CP's billboards need to improve.

After dropping my mother and her husband off at Midway airport in Chicago, I headed back down the tollway toward home. I finally saw the billboard near O'Hare advertising Cedar Point.

I glanced at it, and realized that the folks at Cedar Fair, if they want to get some customers from the Chicago area to drive 6 plus hours to their flagship park, are going to need to come up with a more creative sign to convince them to make the trip.

The sign basically says "Worlds tallest coaster and a beagle that skates" with a picture of Snoopy.

I am sorry, but if I was just a once or twice a year park-goer, that sign would not convince me to pack a suitcase, load up the family, and make the trek to Sandusky.

If you are going to advertise outside of your regional market, you are going to have to put a picture on the sign that attracts attention. Snoopy isnt going to cut it. Just saying "Worlds tallest coaster" also IMO wont attract people. SFGAm also has billboard signs showing S:UF and the character of Superman. It is by far more appealing in the advertising aspect to the GP.

Just my take on this, but put an animation of TTD on the billboard along with saying its the tallest. Also add some pics of the Lake Erie coastline along with a pic of the resorts. Make it scream out "This is a destination park!"

From what I have read here and on other sites, CP wants to establish itself as a park to visit from other areas of the country. If so, advertise it that way.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

I just saw the one in Indy Sunday afternoon. It looks classy in the normal CP, grey, green and Blue but I was trying to point it out to my Dad and he didnt even see it as it was drowed out by the more flashy colorfull billboards next to it.

Besides there are so many Zinga billboards in town its rediculuous.

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Dave

Beware of Kiddie Coasters
*** This post was edited by kneemeister 7/15/2003 7:08:43 AM ***

I personally thought that Cedar Point's advertising campaigns overall leave a lot to be desired. Yes, there are certain ads or commercials that stand out, but the vision year in and year out seems to be all over the place, no focus.

Cedar Point is my home park and I love to visit, but some of the things they do make no sense at all.

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tambo

They could always do like South of the border does in North and South Carolina... They have billboards about every 500 feet in a circle about 50 miles around the park. It's crazy! Does anyone else know what I am talking about? Then as you pass the park there are signs telling you to turn around. It's a bit extreme but I have to wonder if it works for them.

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My knex coasters
GOCC member # 671

Sometimes I think their advertising is the result of infighting in the board room, I swear. I think someone higher up insists on advertising so someone else say ok you want it here it is. Even in the Cleveland area, I mean there are a lot of comercials and such but no where near the amount and type SFWOA does, SF is shoving everything down your throat with all their specials and deals and season pass pricing, All cedar point does is a quick spot about being voted the best park on the planet, earlier in the yr they were runnig TTD comercials but cut them out in early to mid june, but honestly eveyone I know that goes to CP doesnt sit at home then see the commercial then remember its there, they just go religiously whether it be weekly like me or once a year, for us CP is just one of those things we do, like when fall rolls around we got tailgating to do, its just how we operate

Infighting in the board room... that's certainly a possibility. Knowing what I know about the personalities there and with their ad agency (Liggett-Stashower), and the current climate between the GM and, well, everyone else, I could see that. But to their credit, their marketing starts with creating attractions that are insanely marketable in the first place. I'd love to be the agency that has to sell at 420-foot roller coaster.

The reason you don't see CP shoving specials and deals down your throat is because they aren't that desperate to get you in the door. Indeed, the fact that they're not doing that kind of promotion leads me to believe that they're on-budget despite slightly softer attendance thus far. I personally think you can chalk that up to a combination of sheer reputation and a focus more on per capita spending instead of gate numbers.

Billboards are a pretty limited medium. I'm not sure what you'd expect, Scott, but you did remember it enough to come and make a post about it, so it couldn't have been that unforgettable.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

CP is never going to do Orlando-style billboards but I would like to think of the possibilities if they did. Going a little 3D would definitely spice things up.

