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August 22, 2018
Six Flags Is Taking Theme Park Loyalty to the Next Level
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The regional theme park operator announced the Six Flags Membership Rewards program this week, with a rollout scheduled for August 30, when 2019 passes go on sale. And while members can amass points in unorthodox ways like checking in to rides or posting on social media, they get far more for visiting and spending money in parks. ÒWe didnÕt want to create something just about spending money, because thatÕs not what we are,Ó said Mark Kupferman, vice president of insights and interactive marketing at Six Flags Entertainment. ÒOur experience isnÕt buying stuff. Certainly we sell stuff, but our experience is really about riding rides and having amazing experiences, and so we wanted to wrap our loyalty program around those types of experiences.Ó The program is only available to guests who have enrolled in the companyÕs membership program, which means they pay a monthly fee for access to parks and certain perks, depending on which tier theyÕve paid for. That takes the place of a pass that a customer would buy once a year at a higher price point Ñ a shift Six Flags is eager to encourage. A couple million people have such membership status, and they will all be eligible for the rewards program. Kupferman said the goal of the loyalty program is to keep those members engaged and retained. ÒWeÕre looking at offering them as much value as possible, basically making it so they donÕt want to cancel,Ó he said. Theme parks court loyalty from fans in a variety of ways. They generally deliver extra benefits Ñ including discounts on food and merchandise, free parking, and access to special events Ñ to guests who buy season or annual passes. Disney also has a couple of co-branded credit cards. While the new Six Flags loyalty program isnÕt the first a theme park has tried Ñ the company even introduced a version several years ago that awarded points based on number of visits Ñ Kupferman believes it is the most comprehensive thus far. And observers say the kind of program that Six Flags put together is unlike anything offered before in the industry. ÒI was just talking to somebody about a month ago and I said, ÔYou know, itÕs time for theme parks to develop frequent flyer programs for their guests,'Ó said Dennis Speigel, president of the consulting firm International Theme Park Services. ÒAnd this is exactly what this is. It was just a matter of time.Ó Kupferman said the company surveyed tens of thousands of guests about what they would want in a loyalty program. Discounted food, drinks, and merchandise were high on the list, as well as access to rides and in-park experiences. And, Kupferman said, the team examined a variety of reward programs including those for airlines, hotels, Starbucks, and American Express. ÒWe tried to come up with something that would be uniquely Six Flags,Ó he said. ÒWe tried to stand on the shoulder of giants and then add our own unique element to it so we could have what would be a signature program both for us and our industry.Ó Rewards include everything from cotton candy to free tickets for friends, lunch with a park president, and VIP park tours. ÒItÕs not like 100 points and a churro,Ó Kupferman said, though a churro is on the list of awards. ÒWe are trying to include items on the list that are unique experiences which really donÕt have a price attached.Ó Redemption details havenÕt fully been worked out, but the company expects that visitors will earn enough points in one day to redeem for a low-level award the next time they visit. As members earn points by checking into rides on the Six Flags mobile app, making purchases in the parks, and reading newsletters or taking surveys, Kupferman said the company will have access to more information about how guests use the parks, which rides they go on, and how they spend. ÒI donÕt think weÕre expecting people are going to spend more money or visit more because we are offering them these points,Ó he said. ÒYouÕd have to offer a lot of points. ItÕs just not the purpose of the program. ItÕs supposed to be fun, itÕs supposed to be a game, itÕs supposed to be something our guests can enjoy and feel good about. ItÕs not supposed to be work.Ó Speigel called the program Òa proper plan based on the stage of maturity that our industry is at,Ó especially considering how much of Six FlagsÕ attendance comes from what the company calls its Òactive pass baseÓ of visitors who have season passes and memberships. That base made up 63 percent of visitation in 2017. ÒYou have to do something to maintain it,Ó Speigel said. ÒTheyÕve got to keep enticing and bringing them back.Ó In a note this week headlined ÒItÕs All About the Members,Ó Oppenheimer analyst Ian Zaffino wrote that the membership count of more than 2 million guests was up more than 20 percent since June of 2017. ÒThe membership program is the key to higher customer retention and better pricing,Ó he wrote. ÒPrice increases are easier with members, and the company is able to migrate customers to Ôpremium tiers.'Ó Martin Lewison, an assistant professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York who studies theme parks, said in an email that the new loyalty program is a perfect fit with the membership model. ÒThe ÔMembers OnlyÕ loyalty program enhances the perks of membership and makes the offer that much more attractive,Ó he said. ÒIt also gives members incentives to visit the parks more often, to spend more time in the parks (which is tied to higher in-park spending), and engage more with the parks online.Ó Copyright 2018 Skift. All rights reserved. From https://skift.com. By Hannah Sampson, Skift.
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