Setting the scene
For the last 9 years, we have managed Merlin Entertainments’ ad and brand tracking programme for their theme parks in the UK, Germany and Italy.
The Context
Merlin’s previous brand tracking programme was not delivering on two fronts. Firstly it was not telling them how well they were doing in terms of aligning each of their theme park brands to their vision and values. Secondly the results weren’t actionable. They did not provide a clear direction on what each theme park needed to do to improve alignment to their brand position.
What we did
Working closely with customer experience alignment experts, Brand Vista, we used the Brand Alignment Monitor (BAMTM) approach to deliver a brand tracking programme that works for them.
The research is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of each theme park’s Easter and Summer TV ad campaigns, as well as track awareness, consideration and intention to visit levels, and overall brand health. Uniquely, we also include metrics to assess brand alignment linked to visitor experience, which provides a more holistic overview and actionable results.
We survey customers, prospects and staff by e-survey at regular intervals, and each theme park is able to quickly assess how far they are on their journey to aligning their brands, both externally (amongst recent visitors and prospects) and internally (amongst staff).
The results
The research outputs allow each theme park make informed decisions to plan and manage future TV ad campaigns, improve specific aspects of the visitor experience, identify key areas for staff training, and invest in new attractions.
