If
one wants to know about Place Marketing we need to look no further than the
United States of America. America is full of interesting places and Americans
are very adept at marketing these tourist attractions.
Cemetery
space selling: A hard working Indian in California
had a dapper Anglo Saxon visitor. The visitor introduced himself and said that
he was selling space. The Indian asked him about the details. The salesman said
he was selling cemetery space. The Indian recoiled in horror. Death is a taboo
for most people.
The
sales man said “Who will take care of you when you move away (see he is not
using the word death, insurance sellers please note). You have to provide a
decent burial for yourself. You can come for a site visit and see your eternal
resting area yourself. We have an installment scheme too. You can use our
service not only for the final burial but annually too. We can see to that
Agarbattis (excuse me he said Agarbattis – this sales man has really done his
homework) are lit on your Samadhi every year. You can have a floral service
also.”
The
Indian was not all convinced. He tried brushing away the brash sales man by
asking him to come again. As the sales man started to pick up his things he
gave a broad smile and said “Our cemetery plots are according to Vaastu (a
Hindu tradition of space design to promote harmony with natural forces). I can
see that you are given a north east facing space at no extra cost.” The Indian
almost fainted at the depth of the salesman’s knowledge.
Alcatraz
Prison, San Francisco: The
prison is on an island and the visitors have to take a ferry service to reach
Alcatraz. Tourists assemble at the Embarcadero from where the ferry would take
them to the island prison.
As
the tourists are ushered into the ferry they are photographed against the
Alcatraz background and as they troop out of the cubicle a ferry employee hands
out a card and says "Your 2 (4 x 6) photographs will be available in the
evening. If you want you to pick them up, they would cost $ 25. "
There
is a federal law that says that all people leaving the shores of USA will have
to be photographed. So the visitors leaving the shores of San Francisco shore
anyhow have to be photographed. So why not make it into a business opportunity!
The
total cost of taking the photographs and the prints may be $ 100 per day. Even
if 4 families take the photographs per day the cost of the operation would be
recovered. And on return many visitors do pick up photographs as keep sake of
their visit to the Alcatraz.
The
marketing of the island prison is very impressive. The visitors at Alcatraz are
given audio commentary sets through which they can listen to the history of the
prison. There are many cells in Alcatraz which are maintained in the same
conditions as they were when the prison was operational. The famous escape
attempt is demonstrated to the visitors in dramatic detail which includes the
showing of the pock marks of the bullets on the prison walls.
Mystery
Spot, Santa Cruz, California:
The Mystery Spot is a tilt-induced visual illusion. The illusion experienced by
visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a
tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misconceptions of the
height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside
on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes
misconceptions as we judge the height of people using the slant of the roof
rather than the true horizon.
As
visitors move through the site, they try to adjust to the tilted environment.
The effects of this adaptation are then exploited, especially within closed
structures, so that visitors may feel as though gravity does not operate as it
should within this Mystery Spot. Also, visitors may feel light-headed or dizzy
due to the brain's attempt to adapt to the visual tilt.
The
Mystery Spot owners promote the attraction with the liberal dispensing of free
bumper stickers. The visitors of mystery spot do use these stickers on their
cars. A great marketing ploy. As a marketing teacher I was very impressed
with the way the spot was marketed. There were many direction pointers (prominent
arrows pointing out the way). The entrance ticket was quite costly but the tour
was well organised. The teenage guides were perky, intelligent and had
infectious bubbling enthusiasm. They had nice touches of weaving a mystery
around the experiments – of a ball rolling up a gradient and visitors ability
to stand in a tilt, defying gravity. There was a great souvenir shop where one
could buy great memorabilia of one’s visit to the mystery spot.
The
Universal Studios, Los Angeles:
The place that warrants the first attention is the entrance itself. At the
entrance is a globe that has the world universal on it. Very true, movies are
universal!
The
next in line is the water world. Water world is a place about the size of four
swimming pools. The visitors watch with unbelieving eyes as scenes from the
famous movie “Water World” are enacted live. The entire show is well
orchestrated and it is a visual delight to see a small aircraft land in water.
The actors spray each other with liberal doses of water and suddenly they would
turn and spray the audience too. The shocked audiences squirm with surprise but
they get into the mood and enjoy.
The
next attraction is not for the faint hearted. It is the house of horrors. It is
REALLY the house of horrors. It is full of spooky lanes, dark lighting and
skeletons and dummies dressed as dead people. The best part is a dead body
twenty feet from the visitors. The dead dummy suddenly moves and starts racing
towards them. This almost gives the visitors a heart attack.
Children
get very excited with Shrek – 4D. Shrek 4 D is a visual treat with lots of
mechanical movement added to the three dimensional effects. Scents and smells
are added, the seats move and the donkey in the movie suddenly spits and the
spit falls on the shocked audience. Oh No, it is not the donkey’s spit, it is
water jets spraying the audience. The jets are placed in the front seats and
are timed to spray the audience on cue.
The
best part of the Universal Studio is the tram tour. These trams take the
visitors on a studio visit. The visitors are shown the place from where Alfred
Hitchcock wrote and directed his master pieces. The visitors are shown an air
craft crash site that is minutely detailed.They are taken to a placid lake and
suddenly without any warning a big shark comes out of the water with its jaws
wide open. The same shark that was the star in the movie Jaws.
The
most exciting incident is the guide talking about special effects that can be
created within a matter of seconds. And suddenly as if on cue the entire area
starting flooding. Yes, flash floods in front of one’s eyes. The flood is very
sudden and as fast as it comes the flood disappears. It is a very real surreal
experience.
The
parting of the sea is shown dramatically (the parting of the red sea from the
movie the Ten Commandments). The tram moves into the water and the water
touches the feet of the visitors. The final element of suspense and drama is
when the tram is taken into a dark tunnel. The guide dramatically announces
that they are going to the see the biggest actor in Hollywood. When the guide’s
voice fades the light is focused on King Kong – a very real looking dummy – the
biggest star in Hollywood walking ponderously towards you.
