Latest marketing strategy for Merlin

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Families with small children are the target demographic for Merlin Entertainments and its Legoland theme parks. The company recently opened a Castle Hotel next to its Legoland in California, a hotel that looks built from Lego bricks and features theme decor. 'It’s like painting the story and making you feel like you’re living inside a medieval castle', says a Merlin executive.

Some rooms are decorated for knights, others for wizards...a fun, magical theme-park feeling for families that stay overnight. The hotel is differentiated and memorable, definitely not a bland, ordinary place to stay. This supports the brand image, as well.

Of course, Walt Disney is the market leader among theme park marketers. Given the intense competition within this industry, Merlin is pouring on the marketing magic to attract families during the all-important summer holiday period. In fact, Merlin drew a record 66m visitors globally in 2017.

Now Merlin is focusing on building hotels next to Legoland theme parks to capture more revenue and increase profits. It will not invest as heavily in its Madame Tussauds attractions. Nonetheless, in London and New York, Madame Tussauds recently installed wax figures of the new Duchess of Sussex, a good way to stay in the public eye after the royal wedding.

Merlin Entertainments' awesome, balanced portfolio

From Merlin's 'About us' page

Merlin Entertainments is having an awesome year, thanks in part to the global success of the Lego Movie. Revenues at Merlin's Legoland theme parks surged by an awesome 13% last year.

Other attractions operated by Merlin include Madame Tussauds wax museums (where Star Wars exhibits are attracting attention ahead of the new movie), Gardaland theme parks, Alton Towers, the London Eye and Sea Life aquariums.

On the 'about us' page, Merlin sets out its marketing strategy:

To create a high growth, high return, family entertainment company based on strong brands and a portfolio that is naturally balanced against the impact of external factors.

Merlin is smart to plan for balancing the portfolio 'against the impact of external factors' in the marketing environment. For instance, the weakness of the euro is expected to keep some European visitors from vacationing at UK destinations in 2015. Weather is also an uncontrollable factor.

By design, Merlin has assembled a portfolio that spans four continents and includes a variety of brands. At any one time, one brand (such as Legoland) might be in the media spotlight and therefore attract an awesome number of customers. Building on that interest, Legoland Water Park Dubai is in the works, among other enhancements to the portfolio.

Marketing Merlin (Now a Public Company)

Merlin Entertainments became a publicly-traded company on November 8, building on several years of brand building. Merlin is known for its Sea Life aquariums, Alton Towers, Legoland theme parks, Madame Tussauds wax museums and other attractions, including the iconic Eye (below). Last year, Merlin attractions entertained 53 million visitors worldwide.

Merlin's strategy is: 'To create a high growth, high return, family entertainment company based on strong brands and a global portfolio that is naturally balanced against the impact of external factors'.
 
This strategy means strengthening the global focus of its brand marketing. 'We have over 40 Sea Life aquariums around the world, which do site-based activity to reflect the local culture and market, but there is also now an overarching global marketing team that is ultimately the keeper of the brand', explains the head of corporate affairs.

Madame Tussauds is particularly profitable because once the figures are in place, the attraction requires much less additional investment than high-tech theme parks and aquariums. A social brand, Madame Tussauds has more than 300,000 Facebook likes and 30,000 Twitter followers.

Earlier this month, Madame Tussauds asked football fans to vote for the legendary player they want to see installed as the latest wax creation: Pele, Diego Maradona, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore or Brazil's Ronaldo. The winner: Bobby Moore (England's 1966 captain), whose wax figure will be ready for the World Cup 2014.