"Coming Spring 2020"
People planning trips in June, July and August are unlikely to need more than that.
And you can do that on social media to accompany teaser pics.
Not sure I understand what the issue is...? Why do you need a specific date?
Project 2022: Pantheon
- Thread starter Shane
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People planning trips in June, July and August are unlikely to need more than that.
And you can do that on social media to accompany teaser pics.
Not sure I understand what the issue is...? Why do you need a specific date?
Name a Ride that has had an exact opening date listed this early in the year?
You didn't specify and why does it matter?
If we're making the argument that BGW is missing marketing opportunities, then using the past history of BGW to compare is maybe missing the point.
Other parks are able to give a more specific opening plan; so why not BGW?
I am not going to argue with you I am just stating typically this early in the year Parks have not given an exact date Maybe month
I can't speak for the others but I probably have more years in advertising/marketing than you do on Earth. But I digress...
It may be true what @BGWnut said- that corporate is pulling back the reins to spotlight BGT. Obviously that park has more competition in the neighborhood. But, in the same vein, SWO has been pretty aggressive with Ice Breaker lately.
Interesting that thus far this month, BGT has tweeted 8 Gwazi specific tweets. Plus (looking at you BGW) a long blog article. And they're open, requiring then to promote current events. In the same time period, BGW had ZERO mentions of Pantheon; even on tweets pushing season/fun tickets nary a mention.
As @halfabee stated, "Coming Spring 2020" is about all they need at this point. Weather, etc. can wreak havoc on a set date. In addition to those Summer vacationers, locals that might be on the fence about season tickets are soon getting their tax refund checks.
No, I point the blame directly at the lady that said we won't miss the (lack of) theming once we're on the ride. A "brand manager" that's clearly out of touch.
1. Weather on the Penisula can change very rapidly and due to the proximity to the James it can become very vicious in the winter months. Verboten was planned to open on opening day, however due to harsh weather, construction was delayed.
2. This ride is the first time the park has worked with Intamin for a major attraction since Roman Rapids. This ride is going to be a technological beast, and a beast that not a single regional park has learned to tame. The fast switch track could have a pleathora of problems that the park will have to face as seen with Hagrid’s. There’s a very good chance this ride will have teething issues during testing that take longer than anticipated.
3. Announcing an opening date this far in advance and then failing to open on that day is bound for disappointment. For example, Lightning Rod. That ride is phenomenal, an absolute tank, but the opening was an a complete and total clusterfuck. The ride was overshadowed by its downtime and inability to operate and left many guests disappointed. Never forget the whole Mach Tower first rider fiasco, as well.
I’m not trying to make excuses as I would much rather see a post saying “Opening April 3! Rather than seeing “This spring!” However, I do think it’s just BGW is trying to play it safe. The park has a very loyal fan base of local guests and they know they will come. It’s a shame to see the marketing department take a back seat approach to this and I’m not sure if it’s out of laziness or fear that this won’t open in time, hoping it’s the latter. I think we could expect an announcement of the opening date on Preview Day to drum up some hype for the ride.
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From New Years till about march the greatest number of people decide where they are going for summer vacation, and to narrow that down more Janurary is the busiest month I see. People are either planning on summer vacations or are thinking about the holidays that just past and where there want to go for the holidays next year.
I would think announcing now that opening day for Pantheon is lets say April 18 and God forbid the weather turns horrible or they have problems in testing All that will do is upset more people.
By saying Spring it gives them some wiggle room .
Also I believe the vast majority of people coming from 4 + hours are making their plans for the summer months June July and August So saying Spring is not affecting their decisions at all
By saying Spring it gives them some wiggle room .
Also I believe the vast majority of people coming from 4 + hours are making their plans for the summer months June July and August So saying Spring is not affecting their decisions at all
Minor point here, but Pompeii ('95) was more recent than Rapids ('88).
Detracts nothing from your point, just wanted to note it... since Pompeii seemingly made the park (or certain leadership thereof) that much less eager to work with Intamin again on a complex attraction.
Or on any attraction.
?
It's too early to announce a date. I don't think there is much disagreement on that front.
That said, there is NO REASON the park can't pursue an aggressive marketing campaign without an official date to announce. Parks do that exact thing constantly. Iron Gwazi doesn't have an announced opening, and that doesn't stop BGT. InvadR literally had structural alterations ongoing mere days before it opened. That didn't stop marketing from continuously hyping the ride.
