Opportunity
The year was 2010. The economy was in shambles. Families were traveling less and staying closer to home. Historic Arnolds Park, an amusement park, needed an edge to weather the recession.
Strategy
Hellman took advantage of the Park’s database of loyal followers with an email campaign of 10 messages from May through September. The plan: to be top-of-mind when families planned their summer vacation, and to stay in touch with them to encourage multiple visits. Email content included a contest, upcoming events, special deals and ride fun facts. The email campaign was also reinforced with a brand-new Arnolds Park Facebook page that featured Park updates and the bi-weekly contest winners.
Solution
The average open rate for the entertainment and events industry is 15.5%. The campaign results Historic Arnolds Park experienced were almost unheard of – an average open rate of 34.22%.
The Facebook results were also impressive. The page reached 188 fans on the day it launched, and climbed to more than 400 the first week.
And there was even an unexpected outcome. Park attendance was 3,000 on opening day -- more than double the typical opening day attendance of 1,500. The client attributed the big jump to the email blast and Facebook updates before the big day.
