Marketing Six Flags to
Asian-Pacific Americans
Osorio & Co.
Erik Osorio
Jonathan Fenton
Kyle Goethals
Kristin DeSutter
Jonathon Watters
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I. Executive Summary
The amusement park industry has been, for decades, giving magnificent experiences and
wonderful memories to millions of individuals that would have been otherwise impossible. Its
large market size is proof of its popularity and ever since the inception of the amusement park
through the World Columbian Exposition (WCE) during the 19th century, amusement parks have
been highly popular. The WCE started a
chain reaction in which similar amusement
parks were created. Eventually, the first roller
coaster, Cyclone, was created. After this, the
popularity of amusement parks grew
immensely. However, World War II abruptly
interrupted the growth, and it was Disneyland
who revived the amusement park industry until 1955.
Angus Wynne Jr. created Six Flags, the amusement park that will be the focus of our
research. Six Flags Over Texas was the first park followed by many others such as Six Flags
Great America and Six Flags Ohio. Ownership of the Six Flags brand and its parks passed
through many hands until it eventually was entirely owned by Premier Parks. Six Flags
ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The following year, Six Flags emerged from the
bankruptcy and reorganized its operations.
Based on attendance, Six Flags is one of the four largest amusement park chains in the
industry today. Our research is especially focused on Six Flags and Asian-Pacific American
(APA) consumers. Because studies have shown that APAs tend to have more bachelor’s
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degrees or higher education levels in comparison to other Americans and therefore also higher
levels of income, this makes the community attractive to marketers.
Six Flags has previously attempted to market to the APA community, but the company
failed because its advertisements were viewed as offensive and stereotypical. Therefore, further
into our document we propose a new campaign that we anticipate will help Six Flags recover
from its past failures. Because research indicates that APAs are more technologically savvy, Six
Flags will use this to its advantage to reach customers, more specifically through the use of
mobile apps. Six Flags also recognizes that family is important in APA culture; therefore, most
of Six Flags’ advertisements, including those for outdoor, magazines, internet, and television will
be created to appeal towards families. The advertising campaign will begin in California where a
large of population of APAs with a massive buying power is located. Depending on the results,
the campaign may be expanded to other states where Six Flags parks are located.
The fundamental objective of our advertising strategy is to increase the amount of
Californian APAs who visit the state’s three Six Flags parks and how frequently they choose to
come. As a result, this will increase revenue and decrease Six Flags’ debt. Several promotions
will be put in place, such as the company’s Math, Science and Physics Day and Career and
Leadership Day to appeal to the interests of APA parents and their children. Meanwhile, APA
grocery stores will be used to more easily reach our potential guests on a regular basis. Other
promotion techniques include free tickets, contests, and specialized challenges that appeal to
APAs. These marketing techniques will be used to reach and show our target market that Six
Flags understands and cares about their community and values.
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II. Historical Overview
History of product category:
The product category of Six Flags is of the
amusement park grouping. This being said,
amusement parks began their uprising in America
in the late 19th century through the park the World
Columbian Exposition. According to Chicago: A
Personal History of America's Most American
City, The World Columbian Exposition featured
the first Ferris Wheel in the states as well as a
variety of concessions. Located in Chicago,
Illinois, the WCE opened the doors for the
amusement park environment to flourish, and
flourish it did (Farr). Found in the book
Amusement Parks of New York, many similar amusement parks were then started around the
country until the first successful roller coaster, the Cyclone, was created on Coney Island in
Steeplechase Park. The success of amusement parks greatly increased in the immediate years
after the roller coaster was implemented in 1927, but this success was cut short by the great
depression as well as World War II (Futrell). Finally, in 1955, the amusement park was revived
with the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Disneyland expanded ride selection,
offered a plethora of concession, and brought about new sideshow attractions. This revival
prompted a man named Angus Wynne Jr. to join in on the growing industry.
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History of Company:
The first Six Flags Theme Parks Wynne created was Six Flags Over Texas, which opened
in 1961 under the Great Southwest Corporation. Throughout the book The American
Amusement Park, the uprising of the Six Flags’ name is brought to the attention of the reader.
