Alton Towers Brand - Can Magic make a comeback?

[Liam]

I've started a new topic on this so it's not missed with the continual logo changes, and for a slightly different discussion.

The above image, from the corperate page of the AT site, which Chrïs posted in the other topic, shows (in my view) how magic can be done in a modern and uncheesy way.

Magic has been shyed away from really since the start of the decade, with a brand of generic fun adopted since (an example of such branding is the Bucket and Spade event stripes, used for the last two years).

Personally, I've always thought this was a mistake.
Magic is what the park was built on, and for a good reason, because it attracts adults and children alike, albeit from a slightly different perspective.

Magic creates a sense of awe and mystery, and I know no-one who does not approve of those senses. In the Hall of the Mounatain King falls into this magic category - if it's getting tired, remix it or jass it up slightly in a grand and professional way.

^That image is only shown on the very smart corperate site, and I hope that the theme is adpated by the whole resort.
What are everyone's views on such a brand if adapted?

[DanB]

I think it looks really good, nice and fresh. It captures what Alton branding should look like!

[Gax]

I completely agree. I find it almost upsetting to look at old park maps, watch old park adverts etc. because I see something that was so perfect, that could easily still be in place but isn't.

The whole 'magic' theme was the thing that first got me so interested in Alton Towers, it made it special somehow, just the same as I felt about Disney when I first went.
Without the few years when I was growing up (1998, 99, 2000 and 2001) I don't think I would be here posting now as it was those times that got me hooked on the place, and made me feel totally different to when visiting anywhere else.

I still get that feeling to a certain extent now, but not really anything to I first felt, and now I spend much more of my time noticing things that have gone, or broken, or been changed in a negative way from what the Towers once was.

'Magic' is the perfect brand for a place like Alton Towers, it fits it perfectly which is something that most Theme parks can't achieve, and it has been a shame to see it wasted.


I have a really good feeling that Merlin's takeover is going to take them back to the magical place they once were. I haven't seen one negative thing happen since they tookover and I think everything is pointing towards a magical future for the Towers!

[Dr Pop Rocket]

That sort of imagery is what the entire brand of Alton Towers should be about, it just looks so magical and appealing, the ironic thing about the corporate site is now with that style it comes across with a very magical and family orientated precense and the main site in itself feels more like a corporate site now.

Whenever I visited the official site it just honestly felt like going onto a Centre Parc's style website, it's a nice site and design, but it sort of made the park seem very corporate and upmarket. The same could be said for the recent adverts, it did not make the park seem like this fantasy world it made it feel like a very upmarket holiday park, not a magical and magnificent theme park.

I know Alton Towers want to be a resort and push that image, but surely they don't want that sort of image? Surely magical advertising and branding would put the park across as more of an experience and something special to make it worth staying there, from the adverts it makes the resort seem no different to any other expensive holiday resort in the UK. Alton Towers does offer a magical experience (For the most part anyway), so they should advertise it like that.

Hopefully with any luck that sort of design appears throughout the entire site and starts appearing in this supposed re-branding of the entire park...

[Liam]

This is my view of things - in the form of examples from the past, obviously you'd need to modernise some of them for today's use but the rough style or concept I think should be returned.

[Wes]

The image of the towers above is exactly how the park as the whole should be represented with the things Liam has mentioned above.

Just looking at that image, be it simple, fills me with excitement. Thats exactly what the park should be wanting.

[Ant]

EXACTLY! how Liam has put it, Managment take note of that one.

I honestly dont get advertising for the park these days, None of it is appealing in anyway at all, comes across extremely dull does nothing for me such as Feb Half Term Hullabaloo wtf , and im guessing a hell of alot of people would agree with me, I find it very childish looking colourfull in your face tacky. But looking at the beauty of the 90s images just makes the park look so much grand professional and appealing in everyway.

I luv the image Liam created deffo the road the park need to head.

But I have to admit, I think the advertising for winter at the hotels in pretty decent I suppose this year me thinks.

[Big Dave]

Think the key word there is professional. Recently it looks cheap and tacky. Add to the fact that we have more cheap games outlets and poor theming in certain areas all adds to this cheap and tack feel. It makes it seem like a seaside amusement park not some world class themed resort.

[Ant]

[quote=""Big Dave""]Think the key word there is professional. Recently it looks cheap and tacky. Add to the fact that we have more cheap games outlets and poor theming in certain areas all adds to this cheap and tack feel. It makes it seem like a seaside amusement park not some world class themed resort.[/quote]

To be honest I think Pleasure Beach has a much higher standard of presentation these days compared to towers .

[Johno]

I really don't agree on that one.

The magic must be modern.

A new advert like the one posted above with more modern graphics, with music something lively like the fratellis.

Alton cannot produce what they did in 1997 as its too old. Everything needs to be modern yet have a magic edge.

