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Branded Attractions
www.parkworld-online.com
Licence to Thrill
Branded contents for parks and attractions PART 1
Nicelodeon
Universe at the Mall of America
“
What operators like Disney and Universal have same experience anywhere else. No longer are they
The key
known for a long time is that incorporating competing on price alone.
well-known brands and characters into theme But if you don’t have the time to build your own
benefit for an
park attractions creates the ultimate cross- brand like those parks above, one option is to
operator is the
marketing opportunity. Now numerous other piggyback on someone else’s. “Dozens of
licence owners are waking up to the potential companies and operators have developed
associated
parks have to create real life experiences that successful theme parks around the globe since
marketing
immerse guests deeper into the brands or Disney got the ball rolling in the 50s,” notes Keith
intellectual property (‘IP’). From George of the James, president of Jack Rouse Associates (JRA).
power of the
Jungle to American Idol, Owen Ralph “There are hundreds parks around the world that
highlights some of IP about to thrill guests in have realised the potential of using brands or
brand. In many
the months to come, and it they can do for brands licensed from others.”
cases, it can
park operators Currently working with Ferrari on a major project
in Abu Dhabi, JRA has helped realise numerous
also draw in a
I
n the January 2009 issue of Park World, BRC branded attractions over the years, working with
new audience,
Imagination Arts founder Bob Rogers warned: “If names such as Kellogg’s, Coca-Cola and
there are two attractions near each other, and if Legoland. “What no one else has done,” adds
a new
they offer the same elements, they will compete on James, “is develop on the scale of Universal or
price. The cheapest will win. Your operating margins Disney, for a variety of reasons, including leveraging
demographic will get smaller. This means a complete loss of any
of intellectual property, site locations, funding
to a park
differentiation, ie. brand equity.” capacity and a host of others.”
Venues such as the Efteling in Holland, “I think there were a lot of brand owners trying it
Phantasialand in Germany and of course the Disney before, but on an incidental basis,” says Roger
Teri Ruffley, HIT
parks worldwide, have spent years building up their Houben of 3D Branded Attractions (3DBA), who
Entertainment
brand equity. Some of their attractions might be the recently set-up a new IP business together with
same as those in other parks, but the theming, the partners including Falcon’s Treehouse. “It took too
”
storylines and the atmosphere are such that guests much effort for these people to do deals based on
come because they realise they can’t get quite the a single attraction and it was distracting them from
30
APRIL 2009
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