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The
provocative headline on this story in AdMix about
Enchanted Kingdom read: “The New Disney.” To many it may
have seemed like an absurdly audacious claim. But when you
see how Enchanted Kingdom gets involved with customers in
so many innovative ways, you might begin to think anything
is possible.
Because
management understands the power of breaking through the
noise of the marketplace with an overwhelming succession
of bold, caring initiatives, these magical treats at
Enchanted
Kingdom
have grown and will continue to grow into a mighty
world-class theme park business.
There is
good reason to believe that the longer the consumer can be
induced to linger with your advertising communication, the
deeper the impression it will make. Enchanted Kingdom has
ranged all the way from one campaign where the copy
consisted of just these words—“The magic stays with
you”—to extremes of cleverness and graphic association
with colorful images and magical wand that go beyond
almost any other advertising category. A significant
accomplishment of
Enchanted Kingdom
is that it has given the customers reasons for lingering
longer, allowing the advertising impression to sink in
deeper. For want of a better phrase, this columnist calls
it the “linger factor.”
Richard P.
Burgos, assistant vice president for marketing, wanted a
new challenge and saw a great opportunity in the rising
tide of corporate packages events. He has accepted the
responsibility of enhancing the guest experience in the
park to drive attendance and revenues and to market the
experience to both local and foreign tourists. Management
believes that events and promos are basic to marketing
communications and it is treated as seriously as the
company treats the general public so vital to building a
favorable brand image.
Just think
of the word-of-mouth advertising value this generates when
the family members return home from
Enchanted
Kingdom
and tell friends how they were treated. If each person who
makes a stop at the theme park shares the experience with
just two or three friends who haven’t been to that place,
Enchanted Kingdom is reaching several hundred prime
prospects with an unforgettable experience.
“Why do
people go back to the park?” Burgos asks. “It’s the
magical experience,” he adds.
Enchanted
Kingdom is not just a faraway, impersonal theme park. It
is a warm, caring presence in the lives of people. It is a
kingdom with a heart, of lasting memories. The offer of
helpful, caring information is at the heart of everything
Enchanted
Kingdom
does. Do you see what this columnist means by the linger
factor? The magical experience draws you in like a Venus
flytrap, and holds you until you swear you’ll never settle
for a different theme park next time. “But there’s no
other world-class theme park in the country, the rest are
what you call just amusement parks,” Burgos stresses.
Enchanted
Kingdom sits on a 16-hectare lot, of which only 14
hectares are currently being utilized. “There’s room for
growth and more!” he says, adding, “the leisure industry
is fast attracting a lot of investors. The leisure and
entertainment industry will really play up to the
experienced economy.” At Enchanted, the park can
accommodate as much as 20,000 patrons a day.
Care
enough to really put the customer first. This is strongly
conveyed in all the marketing programs of Enchanted. “It
is the marketer’s job today,” Burgos says, “to search for
techniques where you can bring real service to the
consumer, so that they get the feeling that you are really
helping them and not just get the feeling to make them go
to the park.” We see once again, as we did with the
Enchanted Kingdom brand, a “super synergy” in which each
part of the overall program supports and strengthens the
others.
Magicalympics is an experiential learning and
team-building program that makes use of Enchanted
Kingdom’s world-class rides and attractions for challenges
that advance effective communication, teamwork and
collaboration, leadership skills and time management,
out-of-the-box thinking and creative problem-solving.
Triassic
Tag is the first attraction of its kind in the country.
The gadgets used in the combat game are built and
developed in Australia and utilize red-light technology
instead of paint balls and compressed air.
Appreciative Inquiry, or AI, is an effective methodology
for strategic planning and change management that uses the
employee’s positive experience base for envisioning future
change and development. Facilitators are equipped with
academic qualifications and years of training experience.
AI is a shift from a problem-based methodology to that of
focusing on the best in the organization.
Certainly,
the fact that the programs are sold to a segment of the
population contributed to the success of using a corporate
market shift focus. However, if you think such an approach
is only suitable for sharply defined niche markets, stay
tuned. The next part of this magical story may prove even
more surprising.
Enchanted
Kingdom reinvented the concept of edutainment with the
groundbreaking program “Enchanted Kingdom: A Different
Kind of Classroom.” Students and even their teachers now
have all the time to reward themselves during semestral
and summer breaks with enchanted treats. Enchanted Kingdom
has likewise taken into account the client’s wishes and
interests. It conveys not just fun and games but the
culture, the ambiance—and everything must be conveyed with
authenticity.
Enchanted
Kingdom offers a unique venue to commemorate the day you
were born. The birthday bash is available in two packages
to treat your guests to unlimited access to rides,
sumptuous meals and fun entertainment. The setting also
casts a spell on all those who witness the most memorable
moment when you exchange I do’s.
Eldar’s
Tent is the new and sprawling 600-sq-m venue in Enchanted
Kingdom that offers an air-conditioned area to hold your
corporate events like product launches, anniversaries,
awarding ceremonies, sales kickoffs, corporate planning
sessions, seminars, team-building activities and many more
bonus treats.
“We have
more magical promos at stake the whole year round,” Burgos
says. These include, among others, Hatid Saya Pamilya
Package for OFWs, Service Saya Package for government
employees, and Magical e-Services for BPOs and call
centers.
When the
AVP for marketing of the country’s largest branded theme
park says, “Enchanted Kingdom should also reflect the
Eternal Kingdom,” and “wholesome family entertainment,”
then it pays to observe carefully the daring new direction
he is taking for the company—how he is focusing the
thinking of this giant organization on the relationship
with the individual as the key to future success.
Looking
after the customer’s interest in daring new ways, as we
have seen is much more than simply sending discount
coupons to likely prospects in a database. It is one of
the most remarkable examples of customer cultivation,
customer empowerment and total relationship commitment the
business world has ever seen. Over the years, customers
have flocked to take advantage of the unique brand of
involvement found at
Enchanted
Kingdom. | 
