Scott And Carol Present: Monday at IAAPA

Welcome to IAAPA! Over 1,000 different exhibitors from 28 different countries have traveled to Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, to showcase their industry offerings. If you own or operate a park, this is a one stop shopping opportunity for all your needs. If you are looking for a ride, insurance, employees, or trash cans, you can find it at Orlando this week.

With over 25,000 people from nearly 100 countries expected, it’s a good thing that there are 8.3 miles of aisles on the show floor. This show is so big they organize special interest tours for attendees. And that is just the trade floor.
Here is a shot of Scott showing the “Schedule at a Glance,” of the various educational offerings and seminars. As you can see, it requires a rather long glance. There are special presentations for museums, zoos, water parks, and amusement parks.

Park operators have been gathering annually for 90 years to share success stories, network amongst each other, and conduct the business of fun.

The show floor is being assembled right up to 10:00 AM Tuesday morning. At that time the fork trucks are all gone and the people overrun the floor. It is best not to get into their way.

Here's a sneak peek of the Premier booth under construction from the main concourse overlook.

One of the more interesting seminars was moderated by Jack Rouse, founder of Jack Rouse Associates. The subject was “Reinvent or Die, again.” They talked about different ways to engage potential guests so they would be interested in visiting your attractions. As one panel member put it, “people always have some leisure time. It’s up to you to make sure your offering is attractive to them.”

This represents a different way of looking at the museum business from the past. In another seminar they also discussed creative uses of technology to enhance the customer experience through using the customer’s own cell phone for additional information about what they are watching at that time. They offered many interesting ideas that turn fun into education.

Our grand finale for the day was the Brass Ring Awards. These awards recognize excellence in marketing through the creative use of media in “getting your message out.” This commercial from the Minnesota Zoo that will serve as an example:

The Minnesota Zoo ran away with the most awards, taking home five of the coveted trophies. No other organization took more than three.

The first-place award winners are:

Integrated Marketing Campaign
Class 1a—Adventure Landing; Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States
Class 1b—Minnesota Zoo; Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States
Class 2—Kidzania de Mexico; Mexico City, Mexico
Class 3—San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park; San Diego, California, United States
Class 4—Shenzhen OCT Holding Company; Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

Marketing Collateral
Class 1a—Ghost Town in the Sky; Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States
Class 1b—Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Class 2—Newport Aquarium; Newport, Kentucky, United States
Class 3—Six Flags St. Louis; Eureka, Missouri, United States
Class 4—Sentosa; Singapore

Online Advertisement
Class 1a—Adventure Landing; Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States
Class 1b—Minnesota Zoo; Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States
Class 2—Worlds of Fun; Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Class 3—Dorney Park; Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Class 4—Niagara Parks Commission; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Outdoor Advertisement
Class 1a—Waterworld California; Concord, California, United States
Class 1b—Daytona 500 Experience; Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Class 2—Newport Aquarium; Newport, Kentucky, United States
Class 3—Six Flags Discovery Kingdom; Vallejo, California, United States
Class 4—Ripley Entertainment Inc.; Orlando, Florida, United States

PR Program
Class 1a—Ghost Town in the Sky; Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States
Class 1b—Minnesota Zoo; Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States
Class 2—Wild Wadi Waterpark; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Class 3—Xcaret; Cancun, Mexico
Class 4—Niagara Parks Commission; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Print Advertisement
Class 1a—Utah’s Hogle Zoo; Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Class 1b—Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
Class 2—Capilano Suspension Bridge; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Class 3—Calgary Zoo; Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Class 4—Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; Santa Cruz, California, United States

Radio Commercial
Class 1a—Utah’s Hogle Zoo; Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Class 1b—Denver Zoo; Denver, Colorado, United States
Class 2—Six Flags New England; Agawam, Massachusetts, United States
Class 3—San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park; San Diego, California, United States
Class 4—Six Flags Magic Mountain; Valencia, California, United States

Seasonal or Special Event Marketing
Class 1a—Adventure Landing; Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States
Class 1b—Denver Zoo; Denver, Colorado, United States
Class 2—Wild Wadi Waterpark; Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Class 3—Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; Kennedy Space Center, Florida, United States
Class 4—Sentosa; Singapore

Television Commercial
Class 1a—Polynesian Cultural Center; Laie, Hawaii, United States
Class 1b—Minnesota Zoo; Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States
Class 2—Worlds of Fun; Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Class 3—San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park; San Diego, California, United States
Class 4—Ripley Entertainment Inc.; Orlando, Florida, United States

Web Site
Class 1a—Ghost Town in the Sky; Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States
Class 1b—Minnesota Zoo; Apple Valley, Minnesota, United States
Class 2—Aquarium of the Bay; San Francisco, California, United States
Class 3—Movie Park Germany; Bottrop, Germany
Class 4—Niagara Parks Commission; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

So that’s a summary of our first day. Tomorrow the Kick Off Event precedes the trade floor opening and just before lunch there will be a press conference at the Gravity Group booth. Check back after lunch to find out who was inducted into the Hall of Fame and what Gravity Group want to tell us.