January 22, 2014 Bell Ringer  Why is Television one of the best mediums for advertising?

Recreation Marketing Chapter 1.4

 “Today’s weather: Clear skies with seasonal snow showers.” This is not a typical forecast for hot, humid areas close to the equator, but it is the daily forecast for Singapore’s Snowland at Mega Leisure World in Megamal Pinang. Snow skiing and playing in the snow are attractive recreational activities. Promoted as the largest winter wonderland in Southeast Asia, Snowland is a great place to cool off and is one of many indoor winter wonderlands around the world.  Snow City! Snow City! Opening Act

Team Huddle  Work with a partner. Discuss how the marketing mix (product, distribution, price, promotion) can be used for recreational activities.

Recreational Sports  Recreational sports marketers entice people away from home-based entertainment.  Golf, tennis, bowling, hiking, snow skiing, snow boarding, and biking are a few of the more popular recreational sports.  Travel and tourism are also recreational activities for an active, adventurous consumer.  Recreation can be defined as renewing or rejuvenating your body or mind with play or amusing activity.  Recreational activities are those involved in travel, tourism, and amateur sports that are not associated with educational institutions.

Participants of Recreational Sports  Participation in recreational activities generally requires purchase of a combination of products and services.  The participant must make a commitment of time and money for lessons, practice, equipment, and travel to a facility or location.  Many opportunities exist for public and private facilities to combine their products and services into packages and to promote them to specific groups of people.

A Better Image  Professional sports marketers work to increase interest in related recreational sports.  They tap into the idea that people who like to participate in certain sports like to watch professionals play those same sports.

 The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is working to draw mainstream sponsors and a broader audience by promoting a stronger image of women’s golf.  One of the LPGA’s biggest marketing challenges is the lack of a young icon.  LPGA LPGA  The LPGA needs marketable sports figures to catch the attention of the public.  Exciting professional and amateur sports figures can increase interest in a recreational sport and can also increase the sales of related merchandise.  Name an athlete that has played a part in increasing the interest for a particular sport? Women’s Golf

Travel and Tourism  The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that, worldwide, the travel industry employs 195 million people and is the world’s largest industry.  Tourism is generally considered traveling for pleasure, whether the travel is independent or tour-based.  Tourism includes vacations, honeymoons, conventions, and family visits.  Marketing travel for pleasure requires creating a desire to see and experience new places or return to old favorites.

Data Mining  A major function of the travel industry is data mining, or collecting data about which people travel, where, and when.  By collecting data about the customers who travel, the industry can improve the services offered and make the promotional messages more effective.

 Hawaii, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Wyoming are the five hotspots of US interest in Highlands and Islands tourism - and have been since  Although this may sound a rather sweeping statement, it is factual. Better still this nugget of market research didn’t cost a cent; it was data mined from Google using their latest web analytics tool, Google Insights for Search.  Google Trends Google Trends  An extension of Google Trends, this tool gives website owners another way to obtain in-depth data on search terms across time and geography. For example, keyword volumes and trends, and inside knowledge to prepare online advertising campaigns and marketing by analyzing internet search patterns. Data Mining with Google

Niche Travel  People in the travel industry refer to recreational travel or tours planned around a special interest as niche travel.  Example:  Taking a white water rafting vacation in Colorado  Enjoying horseback riding and canoeing at a dude ranch in Utah  Websites that specialize in niche travel:  Tripadvisor.com Tripadvisor.com  Besttripchoices.com Besttripchoices.com