BREAKING! The Bat Flies Again at Kings Island! IT IS A WING COASTER!
I would phrase it thus: enthusiasts tend to make more visits to parks than other park-goers, but by far the most visits to parks are made by non-enthusiasts.
Or something like that.
My author website: mgrantroberts.com
Bwahahaha!
Um, no park needs enthusiasts. They could ban us and not see a dent.
GoBucks89 said:
I find it interesting the number of enthusiasts who grossly overestimate the number of enthusiasts.
In 1985, playing games with enthusiasts to drum up excitement for a new ride would be a waste of effort.
It's 2013, and times have changed. Many enthusiasts are like free hired advertising reps, making websites, blogging, sharing on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram, etc. Word from enthusiasts spreads to the general public faster than ever these days.
Cedar Fair is adapting to social media exactly as they should be. They're deploying a PR guy from individual parks to interact on the most popular fan websites, and they're broadcasting everything through all the social media outlets. These are all good moves in my book.
bit0mike said:
Because enthusiasts tell their non-enthusiast friends. Word of mouth is cheaper than ads.
You should really pay attention to how quickly your non-enthusiast friends' eyes glaze over when you start talking about stuff they don't care about.
Jeph said:
Coaster forums have been ablaze with interest in KI's new coaster for a very long time.
Were those forum members not interested in KI prior to the lame PR stunt?
Brandon | Facebook
djDaemon said:
Were those forum members not interested in KI prior to the lame PR stunt?
As I pointed out, they certainly were. KI had already done an excellent job in that regard. But, compare the post frequency prior to and after this "lame PR stunt" (which I personally found hilarious).
But to what end? The people posting are the same people posting prior to the stunt. KI hasn't added a significant number of guests via the stunt, so they've not generated any significant revenue via the stunt.
So if the point of the stunt was to waste resources on something that generates no revenue, then yeah, I suppose they should pat themselves on the back. But like Gonch, I don't get why they waste money pandering to an audience that is going to hand over money regardless.
Brandon | Facebook
Tyler, no. Parks would still exist.
As for this being a bad PR move. Kings Island 2014 Coaster was one of the Top 10 Highest Searched things on Yahoo. There is a lot of interest in this project. It may not be anymore, but a stunt could still be pulled like that.
Either way, there is something that points to yesterday possibly being an accidental leak. Wall Posts can no longer be made on Kings Island's Facebook page (could be there way to quarantine it). Today's Twitter post from KI also points to it possibly being a diversion. What could be announced could change by the day of the week apparently
The value of enthusiasts is they're an easy group to pull in for 4am TV shoots...and you can probably make a LITTLE money offering ERT sessions.
Other than that, enthusiasts are more of a PIA than they're (we're) worth...
Novel idea here, but maybe they want us (the enthusiasts) to feel like valued customers. Regardless of how much of an impact we may have, we are still their customers. Holiday world gives guests free soda despite fact they would have bought drinks otherwise, in the name of customer satisfaction. Just because we would go either way doesn't mean that the company doesn't value us or care how we feel about things. It's a little nod to the enthusiasts that is much less expensive than other options.
Sure word from enthusiasts spreads to the general public faster these days. But as DJ noted, that doesn't mean the general public will have any interest in the vast majority of what gets enthusiasts all excited. The existence of social media, sites like this, etc. hasn't changed that. At least not in my experience with the people I encounter (the vast, vast majority of which are non-enthusiasts).
Jeph, I see your point to a degree. Personally speaking, as the go-to guy amongst everyone I know, I've had the chance to answer questions from friends regarding new projects. Much of that info is gleaned from websites, discussion boards, educated guesses from observing construction sites, and PR teasers. But I always qualify what I know with the fact that know one knows until announcements are made.
Our audience here, in the grand scheme of things, is small. No one I know is rushing to this board or to join a club because I've mentioned I'll be attending BeastBuzz this weekend. If PR departments want to waste their time and resources setting us up that's fine. But I'm pretty sure no one's phones lit up when this happened but ours.
