INSIDE TRACK
THE
AUTUMN/WINTER
Top trends and insights from the family days out sector
The impact of ‘no-click search’ on attractions
Magical attractions with families under their spell
Silent Fireworks and why they’re great for families
Escape Rooms continue to grow
Key findings from our 2019 Parenting Sur vey
2019 Family Favourites Awards Winners revealed
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INNOVATION 2019
INSPIRING RURAL ENTREPRENEURS
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COUNTRY HOUSE BUSINESS INNOVATION
2019
CONTENTS 03
FOREWORD
04
TREND WATCH
Introduction from Jamie Starr, Head of Marketing
The latest trends making their mark • Magical days out with families under their spell • The rise of the great escape • Less big bang, more family fun with silent fireworks
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HOW TO GET HEARD
Practical tips for marketing to today’s families • Why Groups are the future of Facebook • The impact of zero-click search on attractions
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TOP OF THE CLASS
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COMMUNITY UPDATES
The top attractions, categories and content for the season
The latest news from our community • • • •
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Best ever month for membership 2019 Family Favourites Awards Winners Results from our 2019 Parenting Sur vey 2020 Campaign oppor tunities to book now
WATCH LIST
A closer look at some of the new openings and launches coming in 2020
EDITOR Jamie Starr CONTENT Lisa O’Keeffe
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Dela Gonon
Hello there and welcome to the Autumn/ Winter edition of the Inside Track - 2019 is flying by and we have loads of tips, trends and community news from the family days out industry to share with you! As the nights draw in and peak summer trade becomes a distant memory, one of the most crucial periods of the year for the attractions sector kicks in. Driving footfall when it’s colder outside and families are saving their pennies for Christmas can be tricky - but the good news is, there’s a whole host of seasonally-driven tactics you can use to see out the year in style. In this issue, we take a look at some of the top seasonal themes that are popular with our 17-million strong audience of fun- seeking families, from pumpkin-picking to lantern festivals, and even where the Coca-Cola van stops at Christmas time. We also explore how you can make fireworks-driven events (which can be frightening for small children) a bit more family-friendly, something that we know venues can of ten overlook. And as ever, we pull out some of the emerging trends & top tips our team of in-house family marketing exper ts have spot ted, from the rapid rise of escape rooms across the country, to the latest on what Google and Facebook have been up to. Finally, it has been a very busy year in the Day Out With The Kids universe, so check out the community section for some really exciting announcements. We hope you find this edition useful, and as ever, feedback is most welcome please drop me an email if you have any comments or just want to say hi!
Jamie Starr He ad of Marketing D ay Out With The Kids jamie@dayoutwiththekids.co.uk 3
TREND WATCH
From the continued rise of escape rooms, to magic, mystery and the popularity of silent fireworks this season, we take a look at the biggest trends in the attractions sector and the operators putting them into practice...
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MAGICAL DAYS OUT WITH FAMILIES
UNDER THEIR SPELL
With the nights growing darker and the popularity of the films & books about a cer tain boy wizard showing no signs of slowing down, spooky and magical days out are continuing to cast a spell over the family attractions market. While temporary Halloween events are a common tactic to drive footfall in the autumn, we’re seeing a rise in days out that feature wizards, witches, fairies, goblins, and all of their fairytale creature friends, year round. Offering escapism and wonder for both kids and adults alike, the most successful venues have the vital magic ingredient - being totally unique. This allows them to stand out on Facebook feeds, where audiences are immune to all but the most eye-catching of content. Attractions that add just the right amount of “spooky” to their creative, but keep it familyfriendly, generate the most interest - make it too scary, and you can exclude younger or more ner vous children. Capitalising on this trend is one of the most memorable new venues to be listed on our site this year, The Potion’s Cauldron in York. This quirky boutique allows kids to mix their own drinkable potions, dress up, and take a selfie in the Potion Room. The unusual mix of intrigue and Instagram appeal have made it a sure fire hit with our families. Also popular is broomstick training at Alnwick Castle, witchy Treasure Trails, and whimsical playgrounds Hobbledown and BeWILDerwood… and of course, families still flock to find out all about the making of Harry Potter at the evermagical Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
TOP 10 MAGICAL ATTRACTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Greater London) Hobbledown (Surrey) BeWILDerwood (Nor folk) Alnwick Castle (Nor thumberland) Wookey Hole (Somerset) The Forbidden Corner (Nor th Yorkshire) Witches Mystery Treasure Trails (Various) Groombridge Enchanted Forest (Kent) Museum of Witchcraf t (Cornwall) Grimm & Co (South Yorkshire)
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Visits to our site driven by searches for magic-themed attractions is up 33% in 2019 so far Image: Alnwick Castle
Image: The Potion’s Cauldron
Over 6,000 visitors enter the turnstiles of the Warner Bros Studio Tour London per day in peak season
Our “Wizards & Witches” social takeover reached 260,000 people in just 24hrs Image: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
Image: Treasure Trails
IN THE KNOW S am Willsher Head of Marketing Mumbo Jumbo at Treasure Trails A Treasure Trail is an imaginative way to explore towns, cities and villages across the UK. With over 1,200 to choose from and available as an instant download, each Trail is packed full of fun clues to solve. “When writing our self-guided family adventures, we use storytelling to create excitement. Our aim is to turn a regular family day out into a full-blown adventure, and we’ve done this by creating different Trail themes. We’ve recently introduced a number of ‘Spooky Treasure Trails for Fearless Families’ which have proved really popular throughout the year, especially during October Half Term leading up to Halloween. Everyone (secretly) likes to be ‘scared’ from time to time, but we’ve made sure that we’ve pitched our Witchy & Wizardy Treasure Trails at just the right level so they are suitable for any family with a sense of adventure!”
