Marketing burnt on to your retinas

[Kaycee]

Hello.

I can't help but notice (because sometimes it's about 2 millimetres away from my eyes), that the Marketing department really aren't missing a trick these days with all the promotion. When I was on park in February half term, I was a little astonished to see a scaffold-clad Ripsaw with a massive banner on the front of it advertising the Hotels. When I went on Ice Age 4D the other day, I really could not HELP but notice the promotion on the inside of the 4D glasses, I felt a little violated!

Bit much, isn't it? I don't like to be too cynical, but... can a guest not get a break from thinking about just how exactly they are going to plough their next pound, euro, dollar into the business? CONSTANT upselling and a gauntlet made of Towers Street aside, it's just really TOO MUCH.

[DiogoJ42]

But how else are they going to make you so angry that you have to vist the hotel spa to unwind? :P

[Dingerbell]

The point of these adverts are to get you to notice them- if you can't see them, there isn't any point. AT needs these adverts to promote itself- and so people will continue to go to the park. Yes, it may be annoying, but it does get your interest into AT, and makes you talk about it (in a positive or negative way).

Anyway, there's nothing you can do to stop it, so we'll all just have to live with it.

[Kaycee]

OK! Cool!

[Ritadz]

Totally agree, all this advertising and up-selling is the main reason why I'm so critical of both M£rlin and AT management. Last year's fanta-gate incident is proof of how they value money over magic nowadays. A small bit of advertising here and there isn't to bad, and I can live with that, but having an advert inside the glasses is just too far in my opinion. The advertisements and up-selling has seriously gone too far now.

[darkside]

I agree, it is ridiculous. Sky ride, monorail, its everywhere! Spend spend spend! Its like they're desperate or something.

I noticed that the Rapids now has a new queue lane shop, so thats 2 shops that are quite close together in the same queue....

[RustyRider]

Personally, I didn't notice the advertisement on the inside of the glasses...mainly because they were on the side of my face for the 15 minute show, then popped in the bin.

Bit pointless really.

[Blaze]

I was shocked by the advertising on the glasses.

Really, really cheap shot.

[Chris W]

For the record... I love the new Skyride announcement jingle.

SKYRIDE
SKYRIDE
SKYRIDE

[James]

Marketing is pretty much shoved down our throats the minute we enter the park these days.

Towers Street bears an uncanny resemblance to a market I went to in Barcelona a few years back. My family even play a game of how far down we can get without being jumped on by a staff member selling us something. If one of us makes it down to Towers Street without any staff members jumping on us we win a free chocolate bar. Quite a fun game to play... 

Where's the escapism gone? I'm trying to immerse myself in this magical land yet as I turn around there's a man pointing a camera at my face "It's only £5 to have a photo taken". What, have I just strolled into Cardiff city centre, oh no, I'm at Alton Towers in Mutiny Bay.

There's a fine line between up selling and just shoving every bit of marketing in your face. Alton Towers take on any given moment to make you even more aware of the expensive products they offer. Let's face it, most guests will be aware of the products available to them, they do not need to be reminded every moment of how much product X costs.

Towers Street has become the biggest joke going. I find it to no longer be a pleasure walking down there. It's a market street to me, and I do everything I can to avoid every single staff member that is trying to sell me something, that if I wanted I would go and buy myself.

[pluk]

I really didn't care about the glasses advertising, I enjoyed the attraction too much to be bothered by it. Also today I got no audio advertising in monorail or skyride in either direction, just some music instead, which was nice. The only thing anyone tried to flog me on entry was a photopass, and only once too.  Quite reasonable really.

[CoasterCrazyChris]

Why don't they cut costs and save money by getting rid of the upselling staff and not building so many new stalls?

That way they can spend the money saved on maintaining the park properly and making it a pleasent place to spend time. Then guests will think "what a quality day out that was, lets go back year" as oppose to now "oh no, we won't bother again as all they do is rip you off and shout in your face to buy things".

The Merlin Model is all wrong. Everything is about short term gain and how much can be pumped from each guest during the day. If they focussd on creating a quality atmosphere that will eventually bring them attendance increases in the medium to long term.

[Squiggles]

When I went on Ice Age 4D the other day, I really could not HELP but notice the promotion on the inside of the 4D glasses, I felt a little violated!

