Volume 3, No. 2. January 24, 2002
Express service
Pity the poor postal
and package carriers. Knott’s Berry Farm does.
In honor of the men and women at the U.S. Postal Service, Federal Express, Airborne
Express and other package delivery companies who pounded the pavements with
extra loads over the Christmas holidays, the Buena Park, California, theme park
is offering a post-holiday discounted admission for the month of January. With
valid photo ID, the carriers can purchase up to six adult admission tickets
for just $12.95, almost a 50 percent savings over the discounted residents fare.
The promotion is in its third year and continues a tradition at the park of
pushing highly targeted, vertical market promotions. “Our challenge every
year is bringing in attendance in our off months, January and February specifically,”
said Susan Tierney, Knott’s director of public relations. Knott’s
Berry Farm works closely with the U.S. Postal Service, Airborne Express and
Federal Express to get flyers distributed throughout the company. Carriers at
other services, such as UPS, are eligible to use the discount, but Knott’s
has not established a promotional relationship with those other companies.
Knott’s has a history of tying its promotions to public expressions of
appreciation. In May the park hosts local elementary and middle school classes
with its School Spectacular Program, during which the teachers serving as chaperons
generally remain in one location on the park grading papers while the kids occasionally
check in. “The poor teachers come to Knott’s with a hundred kids during
the week and don’t get to enjoy the park,” Tierney said. “So
we give them the opportunity to do it on weekends,” via a deep discount.
The park began a now-annual military appreciation discount in the wake of 1991’s
Gulf War, and a continuing appreciation discount for fire and law enforcement
officials began after the Malibu and Laguna Beach firestorm of 1993. “It
was almost difficult to do those again after 9/11 because we didn’t want
people to think we were capitalizing on it,” Tierney said, but Knott's
opted to continue both discounts.
As for their current discounting, “Postal Service and Fed Ex workers coming
out of the holidays is a perfect promotion,” Tierney said. “You’re
talking people who have had eight weeks of an extremely hectic schedule.”
And the response has been great, she said. She wouldn’t give numbers, but
“Every year when we plan our calendar, usually in August, we look at every
promotion we do and reevaluate them to decide whether we want to put them on
the calendar again,” she said. Those that work they carry on.
©2002, Minton Enterprises
LLC
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