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Thorpe Park: General Discussion

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The logo change really surprises me, especially as Thorpe have been utilising that logo a lot more lately than in previous years. Look at how all the events for example had their own version of the logo. This was never the case with events in previous years before about 2020. A very odd move indeed.
 
Reminds me of my old work place, it felt like they had management meetings where they'd go "We have finally got every single bit of signage updated to our current logo. So I think it's time we had a new logo." - repeat in 5 years time when they'd banished the old logo yet another time.

They have been dragging this out for so long, starting with slowly blurring it out on all the Hyperia update photos, now this over three days. Just get on with it already!
 
Skyscraper said:
Part one has dropped...


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBJ83Y-Jixk


Appears the actual announcement will be on episode three, on Thursday.
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I know there has been some scepticism but I actually quite like this approach - a delve back into the annals of history to build up to the announcement on day 3. And putting the branding of the park into the context of what was happening with the park at the time - going from leisure park to family thrill park etc. At the risk of being overly optimistic it does feel as though Hyperia represents the start of a new era, so it seems a good time to undertake rebranding activities.

I just hope they do a better job of their logo than the London Olympics.
 
In tonight’s video, they openly admitted that the brand strategy between 2008 and 2012 was wrong, and even criticised the fat heads and Nation’s Thrill Capital branding.

I mean, it’s great that they recognised it and have spent the past ten years trying to distance themselves from it, but I dunno, it’s really frustrating when we were all crying out during that era that the brand didn’t work, yet Thorpe were so adamant that it did. I know that at the time even a lot of the park staff kept telling the management it didn’t work.

It really does make me question if Merlin really understand the market and know what’s going on. It’s rare for the same owners of any business to openly and publicly say that they got it wrong like that.
 
I found the whole thing very very odd and unprofessional so far.

Openly criticising your own product? Talking to the public as though they’re all Thorpe Park historians?

Its bizarre.

If this is a marketing strategy they can keep it, just announce the logo and come up with a better long term vision for the park.

I do find some of the “behind the scenes” content from BPB, Paultons and Thorpe a bit much. Alton have dabbled but I don’t think it does their brand or product any favour’s.

“Come and watch us grease a wheel and do non destructive testing”

Stick to good experiences, stories and improving the product. The destination is more important than the means.
 
Ash said:
I found the whole thing very very odd and unprofessional so far.

Openly criticising your own product? Talking to the public as though they’re all Thorpe Park historians?

Its bizarre.

If this is a marketing strategy they can keep it, just announce the logo and come up with a better long term vision for the park.

I do find some of the “behind the scenes” content from BPB, Paultons and Thorpe a bit much. Alton have dabbled but I don’t think it does their brand or product any favour’s.

“Come and watch us grease a wheel and do non destructive testing”

Stick to good experiences, stories and improving the product. The destination is more important than the means.
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Personally enjoying the concept & content of the videos so far (I'm not 100% on the delivery). Although it's clear that this is all pretty much fan service, there is an appeal to the GP too. Have even seen a few of my non-enthusiast FB friends share the videos, tagging others with 'remember this!' 'Omg, look how much has changed since our first visit' etc. That said, my FB feed isn't the be all and end all 😂

This kind of marketing can create an illusion that the viewer is being given special treatment which should increase brand loyalty and engagement. The honesty works well with TP but I'm not sure it would with any of their other park assets. TP have used a somewhat relaxed, almost cheeky & '4th wall breaking' tone of voice for some time now, including their interactions on social media so the videos doesn't feel out of place to me but can see how it wouldn't be to everyone's taste.
 
Ash said:
I found the whole thing very very odd and unprofessional so far.

Openly criticising your own product? Talking to the public as though they’re all Thorpe Park historians?

Its bizarre.

If this is a marketing strategy they can keep it, just announce the logo and come up with a better long term vision for the park.

I do find some of the “behind the scenes” content from BPB, Paultons and Thorpe a bit much. Alton have dabbled but I don’t think it does their brand or product any favour’s.

“Come and watch us grease a wheel and do non destructive testing”

Stick to good experiences, stories and improving the product. The destination is more important than the means.
Click to expand...
Unprofessional? The quality and production values in this video exceed the comparable drivel that vlogger channels put out. The sound is nice and clean and mixed well. The transitions are fluid, the footage is a nice balanced mixture and the script is snappy.

