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Instant Escape Week

Wait a minute...the last two wins have been to people who clearly arent over 18.....isnt that bending the rules of the competition?
The girls on RMT didnt look older than 15 and the boy on Nemesis was clearly a young teen. :-\
 
There's a bit in the T&Cs about it, they aren't being given the actual prize on the day, for those under 18 it is being organised for the prize to be given to the winner when they have their parent or guardian in attendance.
 
EuroSatch said:
When I was working there, studios quoted £6k to repaint Oblivion.
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£6000?!!!

I am absolutely staggered this hasn't been done. Completely blown away. They spend £8000 on nothing, they spend countless millions on absolutely gash marketing stunts, they waste thousands of pounds on new stalls that don't open, and they won't spend £6000 to repaint Oblivion?! The most iconic ride in the park, that currently looks like it's being left to fall apart. It's ridiculous how much better and less run down the entirety of X Sector would look if Oblivion was it's imposing, completely matt jet black self again. Aaarrrgghhh. :mad:
 
Re: Instant Escape Week

mrbrightside said:
£8000 is an absolutely tiny amount of the marketing budget ... The amount truly is trivial. Why people are focussing on it so much I don't know. :)
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It may well be a tiny amount for a marketing budget, but it could be used for so much good in so many other budgets (maintenance and staffing being the obvious choices). For example, it could pay for over 1,000 staffing hours. Satch suggests that £6k will paint Oblivion, and even with inflation I won't believe it would cost much more than £8k now (certainly find it hard to believe that £8k wouldn't even paint the drop).

As a large supermarket keeps saying, 'Every Little Helps', and I just feel this money could be better spent. As Rupert asks, why are the budgets so ring-fenced? If £8k is a 'drop in the ocean' for marketing, then they won't miss it, surely...
 
Rupert said:
EuroSatch said:
When I was working there, studios quoted £6k to repaint Oblivion.
Click to expand...

£6000?!!!

I am absolutely staggered this hasn't been done. Completely blown away. They spend £8000 on nothing, they spend countless millions on absolutely gash marketing stunts, they waste thousands of pounds on new stalls that don't open, and they won't spend £6000 to repaint Oblivion?! The most iconic ride in the park, that currently looks like it's being left to fall apart. It's ridiculous how much better and less run down the entirety of X Sector would look if Oblivion was it's imposing, completely matt jet black self again. Aaarrrgghhh. :mad:
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be £6,000 any more.

From various reports, it sounds as if Merlin Studios charge rediculous amounts for even the simpilest of jobs these days mainly because they're in a captive market, and since the money remains within the larger organisation it is handy for increasing the "£xxx million pound new ride" marketing technique.

And it would explain how Sub-Terra for example cost quite so much build.
 
Re: Instant Escape Week

Islander said:
mrbrightside said:
£8000 is an absolutely tiny amount of the marketing budget ... The amount truly is trivial. Why people are focussing on it so much I don't know. :)
Click to expand...
It may well be a tiny amount for a marketing budget, but it could be used for so much good in so many other budgets (maintenance and staffing being the obvious choices). For example, it could pay for over 1,000 staffing hours. Satch suggests that £6k will paint Oblivion, and even with inflation I won't believe it would cost much more than £8k now (certainly find it hard to believe that £8k wouldn't even paint the drop).

As a large supermarket keeps saying, 'Every Little Helps', and I just feel this money could be better spent. As Rupert asks, why are the budgets so ring-fenced? If £8k is a 'drop in the ocean' for marketing, then they won't miss it, surely...
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Regardless of whether we agree or not on how the budgets should be used, each area of the park clearly has a different budget. Namely there appears to be one for marketing and one for the general running of the park (which I assume is split down into maintenance, staffing, etc).

It's clear that Merlin doesn't give the park enough of a budget for the general running of the park, however the also give a set budget at the start of the year to marketing. It's down to each department to decide how they spend the money... I haven't seen a television ad for Alton in months and I have seen very little advertising at all since the early Ice Age and N:ST ads. What's to say that the marketing team are running low on cash so are doing this low key campaign as a cheap way of getting people talking?

Either way, I still don't see why it is such an issue? £8000 is a very small amount of money to be spending on marketing the park for a whole week - and the campaign itself has got people talking, created PR in the press and has created lots of videos to 'share' on social networks...
 
In the eyes of Alton Towers and Merlin they will see marketing as a more valuable part of the operations. Marketing is key at the moment, so they will keep as much as the budget as they can in order to make sure marketing stays steady. Look at all the other Merlin parks - they are advertising a lot this year.

This campaign is probably not a patch on the amount of money that marketing spend through the year.
 
Whether it is £6k or £6m, however Merlin Studios and Towers are all part of the same group, and the cost would effectively be nil on the balance sheets as it would be considered money owed/due to subsidiary undertakings. I personally feel there is no excuse for not using intergroup services to maintain the park
 
Imagine the time it would take to repaint the entirety of Oblivion though?! The track is huge, it would need many layers to make it weatherproof as it was from '98, and a lot of it is underground which surely makes the job even more difficult!

It just can't be £6k, otherwise it surely would have been done?
 
EuroSatch said:
Whether it is £6k or £6m, however Merlin Studios and Towers are all part of the same group, and the cost would effectively be nil on the balance sheets as it would be considered money owed/due to subsidiary undertakings. I personally feel there is no excuse for not using intergroup services to maintain the park
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Very similar I guess to how Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Stageworks Worldwide Productions operate then I guess?
 
Instant Escape Week

The Psychoaster said:
Imagine the time it would take to repaint the entirety of Oblivion though?! The track is huge, it would need many layers to make it weatherproof as it was from '98, and a lot of it is underground which surely makes the job even more difficult!

It just can't be £6k, otherwise it surely would have been done?
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You would think so, but then maintenance and upkeep of attractions has never seemed to be much of a priority in recent years. It doesn't see an immediate return on money, so why should they?
 
So the final winners were picked today on Air.

From AT Facebook:

Our final £1000 winner was randomly selected today when riding Air... That concludes our week of Instant Escapes... look out later this week for further details about our Summer of Escapes at the Alton Towers Resort!

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Will be interesting to see what the 'Summer of Escapes' has in store!
 
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