You should have seen the original design... it had the prices for Extraordinary Golf etched into one lens and Fastrack into the other. Though they were 3D! :P

[Benedique]

Towers marketing and upselling seems to be bordering upon unethical, in my opinion. Offers/promotions/marketing opportunities are forced to the point where people end up dissipating their money, not because they want to, but because they have been talked into it.

If somebody wants to purchase a service or product then they will usually search for it, they don't need somebody/posters badgering them until they can no longer see the wood for the trees resulting in them purchasing the advertised product. In my view, if a guest wanted to purchase a product then they would as soon as they saw it on display, they shouldn't need a few sentences from a staff member, or from an advert to talk them in to it.

I imagine it's a hindrance for many families who simply can't afford every product or service that is offered to them, yet they still have to encounter somebody trying to sell them it. As James has said before me, where has the escapism gone? The park seems to be more intent on encouraging people to spend even more of their money, rather than encouraging them to have a fun-filled enjoyable day.

I understand that Towers/Merlin are a business and they rely on people spending money when in the park, but surely people should be left to spend money at their own desire, rather than be badgered in to buying things that they wouldn't usually consider.

[Kaycee]

I agree, a nice man in the Air shop tried to sell me a little box of lollipops, would only have been 80p with AP discount, and I thought 'oh, that's nice, little lollipops, they're only-  NO!!! THANK YOU!' That was close.

When I went on Ice Age 4D the other day, I really could not HELP but notice the promotion on the inside of the 4D glasses, I felt a little violated!

You should have seen the original design... it had the prices for Extraordinary Golf etched into one lens and Fastrack into the other. Though they were 3D! :P

Haha, all that would be missing is a map and clear written directions as to how and where I can part with my cash!

[Bote]

I do agree that the sheer amount of marketing and advertising which goes on within the park is overkill. It's everywhere you look! Glasses, Quenchers, notice boards, banners, you name it, it's there.

The thing I found most surprising was the fact that this season they appear to have scrapped the Resort Overview video in the Monorail stations in favour of a Box Office style set of adverts. That video was one of the most magical clips shown at the start of the day! But nope, as with so many before it, it has been ditched in favour of upselling (No doubt as they can't be bothered to update it with new rides)

It's ridiculous. Everywhere you look you are reminded that money gets you more It's an awful waste of time and resources, printing and designing these things which are there for a few weeks/months, then never seen again. Towers would save more money if they weren't printing banners and posters to go on every free lampost and notice board available.

If they want to increase advertising why don't they kill two birds with one stone, and overhaul the main queuetime displays to allow more advertising messages? In the long run it'd no doubt save money, and at least it wouldn't be so in your face.

For the record... I love the new Skyride announcement jingle.

SKYRIDE
SKYRIDE
SKYRIDE

It was good until our gondola had an audio fail and kept looping it. It's scurreh! :P

[oldgitBEN]

The current marketing for the park is bloody awful. (I will pin point the tv adverts as excellent, however they were done by an external ad agency, so alton cant really take the credit for them).

But Alton has rapidly become less of a place to escape and have fun but more of a scummy market hall, of posters and prices on every available space and aggressive people screaming products and trying to force you to buy more.

The moment you enter that turnstyle should be about seeing the towers and that magical feeling setting in, and instead its one of dread as a wall of staff try and barage you with drinks packages, fast tracks and photos. You cant see the towers past the wall of red jumpers / coats the staff wear.

Its time the marketing team were told that not every surface has to be used, having wall to wall of adverts is less effective than one or two well placed and attractive adverts.
Also when things such as the monorail video are removed and glasses for shows have adverts it actually starts to damage the product, I would go so far as to say the marketing (including forced up selling) is the worst thing about the park - even worse than Terry!

[darkside]

Unfortunetly, this is all down to Merlin. Its the same at Thorpe Park. Last year, there were staff members spaced over the bridge trying to force photo pass' down your throat. But with Thorpe, it doesn't really ruin anything, as there is no escapism at Thorpe.

Different story at Alton though....bring back Tussaurds....

[DiogoJ42]

While I agree it does happen at Thorpe, it's nowhere near as bad as Towers. :no:

[Bear]

I must admit, the barrage of people offering you goods/services that you'd never even ask for is a tad intimidating. I hate saying no to people, and I felt damn uncomfortable walking down Towers Street this weekend.