Attraction Management - Assignment Example

Attraction Management Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the management of 02 arenas in London, for giving rigorous support and ensuring that this report was a success. I will also wish to thank my professor in this unit for giving all the clarifications that I deemed necessary during the investigations. Abstract The purpose of this research is to find the sustainability of 02 arenas in London. The report will investigate the market level of competition and what makes the 02 arena to be attractive to current and potential customers. It will also scrutinize the marketing strategies that are used by the arena to keep it always relevant. Table of content 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………… 1.1. Purpose…………………………………………………………………. 1.2. Scope……………………………………………………………………. 1.3. Method…………………………………………………………………… 1.4. Limitation………………………………………………………………… 1.5. Assumption……………………………………………………………….. 1.6. Back ground………………………………………………………………. 2. Methodology…………………………………………………………………. 2.1. Visual instrumentation…………………………………………………… 2.2. Observation……………………………………………………………… 2.3. Surveys…………………………………………………………………… 2.4. Interview………………………………………………………………… 3. Findings……………………………………………………………………… 3.1. Findings on what attracts customers at the 02Arena…………………. 3.2. The techniques used by the management to attract customers………. 4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………… 5. Conclusion and recommendations………………………………………… 5.1. Conclusion………………………………………………………………. 5.2. Recommendation and implementation………………………………… 1. Introduction 1.1. Purpose The purpose of this report was to analyze the sustainability of 02 arenas in terms of attraction management, the marketing strategies employed to make the arena attract new and maintain current customers 1.2. Scope While investigating the sustainability of the 02 arenas it was of great essence to consider the market, competition and profitability of the business. The techniques that are applied in attraction management, considered as the marketing mix. 1.3. Method The information used in this report was gathered from consulting the management of the arena, the employees and some customers who frequent the arena either temporary or in subsequent times. The information is also based on the personal visits that I made in the arena, whereby I made some personal observation. There were also references from business journals and marketing journal and marketing related articles. 1.4. Limitation There were a few limitations that were experienced during the time I made visits to the Arena as I was trying to collect some key information for this report. They included; The management could not disclose about the security system placed in the Arena There were instances that I could not photograph Not all the customers that were visiting the Arena were ready to issue me with their personal experience about the Arena There was no ample time to really assess the arena, this is because the Arena is vast Didn’t get the opportunity to attend a major event that the Arena holds such as music concert or the sporting activity 1.5. Assumption It was assumed that the respondents views regarding the 02 Arena was a true reflection of what they had experienced and what made the Arena to be so attractive to them. Another major assumption was that the promotional mix applied to 02 Arena was the one driving it in high levels of the market. “a company intentionally uses services as the stage and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event” (Pine & Gilmore 1999, p.11), this definition of experience makes the report to assume that anything that the 02 Arena used was supposed and is a guarantee that it will boost any individual experience regarding the arena. 1.6. Background The 02 arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the center of the 02, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, United Kingdom. Since its opening it has hosted numerous musical events, sports events including tennis, ice hockey, basketball, gymnastic, mixed martial arts, boxing and many more. The arena has a capacity of about 23, 000 people and is surrounded by an entertainment Avenue which boasts a myriad of leisure attractions that an 11-screen cinema, exhibition spaces, additional music venues, restaurants, bars and cafes. It has been named and reported to be one of the busiest venue. It has received prestigious awards such as the Royal Academy of Engineering Mac Robert award, due to its innovative structure. 2. Methodology A mixed-design methodology was used in this report; the techniques used included observation, interview, visual instrumentation and survey. This choice was due to the fact that it is important to note what people were doing, thinking, behaving, as well as the static and fixed conditions (Dewey and Bentley, 1949). For the purpose of the investigating the nature of attraction management and marketing the report focuses on the 02 Arena as an attraction site. The methods used to collect the date for the purpose of this report included; 2.1. Visual instrumentation The first method of data collection regarding this report was on the information on the physical characteristics of the 02 Arena including the location of the Arena, and the architectural attributes of 02 Arena. This was supposed to investigate on how the arena’s architectural design is made in such a way that it attracts and retains the customer’s experience. The location of the 02 Arena was very important, as it was located in London. The exterior appearance as well as interior of the Arena are documented, this include the areas that the management allowed us to photograph, this included features such as lighting, views to the outside, views from the outside, furniture & fittings used in the arena, parking availability and so on. 2.2. Observation Observations were used solely for the purpose of understanding how the potential customers valued and viewed rated the 02 arena. Observation was important as it also gave firsthand information regarding any catchy feature of the Arena such as the RAK Ceramics, the unpolished tiles for the floor, the fabricated Lounge beige slab porcelain for the entire staircases. I took an observation session for about one hour each day for a period of five days. 2.3. Surveys There were about 25 surveys that were conducted in the 02 Arena as part of data collection for this report. The surveys were not random as not all customers who were visiting the arena were potentially friendly; this prompted one to be prudent while selecting the correspondents the survey purpose. The aim of the survey was to establish what attracts them most about the 02 arena, the survey was also supposed to establish the marketing and management techniques that they use to retain or induce to the customer that will enhance that the experience will prompt to a revisit. During the survey the management gave me full consent and support to the extent which they thought won’t compromise the welfare of 02 Arena, this was based on them holding the principles of confidentiality. The survey had two parts one that included open-ended questions and close-ended questions. The first part inquire to the customers and the visitors of the arena what attracted so much to the Arena, while the other part was purported to gather the marketing mix that the management uses to make 02 Arena to be attractive and maintain the customers experience. 