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ESCAPE THE RISE OF THE GREAT
When we talk about immersive, experiential days out, there’s nothing like escape rooms. Locked in, with limited time on the clock - the thrill of cracking each puzzle has proven to be quite addictive for families all over the UK. Interest in escape rooms has seen a staggering 2567% increase over the last five years, and at the peak of its popularity in February 2019, it jumped by a whopping 190% YoY. In response to the growing trend, the escape room industry in the UK has increased the number of bookable experiences by 27%. The number of UK escape room venues has also gone up by 21% over the last year. So, how do you stand out in an industry that’s becoming more and more oversaturated? One way to go about it is to bring mainstream popularity to your theming. A good example is Escape Hunt, who added a Dr. Who-themed escape experience to six of their venues in 2019. Escape Reality, on the other hand, are taking a different route and banking on the seasonal trends, by throwing a special Halloween-themed escape experience at two of their locations.
Image: Escape Hunt
Escape Rooms have seen a 2567% increase in popularity in the last five years
Another approach sure to bring more families through your doors is to broaden your target group, by offering a more kid-friendly experience. Using childhood favourites, such as Robin Hood or Alice in Wonderland in your theming, can play a huge role in the decisionmaking process for families planning a day out.
There are now more than 500 Escape Room venues in the UK
TOP 10 ESCAPE ROOMS
(Exitgames.co.uk) Image: Treasure Trails
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Escape Hunt (Various Locations) Escape Reality (Various Locations) Clue HQ (Various Locations) Breakout Chester Escape Time St Ives Lockhouse Escape Games (Cambridge) Deception Escape Rooms (Matlock) CYBER Q Escape Games (Worcester) The Escapement (Margate) Escape Play (Nottingham)
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Searches for Escape Rooms peak in February, with September being the quietest month
Image: CYBER Q
IN THE KNOW Sergei Kir tchu Managing Director at CYBER Q Escape Rooms CYBER Q Escape Rooms in Worcester is home to a collection of thrilling and fun interactive live escape games. Suitable for all ages, the range of themed rooms includes adventure, crime or magic! “The number of people who know about escape rooms has definitely increased over the last few years and we’ve seen a steady flow of families coming over to CYBER Q. I think the key to at tracting parents and their kids is offering a proper mix ture of puzzles, so everyone can bring something to the table. This is why we have multiple games suitable for all age groups. Keeping the family budget in mind and offering familyfriendly discounts helps build a connection with our family audience too. We recently completed a large expansion and we are launching two brand new games, one of which is designed specifically for children. The Virus Man features family-friendly activities, such as shooting, jumping and climbing, so it’s equally fun for both kids and adults alike. Making sure even our youngest visitors have a great time is a priority for us. We even provide a cer tified enter tainer for children’s par ties, who goes in the room with the kids to look af ter them and help them out. With so many new escape rooms opening doors, it’s impor tant to stand out from the competition and the only way to this is to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience. Although people may come across a room with a similar name, they won’t see the same story or puzzles that we offer at CYBER Q. So, be unique and keep the mystery alive!”