For instance the park map needs to be more like Thorpe's in my opinion, for the general map yet the cover can be really magical.

[LiamSAFC]

Yeah - to some extent I agree with Johno - but the Towers must move forward. The picture at the top of the page is Simply Stunning and describes how AT should look with a magical touch in a Modern 21st Century Way. Alton Towers is moving with the times and sadly, we'll never get the period of 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002 back. Merlin however are making the Towers move into a way that the Magic is still there, but the Image that Merlin are presenting is that we must move forward with the Magic.

There is no way they could put a 94' Nemmy advert back on TV, it would be a bad Business move for the Theme Park, so thats why AT has tried to achieve a new fresh image of the Towers to show the Magic is still there. Now when people walk down Towers Street, they want it to be breathtaking and think of the Picture, with the magic sparkles...not just cheap gimmicks.

I think Merlin will achieve this. They have definitely been more organised than that of Tusuards DIC - they've brought back old Music, rejuvenated a lifeless area and they seem in control with Budgets and its Financial Control.

The Towers are back in safe hands - enjoy the ride

[Liam]

[quote=""Johno""]I really don't agree on that one.

The magic must be modern.

A new advert like the one posted above with more modern graphics, with music something lively like the fratellis.

Alton cannot produce what they did in 1997 as its too old. Everything needs to be modern yet have a magic edge. [/quote]
If you actually read my post... you'll see that I have stated that they would need to be modernised, but the concepts themselves are perfectly fine - which is what this topic is about.
[quote=""LiamSAFC""]
Yeah - to some extent I agree with Johno - but the Towers must move forward. The picture at the top of the page is Simply Stunning and describes how AT should look with a magical touch in a Modern 21st Century Way. Alton Towers is moving with the times and sadly, we'll never get the period of 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002 back. Merlin however are making the Towers move into a way that the Magic is still there, but the Image that Merlin are presenting is that we must move forward with the Magic.

There is no way they could put a 94' Nemmy advert back on TV, it would be a bad Business move for the Theme Park, so thats why AT has tried to achieve a new fresh image of the Towers to show the Magic is still there. Now when people walk down Towers Street, they want it to be breathtaking and think of the Picture, with the magic sparkles...not just cheap gimmicks. [/quote]
Who ever said you would put a 1994 advert back on TV? You miss the point completely there. It's the idea of portraying the wonder, mystery and awe of the ride or attraction, rather than showing a pointless girl with chewing gum, or a totally irrelevant ice explorer in the Arctic.

Plus what's all this nonsense about Merlin? They seem to be continuing exactly how they were under the DIC. Some of the genuine good changes, such as the music changes, were in fact induced by us the enthusiasts of all people.

[LiamSAFC]

[quote=""Liam""][quote=""Johno""]I really don't agree on that one.

The magic must be modern.

A new advert like the one posted above with more modern graphics, with music something lively like the fratellis.

Alton cannot produce what they did in 1997 as its too old. Everything needs to be modern yet have a magic edge. [/quote]
If you actually read my post... you'll see that I have stated that they would need to be modernised, but the concepts themselves are perfectly fine - which is what this topic is about.
[quote=""LiamSAFC""]
Yeah - to some extent I agree with Johno - but the Towers must move forward. The picture at the top of the page is Simply Stunning and describes how AT should look with a magical touch in a Modern 21st Century Way. Alton Towers is moving with the times and sadly, we'll never get the period of 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002 back. Merlin however are making the Towers move into a way that the Magic is still there, but the Image that Merlin are presenting is that we must move forward with the Magic.

There is no way they could put a 94' Nemmy advert back on TV, it would be a bad Business move for the Theme Park, so thats why AT has tried to achieve a new fresh image of the Towers to show the Magic is still there. Now when people walk down Towers Street, they want it to be breathtaking and think of the Picture, with the magic sparkles...not just cheap gimmicks. [/quote]
Who ever said you would put a 1994 advert back on TV? You miss the point completely there. It's the idea of portraying the wonder, mystery and awe of the ride or attraction, rather than showing a pointless girl with chewing gum, or a totally irrelevant ice explorer in the Arctic.

Plus what's all this nonsense about Merlin? They seem to be continuing exactly how they were under the DIC. Some of the genuine good changes, such as the music changes, were in fact induced by us the enthusiasts of all people.[/quote]

I was agreeing with what you were saying! I was basically saying the Magic (as in '94) couldn't be shown on TV nowadays because it would need something Magical to keep it up to date, going on from Johno's POV.

I completely agree with the irrelevance of an Arctic Man, a girl chewing a bubble gum and other adverts that have been portrayed in the past, I think the image shows the Magic in a universal and modern way and symbolising how all ranges and ages could come to the Towers and still be taken away by the sheer magic of it all.

[Johno]

[quote=""Liam""][quote=""Johno""]I really don't agree on that one.

The magic must be modern.