The name ‘Six Flags Over Texas’ was initially created to represent the six flags that flew over
Texas during the state’s history. Great Southwest Corporation was then sold to Penn Central
Railroad Corporation in 1965 who opened new theme parks in Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey,
and California over the next 12 years. During this time period, a real estate group called ‘The
Tierco Group,’ was headed by Kieran Burke, who bought out Frontier City, a competing
amusement park company. In addition to purchasing Frontier City, Tierco changed their name to
‘Premier Parks’ (Samuelson). Around this
time, properties obtained for new amusement
parks were being considered to be turned into
shopping centers, but after the promotion of
Gary Story, the process shifted. Story was
initially hired as executive vice president of
Tierco, but after the company’s name change,
he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer. Revenue of the park was raised by
four times the previous amounts over the next fiscal year and stock in the company also climbed.
Premier Parks went on to buy out many struggling amusement parks across the country
and transformed them into successful versions of their own. Also found in the same book, it was
noted that as Premier Parks were taking their place as one of the dominant amusement park
companies, Time Warner was heavily investing into Six Flags and owned 100 percent of its
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stock by 1993. Due to large amounts of debt and poor attendance, Time Warner sold Six Flags
to Premier Parks for $1.86 billion in 1998. Premier Parks then proceeded to embrace the Six
Flags name and leave behind their old brand (Samuelson). Name changes incorporating the Six
Flags title were of immediate priority with the company. Already established parks began to
take on names such as Six Flags Great America or Six Flags Ohio.
In addition to name changes, the company decided to test the international waters by
opening Six Flags theme parks in the countries of Mexico, Canada, Spain, Germany, Holland,
and Belgium. The success was minimal with only the two North American theme parks
remaining outside of the United States located in Mexico City and Montreal, respectively. The
total rebranding of the 19 current theme parks under the new Six Flags Brand has had its ups and
downs over its epoch of existence. According to a financial statement issued by Six Flags on
their website, beginning success led to eventual bankruptcy in 2009. Since filing for bankruptcy,
the company has emerged and is back on the right track as the world’s largest amusement park
corporation in relation to amounts of property size, and the fourth most popular in terms of
population (Six Flags).
Technological Advances:
Throughout the years, Six Flags has had a few technological advances in the aspect of
their theme park. First, rides such as Super Man, Vertical Velocity, and the Giant Drop have
propelled the amusement park past others by adding death defying 360 degree loops and
completely vertical drops. Although not as technologically savvy as the intricate metal
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machines, Six Flags has made the addition of Water Parks in many of their parks.
Trends:
The advertising tactics utilized by Six Flags has varied throughout the years. In the
beginning, these strategies were differentiated between the 14 different parks, but recently an
effort has been made to combine all these advertisements into one. To start, Mr. Six, an older
man who dances to a song called, “We Like To Party” has been a huge success. Following that,
an Asian man’s head popped up on Six Flags’ commercials and proceeded to say “More Flags,
More Fun.” This marketing effort toward Asians caused much controversy to that demographic.
Asians claimed that the thick accent of the man was racist. After a drop in revenue from this
marketing campaign, Six Flags reverted back to Mr. Six, which has worked thus far.
Scope of Business:
The scope of business that Six Flags attends to begins with its
amusement park theme. Thrill rides make up the majority of Six Flags
theme parks, but less intense rides for children or older generations are
also available, adding to their family friendly environment. Six Flags
also has a plethora of alternate entertainment options for consumers.
These options include food and beverage services, games, water parks, and even a wilderness
aspect. Depending on the location and business decisions made at the time of each park’s
opening depicts the scope of each individual park. Examples include Six Flags Great America,
which is aimed toward the thrill ride scope, Six Flags White Water, which is purely a water park,
and even Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which encompasses a wildlife adventure.
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III. Industry Overview
According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), there
are more than 400 amusement parks in the United States.
•
The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is the most visited amusement park in the
world.