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LESS BIG BANG, MORE FAMILY FUN WITH
SILENT FIREWORKS
Fireworks are of ten the star of the show for both Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve events, but whilst they light up the sky with colour, families are of ten put off by the loud noises and busy crowds. Enter silent fireworks; searches for which are up 1900% over the last five years. What they lack in sound, they make up in visuals, creating a power ful combination of brighter colours and visual effects as a spectacular stand-alone event. Silent fireworks are also of ten used in bigger productions, synchronised to music and other multimedia per formances. For families with kids, silent fireworks provide a great alternative to classic displays. Due to the reduced noise levels, they are also more autism-friendly, and are less likely to cause anxiety in pets, providing a more inclusive experience for a wider audience. Interestingly, searches for “silent fireworks” and “fireworks with kids” both follow the same growth pat tern, with peaks at the end of October, just before Bonfire Night. Last year, our blog post listing the best family-friendly firework displays was the four th most popular ar ticle between October and December. This period also encompasses the increase of search for terms related to spending New Year’s Eve with kids.
1900% increase in searches for ‘Silent Fireworks’ from Nov 2014 to Nov 2018
70% increase in searches for ‘fireworks with kids’ from Nov 2014 to Nov 2018
This comes to show that organising a silent fireworks show may be your chance to stand out from the competition during the autumnwinter period, which is notoriously dominated by Halloween and Christmas themes.
ATTRACTIONS WITH SILENT FIREWORKS 2019 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Pink Pig Farm (Lincolnshire) Roves Farm (Wiltshire) B arleylands Farm Park (Essex) Old Down Country Park (Bristol) Sacrewell Farm Park (Cambridgeshire)
As a nation, the UK spends £15million a year on fireworks (Animalfriends.co.uk)
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Image: Old Down Estate
IN THE KNOW Alexandra Bessant Event Co-ordinator at Old Down Estate Set in 66 acres of beautiful grounds in the stunning South West countryside, Old Down Estate is home to a panoramic Manor House and a familyfriendly Country Park, hosting year-round activities and events. “Here at Old Down Estate, we’ve been organising low noise fireworks for years! We do this for the consideration of our neighbours, young children and our beloved animals. The response we’ve had has been great and with many of our customers returning – it says it all really. It was such a popular event last year that we couldn’t not do it again. Each year we hope to build on the event; this year adding market stalls and pyro per formers… next year will be even bigger again! Interest in silent fireworks events has increased over the years and rightly so. The time around Bonfire Night can be a very distressing few days for small children and animals or anyone affected by loud noises really. This way we can ensure everyone has a great evening without worry or stress, enabling them to gaze up and enjoy the spectacle. It creates such a nice family-friendly environment and some parents who have been to our Low Noise Firework Nights say it’s the best event they have been to!”
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HOW TO GET HEARD
From social media to SEO; hear from our inhouse marketing exper ts as they share their practical tips for utilising the latest marketing tools
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GET READY FOR GROUPS TO BE THE
FUTURE OF FACEBOOK If your Facebook page reach and engagement has been in steady decline in recent months, you’re not alone. Rocked by privacy scandals and a shif t in its core user base, Facebook used its F8 developer conference earlier this year to reveal its future focus: “friends, family and groups”.
Dubbed as the ‘digital equivalent of the living room’, Groups have existed for years to help drive meaningful conversations around a common interest, allowing users to communicate with other like-minded individuals in a digital space. Groups are designed to foster community spirit between people who may never cross paths in real life - meaning the tactic lends itself well to those targeting a family audience. Parents tend to turn to other parents for advice and recommendations, explaining why there’s so many parenting groups already in existence. As Facebook’s strategy changes, Groups content is being brought to the forefront. Ads that encourage you to discover Groups are being littered throughout the news feed, alongside active conversations from Groups you’ve already joined. But for Groups to take prominent real estate in the feed something has to give, and that’s Pages. In the latest Facebook conference, one thing was glaringly missing. Despite there being over 40 million of them active, Pages are not a big par t of Facebook’s future plans. There are clear signals that social media managers need to look to Groups and even Stories to lessen reliance on Pages alone. We believe, rather than this being a threat, this offers a unique oppor tunity for family attractions to build an even deeper connection with their visitors. The days out industry lends itself well to Group-friendly content, with “secret” tips, exclusive videos /photos, and rewards for loyal par ticipants among the topics you can cover. We’ve heard of lots of success stories from the wider travel industry, but we’d love to hear your thoughts and results if you do decide to take the leap!
FACEBOOK GROUP EXAMPLES FOR UK DAYS OUT 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Merlin Annual Passholders Group Paultons Season Ticket Holders Pleasurewood Hills Fan Group Blackgang Chine Memories Marwell Photography Group
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“Parents tend to turn to other parents for advice and recommendations, explaining why there’s so many parenting groups already in existence.”
