incentives for joining our email club.
We also created ongoing special events to attract a wider audience. With Character breakfasts, we attracted primarily families with kids 5 and under. Character breakfasts are a great way to introduce the park to young families, since it is only open for breakfast patrons.
We created an event calendar and hosted major Car Shows, Monster Truck appearances and seasonal parties that we geo and behaviorally target to various potential guests. We also created various company incentives and school partnership programs to attract groups in a different way.
Tracking Success
Park Visitors Radius (after)
By targeting areas 11 – 40 miles away from the park, and by choosing advertising mediums that could be zoned instead of market-wide, we not only cost-effectively increased the attendance and revenue overall, we continue to attract an audience from a wider radius.
Our special events continue to attract new audiences that haven’t experienced the park before, and our promotions offer a perceived value that keep their guests coming back year after year.