•
The United States has 5 of the top 10 most visited parks in the world followed by 4 in
Asia and 1 in Europe
•
The United States Amusement Park Industry provides jobs for about 500,000 employees
•
Visitors to parks have been increasing steadily with a few exceptions in the years 1994,
1998 and 2003, due to cold and wet summers and fewer visitors from Asia.
•
Most important age group for the industry is 12-24, while Walt Disney parks tend to
target families with children.
Market Size:
The most recently recorded amusement park
attendance in the United States was 335 million
visitors in 2009. While this number has increased
from 253 million in 1990, it has also decreased
from 341 million in 2008. This decrease is
attributed to the recession beginning in that year.
The attendance number can be affected by factors the following factors:
1) Consumer confidence
- Fear of terrorist activities
2) Economic outlook
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3) Weather
- Rain & cold weather are unfavorable
- California & Florida are the best locations for parks regarding weather
4) Distance
- High Gas Prices
5) Cost
- Less money available for leisure activities during recession
- Discount tickets affect sales
6) School Calendar
- Children and teenagers
Revenue:
Revenue has been increasing steadily and is highly dependent upon attendance, but revenue
growth exceeds attendance growth and is mostly due to the increase in ticket prices. Park
operators justify increasing ticket prices by claiming that the new rides and attractions being built
increase the value of the ticket. During recessions, revenue and attendance are affected, but not
as much as other industries because people continue to visit parks for escapism purposes. Sales
of food, beverages, and souvenirs in parks are also expected to boost revenue further.
Segmentation:
Theme parks and water parks are the two types of amusement parks offered by the industry.
The leading parks of the industry include those from the Walt Disney Company, Merlin
Entertainment, Parques Reunidos, and Six Flags Incorporated. Theme parks are based on a
certain idea such as movies, music, cartoons, and any popular characters. They are also the
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dominant industry segment and attendance is expected to increase to 270 million visits by 2013.
On the other hand, water parks have less market share. However, revenue growth and attendance
exceeds that of theme parks. Indoor water park resorts are the fastest growing segment in the
amusement park industry, mainly due to the increasing popularity. Water parks also benefit from
higher attendance due to its generally lower entry prices.
IV. Product Situation Analysis
Despite the fact that the entertainment corporation declared bankruptcy on June 12, 2009
with $2.4 billion in debt (Dow Jones), Six Flags emerged from bankruptcy in May 2010 with the
help of Bay Harbor Management and Time Warner. Bay Harbor Management, a New York
hedge fund, invested $725 million in new equity to re-organize the financial structure of Six
Flags entertainment while Time Warner gave Six Flags $150 million in term loan financing and
$120 million in revolving credit line. As a result, the entertainment greatly reduced its debt over
the past twelve months. On December 31, 2009, Six Flags’ was $2,242 million in debt, but by
the end of 2010, the corporation had reduced its debt to $784 million. They also earned an
average of $40.18 from each of their 24 million visitors during the 2010 fiscal year (Six Flags,
B). Headquartered in Grand Prairie, Texas, Six Flags operates 19 parks in the United States,
Mexico, and Canada, and they will soon be expanding to Qatar and Dubai (Six Flags, B).
The Six Flags in Qatar plans to open in mid-2012 in partnership with Oryx Holdings, a
diversified Qatari group. According to Assam Shaikh, Oryx Holdings vice chairman and
managing director, the partnership will “help further establish and push Qatar’s incentives for
family-oriented tourism while attracting investments for its growing economy,” (Gulf-Times).
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When the company announced their global plans for Dubai on March 4, 2008, Mark Shapiro,
President and CEO of Six Flags at the time said, “This is an historic day for our company.
Expanding Six Flags beyond our current North American borders validates the growing strength
and momentum of our brand. Six Flags plans to open Dubailand in 2015 in conjunction with
Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, as both companies hold the same goal of developing
thrill-driven theme parks across the Arab world (Six Flags, B).
