InPark Magazine talks to Lynn Singer from KoalaPlay Group and Jan Sherman of Sally Corporation about how parks and their guests can best benefit from their company’s years of experience.
inpark When you work with a client, how involved are you in setting direction for the project?
Koala: Depends on the objective of the client. We need to be in tune with the client’s objectives, since we feel our success depends on our client’s success. Age groups they would like to attract, revenue goals, community involvement, theming, water or dry play attraction. It also depends on the client’s experience. Some clients have a set direction where as other clients need consultation from the manufacturer.
Sally: Sometimes the client has the concept, and sometimes they come to us and we do the whole thing. For example, Challenge of Tutankhamon was our concept. We did the original development work behind it, Six Flags found it, really liked it and adopted it. With Scooby Doo, the Paramount Parks started off with that concept as they had the rights to it and they knew they wanted to do an attraction ride with Scooby Doo. They had heard about some of our interactive dark rides, so several of their staff went to Lake Compounce to see Ghost Ride. They just loved it and felt it would work perfectly as a Scooby Doo dark ride.
inpark Do you coordinate press releases with the parks on premieres?
Koala: We definately will write the press release. We also offer to assist them with an article for the trades or other media outlets.
Sally: We provide the parks with numerous press releases. They utilize whatever they can. We try to make their job easier.
inpark How involved are you in the premiere of your products?
Koala: We are as involved as the client would like us to be. Some clients already have a system in place for promoting their installations, as they do it on a regular basis. They may only want to utiltize our library of images or video for the pre-promotion of the installation. Some of our clients who are not as familiar with the process may want our assistance planning the entire grand opening, from images and video for pre-promotion, to planning the grand opening day, to designing media invitations and follow-up with the media, to writing articles and press releases.
Sally: Our role is to be there for the client, to make sure that everything is working. We are happy to talk to the media, and make sure everything is running smoothly. Most of the parks do a wonderful job of opening their attractions and we are really just a resource for them. For Challenge of Tutankhamon, we were able to shoot some video at the IAAPA trade show the year before the ride opened that the park was able to use for their publicity while the ride was being completed.
inpark What suggestions do you have for park operators to help make the launch of your products more successful?
Koala: If you are new to the industry, work with the manufacturer to find out what resources are available to assist in a successful launch. If you already have a system in place for the launch, I would suggest still working with the manufacturer because they may have some additional thoughts and resources that the customer could utilize. Here are 4 stages for a successful launch:
1)Pre-promotion - press releases, advertising in local media, stunts
2)Media preview - allow the press to get a first look and take photos
3)Grand opening for the public - advertising, stunts
4)Follow up to the grand opening
Sally: We can give them the benefit of our past experience with how other people have dealt with the process of premiering new attractions. We are currently talking about producing a presentation to give [potential clients] ideas for how they can handle these concepts and help promote it, as well as various avenues they can pursue because of the ride.
inpark When does your involvement with the client end?
Koala: We will work with the client as much as they would like us to. We assist in articles for them to gain attention throughout the year, we offer to work with them to submit industry awards, if they look to expand the park, we do the entire grand opening process over again.
Sally: Never. We tend to keep in touch with people all over the world. We call them up periodically and ask them how they are doing and to see if they need anything from us. Also, our customer service department is on call 24 hours a day to get help immediately should the need arise.