I've said this before- I like baseball. But only to the extent of attending a game or two a year. I'm not the kind of fan who stalks the discussion boards or the call in shows, and I don't spend time predicting who's going to be traded next season. I think most amusement park visitors, aside from the die-hard season pass holders, are like that.
Could it be as simple as a higher up in the company was furious that blueprints got leaked and demanded something be done so as not to spoil their well-planned surprise? "Those damned enthusiasts, always trying to ruin our fun.We spent millions". And suddenly, it's all about us when it probably matters a whit.
I think parks benefit from enthusiasts most when there's a well publicized event. If 400 aceRs or Brits attend the park for a few days and it hits the paper or the news, that's golden. But not a couple days increased activity on a message board due to a stunt.
^^Every post / picture / like / tweet about KI getting a new coaster increases the possibility of some casual customer seeing it and thinking, "Hmmm...Kings Island is getting a new coaster next year? I think I'll go." Mission accomplished...I wasn't suggesting that the general public was going to be intensely interested in it all.
Wow, Once again we stoop the the Enthusiast Vs. Non.
The Majority of long term enthusiast are 30-55 years old, Either Single or Married with no kids with the ability and means to pursue their hobby.
NOT ANY PARKS PRIME MARKETING TARGET.
That is all.
CoasterKid20 said:
Tyler, no. Parks would still exist.
Actually, 73% of amusement park profits come from enthusiasts. Which is a statistic I just made up.
Aww, I missed a bulk of the best conversation. Either way, here's my late 2 cents:
Jeph said:
Explain how this is the most horrible PR move ever.
Ok. No problem.
Why would you send the media outlets a comb and hair for a wing coaster called "The Bat"?
Poops and giggles?
It would probably be the most nonsensical PR move ever.
Therefore, as I said back when there was still a question, it seems more likely that the website is the decoy.
Now with that said, I'm glad so many here seem to understand how unimportant to the big picture the 'enthusiast' demo is. We don't matter and the general inflated sense of self-importance as to our place in the machine is one of the big turnoffs I have with the community. After seeing the bulk of the replies here on the topic, I think I have better understand as to why I choose to interact with this crowd - you guys get it. Playing to us makes NO sense. It's lazy and it's an old way of thinking...when word of mouth mattered.
Jeph said:
In 1985, playing games with enthusiasts to drum up excitement for a new ride would be a waste of effort.
It's 2013, and times have changed. Many enthusiasts are like free hired advertising reps, making websites, blogging, sharing on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram, etc. Word from enthusiasts spreads to the general public faster than ever these days.
I see it exactly the opposite. In 1985 you needed word of mouth - in a very literal sense. Enthusiasts made a good middleman. Toss them a bone and you get people on the street talking about it.
Today, with the internet and the most casual of potential customers putting their own eyes in front of your product through social media and official websites and such there's absolutely no need whatsoever to do it the old way. The middleman is useless. That's the great win of the internet - streamlining and cutting the fat. You can interact directly with your customers.
If my PR guy is playing silly games with fake clues and aiming it specifically to a niche market like the enthusiast community - his or her ass is fired. I can't think of a worse waste of time and effort.
And even if playing around with the enthusiast community for some reason seems like a reasonable idea to me as a park owner, then I hire a kid like Tyler with some sort of "intern" title to do the same nonsensical meaningless crap for free.
Jeph said:
I think the more horrible PR move is what Six Flags is doing. All of their new attractions are going to be announced in a few weeks, and the interest is a tiny fraction of 1 single Cedar Fair ride. Why aren't we following all kinds of silly hints and obsessing about their new potential rides?
Buzz on enthusiast forums and real world business are two different things. Next spring when both chains' new rides have long lines and are drawing visitors - then who wasted their resources this fall?
rollergator said:
The value of enthusiasts is they're an easy group to pull in for 4am TV shoots...and you can probably make a LITTLE money offering ERT sessions.
Other than that, enthusiasts are more of a PIA than they're (we're) worth...
Exactly. At best, hardcore enthusiast are whores to the industry. You're groupies to rock stars - ring rats to wrestlers. You think you're being loved, but you're being used. One step lower and they'd just be pissing on you for laughs.
Closed topic.