The 19 regional Six Flags theme parks are strategically placed in three countries across
North America: one in Mexico City, Mexico, and one in Montreal, Canada, while the remaining
17 are in the United States. However, the 17 theme parks are only located in nine states:
California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and
Texas. Because Californian APAs have the most buying power with $122 billion (Mueller), our
group is specifically focusing on the three theme parks Six Flags has to offer in the Golden State:
Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo (near San Francisco); Magic Mountain, Los Angeles; and
Hurricane Harbor, Los Angeles (Six Flags, A).
Specifically designed for tourists and families surrounding the San Francisco, Oakland,
and Sacramento area, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom consists of 138 acres in Vallejo, California.
Although the theme park boasts marine and land animal exhibits in addition to its thriller
attractions, Discovery Kingdom is actually the second smallest park apart from the one in
Mexico City, which has only 110 acres. While the average size of Six Flag’s 19 parks is 436
acres, the amusement and water park in Los Angeles is nearly twice the size of the one in Vallejo
with 262 acres. Separated by an inside gate, Magic Mountain contains most of this space with
250 acres, and Hurricane Harbor fills the remaining 12 (Six Flags, A).
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As California’s only combination of wildlife, ocean aquarium, and theme park, Discovery
Kingdom in Vallejo offers guests the opportunity to swim with dolphins, train sea lions, and go
on a backstage safari tour. The park is complete with entertainment, events, and food for entire
families – not just for the typical “mainstream” white, American family – but also for APAs and
Latino families. Discovery Kingdom also offers a special Math, Science, and Physics Day, as
well as a Health & Safety Day / Career & Leadership Day, and they both cost a reasonable
$22.54 per person. Math, Science, and Physics Day is held annually in May and gives students
the opportunity to learn academic objectives in an exciting, recreational atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Health & Safety Day / Career & Leadership Day is designed to motivate youth to
live a safe and fulfilling life by interacting with company representatives from a variety of
backgrounds (Six Flags, B).
Even though Magic Mountain in Los Angeles is 380 miles from the one in San Francisco
and does not have any wildlife or marine shows, it does have a Math & Science Day as well as a
Career Day. However, Magic Mountain does offer additional events that especially resonate
with APAs that Discovery Kingdom does not, including private Junior High Grad Nights and
private High School Grad Nights. Because APAs do value the importance of earning such high
grades and being the top in their class, Six Flags has the potential to offer their parties as a
reward for all their countless hours of hard work and dedicate are open (Six Flags, B).
The third park Six Flags has to offer in California is Hurricane Harbor, one of the
company’s six regional water attractions. However, the water park is only open from May 28 –
September 5. In fact, Hurricane Harbor is home to two of the tallest, fully-enclosed water slides
in Southern California. Meanwhile, children can splash through rain curtains, float in wave
pools, and cruise along a 1300-foot lazy river (Six Flags, B).
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V. Consumer Research
Primary Target:
In looking to effectively promote Six Flags California to a new market, we wanted to
choose a group that had not only gone previously untargeted, but would have the largest potential
for growth in the amusement park segment. After conducting preliminary research, we decided
to focus our campaign on APAs ages 22-45. With no current promotional efforts targeted at this
audience and a history of previous efforts being criticized as racist, we feel the three Six Flags
theme parks in California is in the ideal position to establish a meaningful connection with this
target market. Our research on the APA market segment revealed all sorts of demographic and
psychographic data; in the spirit of efficiency, we will highlight the information most relevant to
our campaign. Let’s take a closer look at what differentiates this demographic from others.
Demographics:
When looking at demographic data, we found that APAs obtain higher levels of
education on average. The difference is a significant one: 44% of APAs earn a bachelor’s degree
or higher, as opposed to 25% of Americans. It comes as no surprise that this demographic
typically has higher levels of income as well, pulling in over $9,000 more annually than the
average American. In terms of relevance to our campaign, these higher levels of expendable
income are extremely attractive with Six Flags having a reputation as a higher priced
entertainment option. Additionally, we found that the APA market is an incredibly diverse one.
‘Asian-Pacific American’ is an umbrella term that houses numerous countries of origin, each
with its own language and cultural differences. This information was important to the formation
of our campaign so that we didn’t exclude large segments of the demographic.
