Did Alton Towers use crisis management successfully?

We've all heard about the devastating crash on the 2nd June in which an Alton Towers rollercoaster crashed, causing 4 people to be seriously injured, with one even having to have her legs amputated. There has been incalculable media coverage and the Merlin brand is in absolute tatters. This of course is a crisis that not many brands ever have to deal with, however can Alton Towers ever recover from this tragedy and operate as the brand they used to be?

I think, from a branding perspective, due to what the Alton Towers brand used to stand for- fun, happiness, family-friendly and exhilarating. It is going to be phenomenally difficult for Alton Towers to ever build this image back in people's minds due to the instant association to the crash that the brand will acquire.

However, it's not as though we haven't seen brands cause tragedies previously and recover their brand successfully and with the right crisis management strategy in place- it can be done.

Quick reaction

Public relations absolutely is the key to any brand reform or crisis and other brands like Tesco and BP have made huge errors in the past by not reacting publicly to situations soon enough. However, Alton Towers were very efficient in releasing statements and keeping the public informed.

The park updated their Facebook and Twitter pages soon after the event and gave information and messages consistent with those they gave to the press, this meant messages across all channels were clear and not conflicting one another. They were quick with announcing that the park would be closed and then being open and honest about their investigations in to the accident etc.

Senior executives at the heart of the issues

Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin, headed to Alton Towers soon after the event and gave live television interviews and was at the heart of any decisions being made. This demonstrated the severity of the incident and how serious Alton Towers were taking it. He was able to give accurate and well prepared statements and take hold of the situation.

He also demonstrated his compassion, understanding and concern for those involved as well as outlining the immediate steps the business was taking which made him come across a lot more positive.

Accepting fault

In crisis management, accepting responsibility can make the difference between gaining the publics' trust and losing it. Alton Towers never tried to shift the blame or deny wrongdoing, which is where many brands have gone wrong when dealing with crises in the past (e.g. Thomas Cook).

Alton Towers must now reassure the public of their commitment to safety and work to improve on whatever they find to be the fault of their mistakes that clearly caused this disaster. I would also work to consider taking legal action/ investigation to the designers/ engineers of the ride.



All in all, I believe that Alton Towers initial management of the crisis was good and they built the foundations to restore their brand image, regain customer trust and convey their safety and integrity. However, the Merlin share price is dramatically low and therefore they must continue to work hard to make sure they stay on track.

Steph

Season Pass

Recently I saw an advert for Thorpe Park and a season ticket offering of £48... that was unlimited entry to the park for an entire year! It really got me thinking as although I've never been to Thorpe Park, I have been to the sister theme park Alton Towers and I remember how pricey it can be for a day out there.

A day ticket also costs £48 although you can save by booking online before you arrive. Many people would question why a day ticket is the same price as an annual pass- it seems ludicrous right?

But when you think about it from a different perspective, it's actually an extremely clever marketing tactic that is used in lots of different places where one might not recognise the marketing tactic is in place.

Once a consumer has entered the park once, and paid the £48 fee- the park covers the overheads such as electricity and staffing, and the initial costs of the ride building/ design etc. and any residual value of such assets. The initial costs of that person entering the park are covered. Great- but do these overheads increase as more people enter the park? No.... the staffing/ electricity/ insurance etc. costs are going to be exactly the same whether there are 100 or 6000 people in the park, therefore Thorpe Park's main objective is getting as many people through their gates as possible!

Thorpe Park make such a huge mark-up on added extras such as the car park, food & drinks, games and merchandise that the price of entrance probably doesn't have a huge profit margin. Once customers are through the gates, they are more likely to spend money inside the park ESPECIALLY if they have paid for an annual pass and therefore have the feeling as though their initial cost of the day out was "free"- they may be inclined to spend more on additional add-ons!

Pricing is a marketing tool which is often overlooked, even by myself and although it depends on mark-ups and margins and overheads etc. it can also create a perception of a product and sometimes even a cheap price can detract from a product or service.

So- where else is this tactic used? Night clubs offer free entry or guest list entry before a certain time in the hope that customers will enter and purchase drinks all throughout the night, another example is captive pricing- where a company offers a product for a low price, but then once they are hooked, they rake up the prices of captive products.

I think it is a very wise move from Thorpe Park and one which should see their entries sore and their additional spending therefore increase!

Stephanie