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Jeff said:

Billboards are a pretty limited medium. I'm not sure what you'd expect, Scott, but you did remember it enough to come and make a post about it, so it couldn't have been that unforgettable.

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I noticed it because of the CP logo on the sign. Its something an enthusiast is going to remember(plus I was looking for it) :). The average person probably wouldnt give that sign a second glance. For CP's local market, this sign is perfect. For trying to pull in some potential customers outside of it, its just not that attention grabbing.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Perhaps then they should read, "Great America sucks! Our coasters are bigger?" ;)

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

I agree. I've seen some of the Chicagoland CP advertising, but only because I've got coasters on the brain. The signs didn't even register with the people I was with.

In comparison, the SFGAm and IB billboards are *very* eyecatching.

CP should have put the same bilboard they have just south of Detroit. It shows a picture of the crest of the earth from space and has the TTD top-hat crest above that w/ a train going over it. I think it might say something about 120mph / 420ft as well. When my girlfriend and I drove out there for coastermania, she even mentioned how much better that billboard was than the one I had to point out to her on 294 back in Illinois.

edit: corrected due to Vater's post below

*** This post was edited by onceler 7/15/2003 12:04:22 PM ***

Billboards are only meant to convey a 'blurb' of information b/c it's only seen for 5 to 10 seconds at best. It's sole purpose is to get an idea of CP in the consumers head, not tell you 100 things about the park, for instance. If someone is interested in CP, they'll likely visit the website and pursue further information about the park on their own.

I'm not sure what else you could possibly expect them to do with a billboard design...neon lights perhaps? Don't you thing there's enough advertising in our lives already? There's two adverts on this page alone for crying outloud.

Thats basically what I meant when I said that no one I know needs to see a commercial or billboard to remind them to go to CP its a religion in a way, As for SF thats kinda what I meant by WOA shoving everything down your throat

Is it just me, or does anyone else think the SFGAm billboards aren't all that effective? Colorful, yes, but it's difficult to tell that S:UF is a flying coaster from the picture they show. From what I can remember, it shows a close-up of the train, but it's somewhat drowned out by the bright Superman colors surrounding it. If I didn't know what S:UF was beforehand, I certainly couldn't have figured it out by whipping past that billboard at 75 mph (unofficial Tri-state speed limit). I've been wondering why they didn't have a phrase like "fly like Superman at Great America" on there or something. There's just too much going on on that billboard.

And I totally missed the CP billboard, even though I was looking for it. I thought the Astroworld billboards looked excellent when I drove through Houston a few weeks back.

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Come on fhqwhgads!

THAT CEDar point is well know around the state of ohio and around the countre with coaster loves and maybe around the world so who cares about a bill borad

"The reason you don't see CP shoving specials and deals down your throat is because they aren't that desperate to get you in the door."

Which is exactly why Disneyland, Knotts, and SFMM have a ton of discounts available...tourism is *way* down here in LA [and many other places such as Orlando]

As for the billboard "Worlds tallest coaster and a beagle that skates" I think that's cute and clever. Just because it doesn't appeal to you, Chitown, doesn't mean it won't appeal to many.

mOOSH

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A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Rectitude [n.] the formal demeanor of a proctologist just before he exams you.

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 7/15/2003 11:54:58 AM ***

I think the billboard is just suppose to make you curious enough to want to get on the internet website.

Then you see all the greatness Cedar Point is.

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onceler said:
I think it might say something about 120ft / 420mph as well.

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Man, the airtime on THAT tophat must be INSANE. ;)

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-Mike B.
Son of Hulk
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Sure, people are going to see it, but like Chris said, its not "eye-catching".

They could leave that slogan on the sign, but spice up the rest of it. Give the people a reason to drive the long distance instead of visiting SFGAm.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

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zaqman23 said:
THAT CEDar point is well know around the state of ohio and around the countre with coaster loves and maybe around the world so who cares about a bill borad

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After trying to translate this to English.

Cedar Point is not known around the country (except for enthusiasts).

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"