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Psychographics:
In order to get a better idea of APA lifestyle choices and attitudes, we looked into
psychographic data. There were a few cultural characteristics that we found in our research that
are especially relevant to our campaign. APAs have a strong desire to invest in their family in
any way they can. While every cultural market segment naturally cares about their family,
studies have found that Asian Americans literally invest more. Financially, parents are willing to
pay top dollar to send their children to the finest universities. They also place an emphasis on
spending more physical time together. As a result, they typically eat meals together more than
any other demographic. With so much internal family investment, it comes as little surprise that
family legacy and tradition is important to APAs as well.
Because Six Flags falls under the category of ‘amusement park,’ it was important for us
to determine our target’s attitude towards this type of entertainment. We determined that
amusement parks, a very ‘American’ concept, are actually not on top of the mind of APAs when
considering entertainment options. Of course, it doesn’t help that this demographic group has
historically had negative attitudes towards Six Flags in particular. Six Flags has used images and
media placements that have been considered racist against APAs which in turn sparked a
negative perception of the brand. In our ‘Advertising Strategy’ section, we will elaborate upon
these specific cases further.
Secondary Market:
For our secondary market, we’ve chosen to target Asian Americans ages 10-18. This
range encompasses the ages during which amusement parks are the most appealing. More
importantly, this particular demographic is one of the fastest growing in America. Additionally,
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it is comprised almost entirely of APAs who born in the United States, and they would be
undoubtedly more receptive to the very American concept of amusement parks as recreation.
Undeveloped Market:
Our undeveloped market would be a regional or national target. Our current campaign is
focused exclusively on Six Flags locations located in California, but this campaign could be
expanded out to a regional or national reach if need be.
VI. Advertising Strategy
Objectives:
The focus of our advertising strategy is to increase the amount of APAs living in
California who visit Six Flags parks, and we wish to increase how frequently they chose to visit.
These increased visits will translate into greater revenue collected by Six Flags and help alleviate
the current financial stresses. The APA communities we are currently targeting are primarily
families from Northeast Asia (mostly Chinese but also Japanese, Vietnamese and Taiwanese.)
This segment of the APA community has the biggest presence in California, and the families in
this segment are the most likely to have been in the country for a generation or two. This
translates to this population having a higher average income and level of education. It also means
they are more likely to understand the English in our advertisements.
In addition to increasing APA visits and increasing Six Flag’s revenue, we would also
like to establish a level of brand loyalty among this demographic. The APA community
expresses higher levels of brand loyalty than is the average for the rest of the population.
Establishing brand loyalty could help Six Flags build a reliable consumer base and help in
avoiding more financial problems in the future.
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Finally, it is also necessary for our advertising to help the Six Flags brand move past the
offenses it has committed against the APA community in the past. From 2008 to 2009, Six Flags
ran an advertising campaign with the tagline “more flags, more fun.” This campaign featured an
exaggerated caricature of an APA as its spokesperson. The character even had an exaggerated
accent and was featured for comedic effect. This campaign sparked a variety of news articles
commenting on the offensive nature of these advertisements. In 2009, the APA spokesperson in
the advertisements was pulled and replaced with the old man character from a previous
campaign. However, a significant amount of damage to the Six Flags brand name had already
been done.
Six Flags also ran into trouble in 2007 for its sponsorship of a WFNY-FM radio program
in New York. During the program it was sponsoring, a pair of DJs made a series of racist jokes
against some Chinese American restaurant workers. These comments were received as offensive
by the APA community and representatives of the community called for the companies who
sponsored this show to remove their support. While several of the sponsoring companies
complied, Six Flags did not, and their absence of action noticed. Given that Six Flags has faced
both of these reputation-damaging instances of racially insensitive behavior in just in the last
four years, it is very important that this campaign approaches the APA community as
respectfully as possible in to attempt to begin a positive relationship with the community.
To effectively reach these goals, it will be necessary to move the APA community in
California from a level of interest in our organization to an actually desire to use our product.
We know the community is interested in our actions because of the way they have responded to
our advertising and sponsoring policies. The responses have not been positive, but they do at
least indicate that the community is aware of our efforts and is capable of responding to them. It
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is also most likely that many of the families we are targeting have never been to a Six Flags park
in the past, so our advertising will be asking them to try our brand for the first time.