5 TIPS FOR ADDING FACEBOOK GROUPS TO YOUR STRATEGY
FIND YOUR NICHE Figure out why your group exists. Having a clear purpose will ensure your group adds value to its members, and can help with recruiting people to join. For example, you could include a space for annual pass holders to chat amongst themselves, or set up a group around fans of a par ticular aspect of your attraction.
DON’T BE SALESY
FOSTER CONVERSATION
Don’t turn your group into a diehard sales channel. But - I hear you say - you need this group to help deliver sales and conversions, right? Try to do it naturally, such as enticing members them with an exclusive group offer, or asking their opinion on an event idea then promoting early-access tickets.
Don’t let your group just become another version of your Facebook Page. The key behind their success is conversation. Don’t over-moderate and kill organic conversation around your venue, even if it’s negative. Fostering conversations can also cut down the amount of content your marketing team needs to create - saving time but still generating results.
SET & TRACK GOALS
STICK WITH IT
Like any marketing channel, it’s impor tant to understand what success looks like. This may be how many members you want to recruit, or engagement rates. The Group Insights tab will be available 30 days af ter creation, then once you have 250 group members, you’ll also have full access to your group demographics insights.
It’s easier said than done to incorporate a new social media channel into your already hectic schedule, but it’s impor tant to view it as a growing oppor tunity. You’ll need to nur ture it, so patience is really key. Just rest assured, the more you generate conversation, the more likely your audience are to see the content in their main feeds, and the easier it will be to grow.
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ZERO-CLICK SEARCH AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR FAMILY ATTRACTIONS
It’s been quite an eventful summer in the world of search-engine optimisation (SEO), with lots of updates to the way Google orders and displays its search results. Among one of the biggest news stories was the publication of a study showing that zero-click results now make up more than half of all Google searches (50. 33%). As zero-click searches are more prevalent for queries related to the at tractions industry than others, this development has huge ramifications for the amount of traffic coming to your site from Google. A zero-click search is one where Google displays the answer to the searcher’s query directly at the top of the page, satisfying the user’s needs without them having to click through to a website. They’re common for searches such as opening times, prices, addresses, and facts & figures. Examples could be “Drayton Manor opening times”, “where is Wookey Hole” or “what rides are there at Legoland Windsor”. Their rise in prominence means less and less people will be clicking through to the webpages set up on your site to answer such questions, removing that precious oppor tunity for you to conver t a curious online browser into a booker.
“Zero-click searches remove that precious oppor tunity for you to conver t a curious online browser into a booker.”
The change has caused outcry among some circles, with many accusing Google of skimming other companies’ content for its own purposes, without crediting the source or passing on the user’s click as it historically used to do. However, as usual, Google has its reasons, and they are good ones. The move has been fuelled by the rise in both mobile and voice search - where there’s either limited screen space, or the user just wants to hear a quick snippet of information. In the end, convenience for the customer always wins. While search referral traffic may be lowered by zero-click, attractions can rest easy in the knowledge that if a user is searching for specific facts about your at traction, they are highly likely to visit - offering this information in a fast and easy format could be a good thing in the long term. In addition, there are several other ways to take advantage of Google’s new-look, snippet-rich search results pages - check out our top tips overleaf.
Paid, Organic & Zero-Click Se arches in Google
(June 2019)
data from 40M+ browser-based searches on millions of desktop & mobile devices in the United States
Zero-Click Searches - 50. 33% Searches w/ Organic Clicks - 45. 25% Searches w/ Ad Clicks - 4.42%
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5 TIPS TO MAKE THE MOST OF GOOGLE’S NEW-LOOK RESULTS
TYPE IN RELEVANT TERMS AND LOOK AT RESULTS We can’t stress this enough make sure you type in the search terms people enter to find your website and have a good look at the format of the results that appear. Familiarise yourself with what types of “snippets” appear for different topics - it can change depending on the user’s search intent.
OP TIMISE FOR ‘PEOPLE ALSO ASK’
USE AUTO-SUGGEST FOR INSPIRATION
One of the most common new Google results features is the “People Also Ask” section. This does contain links to websites underneath each answer, so can drive traffic. Make sure you research the common questions people ask about your venue, and include an FAQ section on relevant webpages answering them.
The auto- suggest that appears when you begin typing in a query to Google’s search bar can be a goldmine for content ideas, par ticularly if you also enter a “question” word such as what, when, where, how. The suggestions that appear are based on what users have typed in before. Try it for your attraction!
STRATEGICALLY PLACE AND TAG IMAGES ON YOUR SITE
ADD GOOGLE-FRIENDLY MARKUP
Images are pulling through into Google’s richer search results more and more. If you see an image placement appearing that you’d like to own, add an appropriate image to the page on your site that matches the search term most closely. Put it directly nex t to the most relevant text, and ensure it has an alt tag with text in it added.
