Enchanted Kingdom Case study Essay

I. Point of View In this case, the group would take the point of view of the top management/marketing manager. This is because the group thinks the top management/marketing manager has the capacity to strategize and initiate the necessary actions in this situation. II. Market Situation Analysis A. SWOT a. Opportunities – Visitors coming in groups could be corporate (handling company anniversaries, parties, product launches, company and family outings, sport fests, wedding receptions, birthday parties, concerts and fund-raising activities), travel (handling tour groups), and school (handling educational field trips, graduation balls, and prom nights) – Majority of those who visited the park were young people between 13 to 29 years of age. – A big chunk of the park’s revenues came from its admission fees and retail operations. – Continuous demand for recreational activities – People celebrate different occasions all throughout the year – Increasing demand on semestral breaks and vacation of students – People are attracted on buying group or corporate packages b. Threats – Precarious economic conditions (currency crisis) in late 1997 – Competition from other recreational establishments. – Fluctuating demand – The Financial Crisis in Asia – People began cutting â€Å"unnecessary expenses† including leisure expenses – Fluctuating demands all throughout the year – Negative responses of the disappointed customers – Competition from other recreational establishments such as malls. c. Strengths – Pioneer theme park – world-class themed leisure, recreation and entertainment – Seven ‘fantastic’ theme zones – Spacious land – Accessible to public (close to Metro Manila) – Rides imported from United States, Germany, and Japan. – With musical entertainment (popular guest bands and in-house bands). – With fireworks display every weekend – Accredited with the International Theme Park Inc. (complied to international safety standards) – Highest standards in safety, services, products, facilities, and attractions – Crew members trained in Disney, USA – Allowed to speak only fluent English at all times for their target market-AB class – Conducts regular survey among customers making prior ticket purchases – Park was open year-round from Mondays to Sundays except Maundy Thursday and Good Friday during Holy Week. – Unlimited use of rides and attractions within the park. – Park owned food stalls and souvenir stores d. Weaknesses – Almost four years since it last introduced a new major ride or attraction (novelty of the place started to wear off) – Plunged attendance by 1997 – Maintenance made up the bulk of its expenses – Usually took 30-40 minutes for the visitor to wait (waiting lines) for a major ride during peak seasons because of overcrowding – The park had to continue incurring fixed overhead costs to serve a very thin crowd during lean months – Late and/or absence of any sales blitz in the form of posters and flyers to universities and colleges B. Product Life Cycle Introduction Upon opening, the EK started at high price yet the demand is high Growth There is an increasing trend for the demand since EK has been well- publicized Maturity There was a stable demand for some time then went down due to critical events that took place Decline The demand decreases after financial crisis and ineffective publicity/promotion offers. C. Target Market The target market of Enchanted Kingdom mainly belongs to the AB class. After having two critical events in 1997, the management decided to change their marketing strategies, and targeted the general public like students, government workers, and those who are planning to have parties/celebrations/tours. D. Product Positioning Enchanted Kingdom has positioned itself as a Philippine leader in world-class themed leisure, recreation, and entertainment committed to provide guests of all ages a total and unique experience of fun and enjoyment. E. Current Marketing Mix or Marketing Strategies a. Product Enchanted Kingdom offers their customers a world-class magical experience of entertainment and leisure through wide variety of good outlets, new rides and attractions imported abroad, wide variety of food outlets, specialty shops, and video games center. Visitors could also swing to the beat of live wire of musical entertainment from popular guest bands and in-house bands. And fireworks display was available for public viewing every weekend. b. Physical Evidence Enchanted Kingdom has distributed publication materials (i,e, print ads, poster, flyers) for their services and discounts. c. Place The location is a 16. 6 ha land quite accessible to the public because it was just 30km away from Makati. d. Promotion 1997 second half of the year Price-decrease First time EK visitors were given lesser entrance fee on certain days and months 1997 April-May Twicket with Pepsi 1997 August CALABARZON promo 1997 August Government Promo An exclusive day was set aside for employees of government institutions, SSS, and GSIS. (100 entrance fee) 1997 September Magic Treat Promo 1998 April-May Barkada Treat Promo Summer vacation treat for students, walk-in guests with big entrance fee discount 1998 June-September Government Promo and Calabarzon Promo 1998 Semestral break Sembreak treat Promo For four tickets, two were given for free f. Process management How- To avail the service, EK has two customer segments. These include walk-ins and those who pre-book their visits through the sales office as a group. When- all throughout the year within specific days including peak and non-peak seasons Where- EK entrance location and online pre-booking g. People Internal-employees (crew members and staff received service training from Disney USA and are advised to speak in fluent English at all times. External-customers (i. e. adults, children, senior citizens, students, government employees) III. The Case Problem How does the top management/marketing manager of the Enchanted Kingdom even out its demand throughout the year? IV. Case Objective This study aims to: ? To effectively formulate a strategy that would increase theme park attendance ? To ensure theme park attendance even-out during peak and non-peak seasons all through the year ? To increase the number of people going to the park despite financial crisis and other challenges/threats both for the intended customers and the management itself V. Alternative Solutions to the Problem Alternative Courses of Action A. Addition of new major rides and attractions in the park. B. Adjusting of prices depending on the season, month, day, or occasion. C. Intensive Promotions during non-peak seasons Alternative Pros Cons A ? Will encourage returning customers. ? Will attract more attendances and increase the demand for the park ? Will increase the customer’s satisfaction ? Will provide more thrilling and exciting new rides ? Will provide more entertainment options due to additional attractions ? Very costly ? Impractical for the management due to financing and weak demand ? Doesn’t necessarily stabilize the demand of the park. B ? Will increase demand during peak seasons ? Will make the demand closely the same all ? Will require annual price planning due to changing circumstances in every season through the year ? Will avoid overcrowding ? Will attract celebrants for various occasions on varying season ? Will require the management to ensure just and fair discounts to varying occasions C ? Will increase the people’s awareness of the park ? Will attract more attendances ? Will promote good image for the theme park ? Will open possibilities for partnerships and collaborations in exchange of services (i. e. entrance tickets) ? Will stabilize demand during non-peak seasons ? Costly ? Doesn’t necessarily lead to customer satisfaction ? Customer’s promotional needs vary from one type of customer to another ? May not reach all the target customers VI. Recommendation Based on the pros and cons table, alternative B is recommended. Prices will be adjusted depending on the season, month, day, or occasion. Implementation Planning: Surveys and past records could determine the demand on certain seasons, months, days or occasions and then develop a price index from the demand records of the park.  · Implementation Proper: Advertise and disseminate information about the new pricing scheme both online and offline. This will encourage visitors to go to the park during lean seasons because of the low price and will even out the number of visitors during its peak seasons.  · Control: The special prices during occasion or season will be advertised. Price changes depending on the occasion or season will be continuously advertised or disseminated all throughout the year. Surveys may also be conducted to monitor the customer satisfaction.