Strategic Positioning:
To accomplish our goals, it will be necessary to re-define the Six Flags product concept
in a way that will seem more favorable to the APA market we are targeting. As a result, we will
re-define Six Flags as an organization that understands the importance of family and positions
their parks as an experience to bring families closer together. This is an important position to
hold with the APA community. This market has been shown to value family in certain respects
more than the rest of the population. Studies have shown that APA parents spend more time
playing with their children. They have also been shown to be more willing to spend money on
their children. Both of these results show the importance of family to APAs, and they explain
why our target is such an important market to Six Flag’s business.
Another important aspect of our advertising will be to emphasize that the year 2011 will
be the 50th anniversary of the Six Flags brand name. Additionally, consumer research shows that
APAs have higher levels of appreciation for older, more established brand names. It is our desire
to position this anniversary as an important milestone for our company that will help us achieve
respect in our target market.
VII. Creative Strategy
As we mentioned previously, we have several goals we want to achieve in targeting
APAs ages 22-45. First, we wanted to avoid the shallow and gimmicky humor that has been
present in past Six Flags campaigns. Images of a quirky old man dancing or an Asian face
yelling with a thick accent will not resonate with our target and has only gotten our brand in
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trouble in the past. But on the other hand, we also want to appeal to the idea of family fun and
focus on the ‘tradition’ of Six Flags. APAs emphasize family values and appreciate the quality
associated with tradition. Keeping these factors in mind, we created the following copy and
tagline for our campaign:
We’ve made it ___, you make it
family. 50 Years. Six Flags.
In our message, there would
be no blank space in the actual copy;
instead, the blank would be filled by
a variety of words such as FUN,
HUGE, DELICIOUS, or WILD.
Each word allows us to focus on
different parks in California, along
with the specific benefits within the
parks. For example, ‘HUGE’ would feature a massive roller coaster while ‘DELICIOUS’ is
centered on the many dining options. The word, ‘WILD’ allows us to highlight Six Flags
Discovery Kingdom, which features animal attractions such as dolphin shows and white tigers.
The copy is versatile; all the while tying in the idea of family fun and the tradition of Six Flags.
On the following page, you will find a mock-up of one of our print advertisements.
This is just a mock up and not a final design, but the general idea still comes across. We
have an APA family on a roller coaster, smiling and having a great time. The copy links Six
Flags to the importance of family fun, and reminds consumers that it has 50 years of experience
in creating moments such as these. We previously mentioned that we would use ‘WILD’ in the
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copy in order to promote Six Flags Discovery
Kingdom. The sample image would be feature a
similar style, but with an image of an APA family
interacting with a dolphin through the glass tank or
adventuring on an outdoor safari ride.
Six Flags California Mobile Application:
In addition to our copy-based advertising
efforts, we will create a mobile application by the
name of Six Flags California. APAs are typically
more technologically savvy than the average
American, so this is far more likely to appeal to the
demographic. While away from the park, the
application allows you to buy tickets instantly, access exclusive discounts, and even use GPS
technology to get turn-by-turn directions to the park of your choice from your current location.
While in the park, the application will give you options to access an interactive park map (shown
below), see up-to-the-minute wait times for ride lines, and receive discounts on park
merchandise and food. Overall, the mobile application will be used to enhance the Six Flags
experience through the use of digital technology that our target market will appreciate.
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VIII. Media Plan
Digital Banners:
APAs have been shown to spend more time online than other populations. Given this
fact, it is very important to our campaign to use digital banners to reach our target during the
time they spend online. Below is a list of the websites we will be targeting with a brief
description explaining our choice.
GoldSea (goldsea.com) - Gold Sea is a daily newspaper for APAs. The website’s own
information claims that the website is “far and away the World Wide Web's biggest and most
popular Asian American site.” In addition the website state’s its audience averages at 37 years
old with a $104,000 median income, which means a significant portion of this website’s
audience falls into our target market.