A new advert like the one posted above with more modern graphics, with music something lively like the fratellis.

Alton cannot produce what they did in 1997 as its too old. Everything needs to be modern yet have a magic edge. [/quote]
If you actually read my post... you'll see that I have stated that they would need to be modernised, but the concepts themselves are perfectly fine - which is what this topic is about.
[quote=""LiamSAFC""]
Yeah - to some extent I agree with Johno - but the Towers must move forward. The picture at the top of the page is Simply Stunning and describes how AT should look with a magical touch in a Modern 21st Century Way. Alton Towers is moving with the times and sadly, we'll never get the period of 1994, 1997, 1998 and 2002 back. Merlin however are making the Towers move into a way that the Magic is still there, but the Image that Merlin are presenting is that we must move forward with the Magic.

There is no way they could put a 94' Nemmy advert back on TV, it would be a bad Business move for the Theme Park, so thats why AT has tried to achieve a new fresh image of the Towers to show the Magic is still there. Now when people walk down Towers Street, they want it to be breathtaking and think of the Picture, with the magic sparkles...not just cheap gimmicks. [/quote]
Who ever said you would put a 1994 advert back on TV? You miss the point completely there. It's the idea of portraying the wonder, mystery and awe of the ride or attraction, rather than showing a pointless girl with chewing gum, or a totally irrelevant ice explorer in the Arctic.

Plus what's all this nonsense about Merlin? They seem to be continuing exactly how they were under the DIC. Some of the genuine good changes, such as the music changes, were in fact induced by us the enthusiasts of all people.[/quote]

How dare you think that I didn't read your post.

What I was saying is I don't see what is wrong with Alton's current attempts.

They may not contain that much magic and that could be added to them, but to basically slag them off is complete cr**.

Alton aren't catering for people who remember the past fanboy favourite advert which was in 1997, they're catering for what is happening now.

[Chris1]

I think the only reason the park decided to do away with the magic was because the new management we're all too keen to stamp their mark on the place to impress top brass; instead we've ended up with some really un-professional and un-inspired marketing campagns and slogans....

I can swallow some of the excuses that seem to come up explaining why previous attractions were so poor, influences from the old Tussauds group ect. but there really is no excuse for poor marketing and un-professionalism....

What kind of an image does it portray about a management team when they can't even decide on what friggin' park logo they want, and can't wait until they've decided to put it on the official website!? From looking at other successful businesses it is quite clear that consistancy and professionalism are the keys; building a corporate image over time and building up brand awareness through recognisable imagery and corporate slogans; which is what they had.....

To undo a decade of work in the space of a year, and replace it with a strategy thrown together within a closed season simply doesn't make sense, and shows extreme naivity.....

I'm pretty sure we'll never see the magic returning under this management as it'd be like admitting to their own mistake....

[Big Dave]

[quote=""Chrïs""]I think the only reason the park decided to do away with the magic was because the new management we're all too keen to stamp their mark on the place to impress top brass; instead we've ended up with some really un-professional and un-inspired marketing campagns and slogans....[/quote]

Exactly! How many slogans have we had in the last few years?

:arrow: Magic Moments
:arrow: Extraordinary something
:arrow: (Not sure if this was a slogan but was used at end of advert) Create some great memories, you might need them someday!

?????????????????

Thats just the ones off the top of my head in that has all happened in just a couple of years. They need to get a good logo, a good slogan and then stick with it! I think towers made a mistake by undoing many years of the magical image that was around in the late 80's and early 90's.

[altontowers1]

Marky.com or anyone... lol. the link to the 1993 advert at AT what is the music called on it ??.

x

[Nick]

In The Hall of the Mountain King

[altontowers1]

Thankyouu x

I thought it was but didnt wont to make myself look like a fool if it wasnt :P .

i love it its soooo AltonTowers.

[Liam]

[quote=""Chrïs""]I can swallow some of the excuses that seem to come up explaining why previous attractions were so poor, influences from the old Tussauds group ect. but there really is no excuse for poor marketing and un-professionalism.... [/quote]
[quote=""Big Dave""]Exactly! How many slogans have we had in the last few years?

:arrow: Magic Moments
:arrow: Extraordinary something
:arrow: (Not sure if this was a slogan but was used at end of advert) Create some great memories, you might need them someday! [/quote]
Agreed. Recent years have been fairly unprofessional in their presentation, and very short term minded. It seems the marketing department are coming from the perspective of marketing a 'fun' product, probably because of university courses and the like, when actually you need to advertise the experience, the sensations, instead. That's what the magic era did wonderfully.

The most recent attempts at branding have been some of the most awful.
- The stripes were terribly amateur.
- The mixed fonts they'd been using sent out a messy image.
- Those pipes they're using for the Half term event are horrid.

I can't wait to see what direction they're going to go with the 08 brand, seen as they seem to be making a big thing of it.