Marketing in Recreation Services

Paul A. Schlag, PhD

Marketing is the external voice

of a carefully considered, clearly
articulated sense of what [the
agency] is all about. It is the
voice through which the target
audience learns of the vision,
purpose, and mission-the very
essence of the [agency].
Ball and Ball, 274

What is marketing?

Purpose of Marketing

Get the word out about products and services

Attract people to your facility/programs

Entice people to purchase or use goods and services

Appeal to customer needs and wants

Name recognition

Professional presentation of your product

cost to satisfy

convenience to buy

customers needs & wants

communication

 Who
What
When
Where
Why
How Much?

Purpose of Marketing

What do we know about marketing?

Effective Marketing
Returning customers are the
primary source of enrollment

Word of mouth is the key and

dominant medium for recreation
agencies

The leisure experience, not the

brochures or advertising drives
word of mouth

Marketing is about...

the staff

facilities and land

the programs

the experience

the service
communication materials
the food

Next consider....who is your target audience?

 Parents, singles, retired people

and some teens have the
money

Children influence leisure

activities in 74% of families

Market to appropriate groups

11

Who has the money?

Find enrollment information from past customers (compare shifts in

enrollment, types of program use, etc.)

Break down participation figures based on age, sex, zip code, school
affiliation, ethnicity and race, or whatever you deem relevant

Examine the return rate and study previous evaluations

Look at enrollment periods - when are people participating the most and why

Compare participation numbers with similar agencies

Gather demographic data about the area the agency serves

Determine a targeted approach to reaching the groups identified in the

demographic analysis

Identify the competition - what are they doing differently or better

Share this information with interested stakeholders

Market Analysis

Marketing Materials/Products/Tools
Guides/Magazines

Brochures

Flyers

Radio

Commercials

Websites

Coupons

Newspaper Ads

Logos

Uniforms

Posters

Newsletters

Mailings

Catalogs

Trinkets

Business Cards

Price!

Social Media

What makes a marketing product stand out,

look professional and be effective?

Be Creative

15

Billboard

Consistent Look and Feel

Marketing Materials/Products/Tools
Guides/Magazines

Brochures

Flyers

Radio

Commercials

Websites

Coupons

Newspaper Ads

Logos

Uniforms

Posters

Newsletters

Mailings

Catalogs

Trinkets

Business Cards

Price!

Social Media

Consistent Look and Feel

Two versions of logo, one with

shading and one with 1, 2, or 3
solid colors (why?)

Color scheme is extremely

important:

Color scheme generator

Make Color scheme consistent

Agency Logos/Colors

Make fonts
consistent across all
media

28

Sans serif fonts are easier to read on

marketing materials than serif fonts

29

30

Name that Logo

Brand Recognition

Logos are more thought-out than you think

Can you see the word Mom?

Can you see lion and gorilla

facing off?

Can you see the smiley face?

But can you also see from A
to Z?

Can you see the 31 flavors?

Can you see the Number 1 in

the empty space?

Can you see the party in the

middle, complete with chips and
dip?

The Falcon makes an F.

There is a cyclist in there,

literally, on Tour. Notice how
the o, u, and R all come
together along with the yellow
dot to form the image.

The V and the A constitute the

symbol for analog. The 1 and
the 0 symbolize all things digital.
Thus, VAIO is about moving
from analog to digital.

Anyone see Pac Man?

Can you see the giraffe and the

rhino?

The G and the I have been

cut precisely like a razor.

There is a kiss between the K

and the I.

Beats - person wearing

Beats.

Logo for the Milwaukee

Brewers. See the M and the
B?

George Washington
University. See the
Washington Monument?

Win is underlined!

 Personal interaction
Promotional materials
Advertising
Publicity and public relations
50

Marketing Tools

 Everything that communicates

something about your agency should

be considered promotional materials
and should be professional

Websites
Brochures
DVDs
Letters

Registration packet
Flyers
Public displays

Promotional Materials

51

Personal Interaction
Confidence is instilled by contact with a

caring and informed individual related to

your agency

Returning customers (50-70% of users)

Customer service

Virtual spaces (Facebook, etc.)

Special events
Personal calls
Personalized emails
Visits to facility

52

What makes promotional materials professional?

What makes promotional materials stand out?

Professional

Stand Out

Clean and succinct

Bright colors

Not wordy

Motion

Grammar/spelling

Unique

Well thought-out

Unexpected

Pictures germane to topic

Innovative

NO CLIPART

Comic sans

Consistent fonts and colors

Humor

Sans serif fonts

Quality

Proper word usage

Relevant and actual pictures

Readable

Action

Focus/Theme and Interpretive

Original

COLOR

What
catches
your eye
here?

What
catches
your eye
here?

What Attracts the Eye

Blur the background

Decolor the background
Dominant, bright colors
Movement
Size

62

Limit blank (negative) space

Name that Slogan

Yo Quiero ____ ____
Finger-Lickin Good ___
Eat Fresh ______
Silly rabbit, ____ are for kids
Eat Mor Chikin ______ _____

69

Textures add interest

70

Shading adds interest

71

Chunk Similar Data

72

Free Food!
Today 5 PM
Union

Use Geometrical Shapes, Frames and Graphics to chunk information

Play with Transparency

73

Add Depth

74

Add Depth (Layers)

75

This is a monochromatic
color scheme

Or make it 2D

100%, 80% and 60%

Transparency/Alpha

No dark text on dark background

Careful with colors

Make BOLD your focus

Come and join us for a funfilled day of creative crafts and

good food. We will be tiedying t-shirts, making leaf
prints, etc. This activity, put on
for Dr. Schlags RPTA 428G
Class is for children ages 8-12.
Join us on November 14th
from 2 - 6 PM. We look
forward to meeting you there.

FREE FOOD
What: Crafts and Food
When: Saturday, November 14th
(2-6 PM)
Who: 8-12 Year Olds
Where: Horn Field

Less Text = Good

Music

81

Multiple Display Sizes

82

Responsive Web Design

Culture
Different cultures have different
conceptions of color schemes

External Advertising
Magazines, newspapers,
websites, radio, TV

Internet ads
Billboards
Posters
Direct Mail and E-Mail
Sales/Special Offers
84

 Public presentations about your

agency to community organizations
and press

Websites (virtual tours, photos,

promotional videos, testimonials).
Why are they visiting your site? What
do they want to find out?

News stories - free publicity with rich,

human-interest stories

Partnerships with community

organizations

Publicity and Public Relations

85

86

Commercial Activity

87

In your team: come up with at least 10

components of successful promo videos

Marketing
Activity
For next class each committee bring
1. link to camps website you think is awesome [be prepared to share website in
class and tell us why you like the website]
2. link to a commercial/promotional video you think is effective [tell us what
makes it effective]

Look for what you like and copy it to

the full extent the law allows