Rafu Simpo (rafu.com/news) - Rafu Shimpo is a daily news website for Japanese
Americans living in Los Angeles, and claims to be the leading English and Japanese newspaper.
It has a readership of 45,000. Due to its focus on APA content and a geographic focus on the Los
Angeles area, this website is likely to bring our advertisements to a large amount of our target
market.
LA Daily News (dailynews.com) and SF Gate (sfgate.com) - There are websites for local
news information around Los Angeles and San Francisco. They do not target our target market in
specific. However, given the fact that APAs are more likely than non-APAs to use the internet
as a main source of information about news events (37% vs. 16%,), and given the fact that fact
that such a large amount of our target market lives around these two cities, it is still very likely
that we will be reaching our target by placing banner advertisements on these websites.
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Magazines:
Targeting APAs with print advertisements appearing in magazines will be an important
aspect of our advertising campaign. Placing ads in well-respected magazines can help Six Flags
achieve a greater level of respect among our target market. Following is a list of where we will
be placing our print ads along with an explanation of each choice:
Hyphen Magazine - Hyphen magazine focuses on APA issues and is based out of San
Francisco. Both of these qualities make it an ideal venue for our advertising.
San Francisco Magazine - San Francisco magazine focuses on lifestyle issues for people
living around San Francisco. This geographic targeting and its focus on entertainment and family
issues makes the magazine a fit for our advertising.
Fortune and Business Week - Fortune and Business Week are two magazines that do not
specifically target asian americans or people living in California, however they are still valuable
targets. They are well established brands and advertising in these magazine could help the Six
Flags brand establish some respect. These magazines also have the highest percentage of APA
readership in the country with 6.2% of their readership belonging to the group.
Television:
While consumer research does show that the APA watches less television in the average
day than other consumers, the amount of TV they watch is still significant. Sources show that
this community can be expected to watch an average of 118 minutes of television a day. In
addition, because we have previously offended these consumers through the use of this medium,
we believe that tastefully re-incorporating television will be an important part of this campaign.
We will be placing our television advertising on LA 18. According to the channel’s
website, “LA 18 KSCI -TV, an AsianMedia Group owned and operated TV station, has been
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broadcasting for 30+ years, and serves So. California’s culturally-diverse and multi-lingual
communities.” This station offers sub channels broadcasted in English, Chinese, Korean,
Vietnamese, Japanese, and Armenian which will allow us to run very similar television
advertisements with perfect translations via the station in the languages we select. In a survey
LA 18 conducted, 52% of Asian Americans chose LA 18 as their preferred channel for television
viewing. LA 18 is broadcasted throughout Southern California, reaching many households even
those outside of the Los Angeles County boundaries (LA18).
Outdoor and Transit:
The final part of our campaign will incorporate outdoor billboards, wall advertisements
and transit in an effort to reach our target. These media are important because they are uniquely
able to target consumers living in the specific areas we wish to target. In addition they allow for
a high level of creativity in their execution.
Billboard space will be purchased along Interstate 5, which is the primary transportation
medium leading from Los Angeles up to
Valencia where two of the Six Flags theme
parks of California are located. One billboard
space will be purchased facing North as well as
another one facing South on opposite sides of
the Interstate, in accordance with which way
traffic is moving. By doing so, our creative will
be displayed to those APAs who may be commuting towards Los Angeles on I-5, again as they
are returning from work, and those APAs who are simply driving to other destinations involved
with using I-5. In addition to purchasing billboards along this Interstate, to reach the APA
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population near our third Theme Park in Vallejo, two more billboards, positioned in the same
manner as the I-5 ones, will be purchased along Interstate 80.
In addition to purchasing billboards along I-5 and I-80, two wall ads will be placed on a
predominant building in both New Chinatown Los Angeles and Chinatown San Francisco. New
Chinatown, LA, is located in the center of Chinatown, LA, and is the majority gathering place
for residents. This makes it a prime location for a wall ad to be positioned to appeal to the
largest audience daily. Although Los Angeles County holds a much larger population of APAs
as a whole, San Francisco’s Chinatown has a much busier concentration of APAs on a regular
basis. As a result, wall ads will serve as a strong connector of the Asian American culture to our
creative strategy.