To err is human and it's good to acknowledge past controversial choices. No one is perfect, no company is perfect. It's quite common for companies and brands to look back at themselves and poke fun. Heck, look at what the BBC have been doing with Doctor Who marketing material recently.

"Look at how awful these special effects were back in the day!"
"The hair, the costumes, omg we look so silly!"

This behind the scenes content has gelled with a lot of theme park enthusiasts, and seemingly non-enthusiasts too. It's very well put together and entertaining. If there weren't value in it they wouldn't be bothering.

This IS a story. It's the story of Thorpe Park, what it was, where it's been, the suspect choices it's made over the years and where it's going now.

I'm struggling to work out why this series bothers you so much, especially as you're actively engaged in a community that loves this behind the scenes stuff. We all care about how the sausage is made, or we wouldn't be talking about the most minuscule of theme park changes.
 
I've actually quite enjoyed these first two videos and the very honest approach is quite refreshing. It seems clear that the current marketing team are not fans of the marketing strategy taken in the age of the fat heads.

I am looking forward to hearing what their new vision for the park is later on tonight. I think Hyperia shows that they are still going to be pushing for light amongst the darkness, and I wonder if we are going to see more of an all-round family-thrill focus in the years ahead.
 
Katy said:
They have been dragging this out for so long, starting with slowly blurring it out on all the Hyperia update photos, now this over three days. Just get on with it already!
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I'm going to take this back as I think the videos have been great so far. I probably would have preferred one longer video with the reveal at the end, over it split into three, but I'm old and I guess kids these days don't want long videos.
 
Katy said:
I'm going to take this back as I think the videos have been great so far. I probably would have preferred one longer video with the reveal at the end, over it split into three, but I'm old and I guess kids these days don't want long videos.
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It's also a decent way to keep you coming back for more each day. Keeps anticipation high and allowing a little bit of a buzz to generate.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
Unprofessional? The quality and production values in this video exceed the comparable drivel that vlogger channels put out. The sound is nice and clean and mixed well. The transitions are fluid, the footage is a nice balanced mixture and the script is snappy.

To err is human and it's good to acknowledge past controversial choices. No one is perfect, no company is perfect. It's quite common for companies and brands to look back at themselves and poke fun. Heck, look at what the BBC have been doing with Doctor Who marketing material recently.

"Look at how awful these special effects were back in the day!"
"The hair, the costumes, omg we look so silly!"

This behind the scenes content has gelled with a lot of theme park enthusiasts, and seemingly non-enthusiasts too. It's very well put together and entertaining. If there weren't value in it they wouldn't be bothering.

This IS a story. It's the story of Thorpe Park, what it was, where it's been, the suspect choices it's made over the years and where it's going now.

I'm struggling to work out why this series bothers you so much, especially as you're actively engaged in a community that loves this behind the scenes stuff. We all care about how the sausage is made, or we wouldn't be talking about the most minuscule of theme park changes.
Click to expand...
The BBC poking fun at old Dr Who is very different to what Thorpe are doing in these videos though.

The old special effects on Dr Who were all that was available at the time, and therefore look silly by today’s standards, but the BBC aren’t saying that they were wrong to use those effects. It’s just all they had at the time.

Thorpe, on the other hand, are openly saying that they got it wrong. And what’s particularly frustrating is that multiple staff, guests and enthusiasts were constantly telling Thorpe management that the ‘Nation’s Thrill capital” branding, the big heads, the crude images all over the park map, the songs with swear words playing over the speakers, the ‘Blow s**t up’ event and posters, and the park actively trying to deter families, was the wrong way to do business, but every time we’d make these points to Thorpe management, we’d be hastily shut down.

It’s unusual for a company to openly admit that they got it wrong, and I really didn’t think Thorpe would be so blatantly in disdain of the way that Merlin presented the park in their early years.

I’m enjoying these videos, but their determination to distance themselves from a brand identity that they were so determined to drill into everyone from 2008 to 2012 is… surprising, to say the least. Especially as it’s still the same park owners.
 
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