2.4. Interview The interviews conducted were formulated between the marketing team of 02 Arena and the visitors of the Arena. The interview on the part of the marketing team of the arena was supposed to establish whether the marketing mix was applicable in matters relating to attraction marketing, it was also a platform to investigate the methods that are put in place to enhance factors such as market segmentation and target market in attraction management. The other part of the interview was from the customers who visited the Arena for different reasons and different occasions. The interview was supposed to establish the perception of the customers regarding the attraction mechanism put in place by the marketing team of 02 Arena, and whether there was positive experience in the Arena that would prompt revisits of the customers. 3. Findings The findings of this report are based from the data collected from the methodology above. They include discoveries regarding the marketing strategies put in place to enhance attraction and to the marketing mix as well as the specific promotional mix applied to enhance that the market that customers are attracted and their experience boosted. 3.1. Findings on what attracts customers at the 02Arena The customers gave their rationale of been attracted to the 02 Arena as; There is high security system and first class fire protection units The walk way for the climbers on top of the dome shaped of the 02 Arena has been designed in such a way that the safety of all the climbers is guaranteed. There are Lounge series produced by a combination of “Double-Charged” and “Soluble Salt Printing technology” giving the impact of natural stone and marble. The fact that the arena had hosted major events such as some Olympic indoor games attracted some games Some customers were attracted by the fact that it is in East london, and it was attraction as result of the strategic place The support team at the arena has made some people to be attracted, the arena had numerous call centers Some attraction was due to the restaurants that were in the Arena The level of technology applied in the Arena also attracts quit a number of people like the, vista ticketing systems The architectural design also was found to be attractive 3.2. The techniques used by the management to attract customers Holding various events in the Arena makes it attractive e.g. music concerts The management has put in place a lot of mechanism inside the Arena that supports health and safety There are some interpretation mechanism that are put in place to cater for non-English speaking people, and this boost their revisit due to the attraction The management has also enhanced attraction by controlling visitors behavior such as provision of parking and access modes, presence of policemen during major events The flexibility of the arena has been enhanced to attract and for sustainability, the arena can hold a music concert in one event and the same space used for tennis the other occasion. The bureaucracy of ticketing have been done away at the arena, the ticketing system is attractive and reaches to many customers the Arena has really considered market segmentation and target marketing 4. Discussion The level of security that is put in place in the 02 Arena was very important feature for the visitors, the fact that the Arena is vast enough and it can hold almost 23,000 people it can be a terror target. This is a very important feature as it makes the people to feel secure as they are in the 02 Arena. Market target was very important aspect for attraction, the various businesses and the events in the arena can attract all sort of ages. The movies can attract kids, the musical events are capable of attracting teenagers, and the casinos can attract those who are not in their youthful years. Major events such as hosting prominent and flashy musicians, like Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé were a very strong tool for attraction. Holding events such as the Paralympic games also makes the Arena to be known and the venue will be in the mouth of many potential visitors. The geometrical shape of the 02 Arena that is dome shaped was very attractive and it brought upon experience to a majority of the people. Controlling the behavior of the clientele is very important aspect of attraction management, this can be achieved by making sure factors such as parking and access to things such as restaurant was very important. The flexibility of the arena was very catchy and this, has attracted many because they think and try to figure out how different events that of different nature can be held in one Arena. Employees of the arena were and are very supportive, there is an efficient call center within the arena that can’t take any query presented by a potential client. 5. Conclusion and recommendations 5.1. Conclusion The size of the arena is Very important when it comes to sports and entertainment; this implies that the capacity can hold any amount of people that subscribe to the event. From the findings and the discussions it can be concluded that the size of such Arena and the architectural design is very important in terms of attraction. The strategic position of the Arena was also very important; this makes it accessible to majority of the people and visitors visiting London. 5.2. Recommendation and implementation The findings and conclusion of this report support the following conclusion that will enhance any organization established or existing to use the techniques used by 02 Arena to attract customers. Also some recommendations are expressed to enhance more attraction. I. The exterior appearance of the Arena should be attractive enough, as this is what the clients sees first II. The furniture and fittings of the Arena and other related industries should be of the caliber that is of high standards to maintain the clients experience III. Security is very important and it should be enhanced to all levels as this boost the experience of the clients as well as they feel more safe IV. Marketing mix should be applied to enhance attraction marketing, this includes the price, place, promotional, and product should be considered. V. Flexibility is very important as it makes the Arena to change and adopt to any kind of event, whether sporting or entertainment VI. Use of celebrities and influential people is a very important aspect in attraction management. Bibliography Goodwin, H. and Pender, L. 2008. ‘Ethics in Tourism Management’, in Pender, L. and Sharpley, R. (eds.) The Management of Tourism, London: Sage, pp. 287-304. Hudson, S. And Hudson, L. 2012. Customer service in tourism and hospitality. Woodeaton: Goodfellow Kotler, P. et al. 2010. Marketing for hospitality and tourism, 5th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L. 1985. ‘A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research’. Journal of Marketing, 49 (4), pp. 41–50 Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. 1999. The experience economy: Work is theatre and every business a stage. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Schmitt, B. 1999. Experiential marketing: How to get customers to sense, feel, think, act, and relate to your company and brands. New York: The Free Press Sharples, L., Yeoman, I. &Leask, A. 2004. ‘Operations Management’, in Leask, A. and Yeoman, I. (eds.) Heritage visitor attractions: an operations management perspective. Thomson: London, pp. 22-37 Read More