Again, a full time marketing employee walking down near the Pantheon site with a camera to post photos to social media is literally a half-hour process that takes essentially zero resources. People seem to think this needs to be some big production. It doesn't at all. I have no formal photography or marketing training. The park could give me access to the site for all of 15 minutes and I could easily get 10,000 unique impressions on those photos in 48 hours. Think of how much more BGW should be able to do with 24/7 access to the site, a team of marketing professionals, a staff photographer, etc. Not to mention that BGW has an EXPONENTIALLY larger social media following than BGWFans and they have a big email list of local journalists to put on blast whenever they want.
30 minutes worth of work on BGW's behalf should be able to result in hundreds of thousands of impressions for them. I don't understand their unwillingness to use the tools they have such easy access to. It's so goddamn frustrating.
PS: Another thing. So much of social media marketing is luck. Sometimes the engagement just happens to line up right and one post will explode out of the blue. So much of the name of the game is volume. You keep hitting the button consistently, and eventually, if your content doesn't suck, one of your posts will blow up—and there's where the real potential for reaching new audiences is. BGW hasn't been hitting that button a single time lately. They're just shooting themselves in the foot.
That said, there is NO REASON the park can't pursue an aggressive marketing campaign without an official date to announce. Parks do that exact thing constantly. Iron Gwazi doesn't have an announced opening, and that doesn't stop BGT. InvadR literally had structural alterations ongoing mere days before it opened. That didn't stop marketing from continuously hyping the ride.
Again, a full time marketing employee walking down near the Pantheon site with a camera to post photos to social media is literally a half-hour process that takes essentially zero resources. People seem to think this needs to be some big production. It doesn't at all. I have no formal photography or marketing training. The park could give me access to the site for all of 15 minutes and I could easily get 10,000 unique impressions on those photos in 48 hours. Think of how much more BGW should be able to do with 24/7 access to the site, a team of marketing professionals, a staff photographer, etc. Not to mention that BGW has an EXPONENTIALLY larger social media following than BGWFans and they have a big email list of local journalists to put on blast whenever they want.
30 minutes worth of work on BGW's behalf should be able to result in hundreds of thousands of impressions for them. I don't understand their unwillingness to use the tools they have such easy access to. It's so goddamn frustrating.
PS: Another thing. So much of social media marketing is luck. Sometimes the engagement just happens to line up right and one post will explode out of the blue. So much of the name of the game is volume. You keep hitting the button consistently, and eventually, if your content doesn't suck, one of your posts will blow up—and there's where the real potential for reaching new audiences is. BGW hasn't been hitting that button a single time lately. They're just shooting themselves in the foot.
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I can see how this is true. But I feel they will announce an opening within the next month. I think that it might be ready for passholder preview and that will act like a “soft opening.” But I doubt that’s the case
I'm curious if there's maybe some sort of contractual thing where the contractor has full control of the site and though the client can visit it takes a lot of work and effort to setup which makes the minimal effort social post much more complicated.
That and the staffer that would do the work is either lazy or busy working on some other project and doesn't have the time to go through the hassle.
I honestly don't think the first part would be a thing, but I don't have any experience in dealing with contractors for such types of projects, especially when said contractor is bringing in some fairly new technology and has been previously blackballed from working with the client.
That and the staffer that would do the work is either lazy or busy working on some other project and doesn't have the time to go through the hassle.
I honestly don't think the first part would be a thing, but I don't have any experience in dealing with contractors for such types of projects, especially when said contractor is bringing in some fairly new technology and has been previously blackballed from working with the client.
A few things have to happen before they can consider a date-
1. Coaster test runs ad nauseum
2. SEAS signing off and accepting the install.
3. An army of government inspectors signing off on various aspects of the project.
4. BGW personnel doing the final touches on paint, landscaping, fiber optics, etc.
5. Safety inspection of surrounding footprint (fencing, etc.)
6. BGW personnel trained in operation, maintenance, evacs, etc.
7. Coaster test runs ad nauseum.
8. Waking up the marketing department.
Right but l now there's only two parks that have been concrete with their announcements. Those are SWSA and KI. Both announced it will open with the park. I haven't heard of any other major coaster that has announced anything other than opening spring or summer 2020. There's a lot if good reasons for that the biggest being that you don't nail down an opening date until you know that it can be reached. If they had said April last year and then there were construction delays that caused the ride to have to wait until May to open them you have upset people who planned trip for spring break.
The marketing will come. There’s no need these days for luck with social media. Once the marketing ordinance is ready, it can be uploaded with its assigned coordinates (geography, demographics). It isn’t ‘free’ - but free and impact are separate measures of success.
The day-trippers and weekenders have different needs, requiring different messaging and promotional incentives.
The day-trippers and weekenders have different needs, requiring different messaging and promotional incentives.
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