Lastly, the Gold Line, part of the Los Angeles Metro Rail, travels through highly
concentrated areas of APAs, especially the Chinatown Station. Transit ads on, and/or within the
rail cars will provide a strong means of advertising distribution not only in Chinatown, but
throughout other areas of Los Angeles as well. Chinatown will be our main concern with our
advertising focus, but the publicity to APAs elsewhere in Los Angeles is an added bonus.
IX. Promotions and Public Relations
One of the most important ways Six Flags can reach out to APAs is by reaching out to the
APA students themselves. Not only does this year mark the 60th anniversary of California’s
State Science Fair (USC), but APAs are also shown to understand science and math much better
than most other Americans. As for the sciences alone, roughly two-thirds of all APA students
take physics in comparison to less than one-third of non-APAs. A similar pattern is observed
with math courses as well. While 21 percent of APAs take calculus in high school, only 9
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percent of non-APAs enroll in this challenging math course (Kumaki). And with roughly 950
students from 400 schools participating in the May 2 – 3 competition (USC), this is an
opportunity Discovery Kingdom, Magic Mountain, and Hurricane Harbor should not miss.
Thanks to generous donations from Time Warner and THE MUSES of the California
Science Center Foundation, more than $50,000 is awarded to students on an annual basis (USC).
Because Six Flags is already a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., the promotion is an ideal
partnership for both companies (Six Flags, B). In conjunction with the 48 award winners – 24
categories for the junior division and 24 for the senior division (USC) – Six Flags will be giving
students two free park tickets: one for the winner, and one for a family member.
By handing out two free tickets, Six Flags is hoping that siblings, parents, and even
possibly grandparents, aunts, and cousins will join in on the exciting family excursion as well.
According to a 2002 report conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and The Asian and Pacific
Islander Population in the United States, significantly more Asian households contain five or
more members: 19.9 percent versus just12 percent for non-APAs. Moreover, an AsianAmerican family might contain cousins, aunts, and uncles – and even friends or neighbors from
their home country – in addition to parents and grandparents (Mueller, 213).
Asian stores are another strategic trade promotion that Six Flags can utilize to reach out
to APAs. In fact, research has shown that 96 percent of all APAs shop at Asian stores (Mueller,
96). As a result, Six Flags will offer half-price tickets to Discovery Kingdom, Magic Mountain,
and Hurricane Harbor for anyone who spends more than $250 at chain supermarkets and momand-pop stores for APAs (with a maximum limit of four half-price tickets per person). 99 Ranch
Market is an excellent example of a select dealer promotion. As an Asian-owned and –operated,
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one-stop shopping spot (Mueller, 227), the Chinese supermarket chain thrives with a total of 29
stores in northern and Southern California (Ranch Market). Albertsons is another specific
grocery chain that already has print / radio / TV ads in Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese as well
as store shelves that are readily stocked for APAs, Six Flags will most definitely offer its halfprice tickets at Albertsons with a $250+ purchase (Mueller, 227).
To add the finishing touch for both the free California State Science Fair winner
giveaways and supermarket trade / dealer discounts, Six Flags will distribute its tickets in red
envelopes, which is a lucky color for most APAs (Mueller, 227). Apart from these two
promotions, Six Flags will also entice the APA population by being actively engaged in Chinese
New Year parades in California. 63 percent of APAs are highly involved with ethnic events in
their community, and they are also very loyal to companies that support their cultures (Mueller,
216). While the Golden Dragon Lunar Parade is quite popular in Los Angeles, the Chinese New
Year celebration in San Francisco is the largest of its kind outside Asia (Tiger Business). As a
result, Six Flags will have promising red floats featuring their trade characters in elaborate
costumes while performing martial arts, acrobatics, and walking on stilts to oriental music.
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X. Appendix
•
APA: Abbreviation for Asian Pacific Islander American
•
Amusement Park Overview Chart:
Magazine Publishers of American - Magazine Readership Chart
26
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27
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