Google publishes guidelines on how webmasters can mark up content on webpages to help it identify and understand the most impor tant and relevant information. This is referred to as “structured data” or “rich snippet” markup - do some research and speak to your web developers on how best to implement it and the easier it will be to grow.
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TOP OF THE CL ASS
The top per forming days out, categories and content, as searched for by 17 million families on www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk
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It’s that wonder ful time of year families are keen to get out and make the most of the seasonal events going on, from fireworks and Halloween to festive Christmas events. Below are the most popular content topics on the Day Out With The Kids blog over autumn & winter:
TOP SEASONAL BLOGS FOR AUTUMN AND WINTER 1.
Pumpkin picking near me
2. Christmas days out for the whole family 3. Best Santa’s Grot tos nearby 4. Fireworks displays nearby 5. Top outdoor ice skating rinks 6. Fun places to visit at Halloween 7.
Coca-Cola truck tour dates
8. New Years Eve with kids 9.
Lantern festivals near me
10. Things to do between Christmas & New Year
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The weather in 2019 has been unpredictable to say the least, with indoor venues reaping the benefit s as families look to shelter from the element s - below are the most-viewed rainy days out on the Day Out With The Kids platform this year:
TOP RAINY DAYS OUT 1.
Mr Mulligan’s Adventure Golf (Birmingham)
2.
KidZania (London)
3.
The Postal Museum (London)
4.
National SE A LIFE Centre (Birmingham)
5.
Mar vel Avengers Station (London)
6.
Invisible Superheroes Exhibition (London)
7.
SE A LIFE Centre (Manchester)
8.
Kidtropolis (London)
9.
Cadbury World (Birmingham)
10. InflataNation (Manchester)
TOP RAINY DAY ACTIVITY CATEGORIES 1.
Indoor play areas
2.
Museums
3.
Indoor swimming pools
4.
Indoor crazy golf
5.
Trampoline parks
6.
Castles and palaces
7.
Ten pin bowling
8.
Pot tery cafes
9.
Aquariums
10. Laser tag
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COMMUNITY UPDATES
The latest news from the Day Out With The Kids world, including membership updates and our 2019 Family Favourites Awards winners
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NEWS IN BRIEF FAMILY FAVOURITES AWARDS 2019 REACH 25,000 VOTES Following a successful first year, our Family Favourites Awards returned bigger and better for 2019! Recognising the best family days out across the UK, this year saw the introduction of four brand new categories, as well as a handful of national awards too. With over 25,000 public votes cast, the full list of 2019 winners can be seen on the next page!
TWYCROSS ZOO NAMED FASTEST GROWING ZOO Twycross Zoo has been named in Visit Britain’s official statistics as the fastest growing zoo and wildlife attraction in England, achieving a 15% growth in visitor numbers year on year. Overall, attractions in England repor ted a +2% annual increase in total visits from 2017 to 2018. Sharon Redrobe OBE, CEO at Twycross Zoo, said: “Our hard work and ambitious plans are paying off and we hope that our success continues.”
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BEARS ARE BACK AT THE WILD PLACE PROJECT Bears are back! Bear Wood at the Wild Place Project in Bristol opened this July, bringing European Brown Bears back to the UK.
GOING BANANAS FOR NEW GO APE REBRAND Creating a new identity for one of the UK’s biggest adventure brands is no mean feat, but that’s exactly what Go Ape did earlier this summer. Enlisting the help of Lit tlehawk, they’ve relaunched with a bright, bold and character ful new brand that embodies their sense of adventure. With playful typography, a vibrant colour palet te and a modern new logo, we were excited to roll out the new brand across all listings on our site! The Lit tle Hawk team commented, “our mission was to create a new brand identity for Go Ape that would appeal to new customers without alienating its core family audience. From the very beginning, we set out to rebel against the current design trend for stripped back, simplified brand assets. Instead, we created a distinctive and character ful brand that embodied the bold, fun and adventurous personality of the Go Ape brand.”
Officially opened by the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the one-of-akind exhibit is also home to European grey wolves, Eurasian lynxes and wolverines across its 7.5 acres. Bear Wood also features a “time chamber” which takes visitors on a journey back in time to meet various creatures that used to live near Bristol.
THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AWARDS FINALISTS 2019 Some great news for our social media team, who were named finalists in the ‘In-house Social Media Team of the Year’ in the Social Media Marketing Awards 2019! We sadly didn’t win this time, but we extend our huge congratulations to all of the winners!
FAMILY FAVOURITES Best FREE Family Day Out Natural History Museum Best Educational Day Out London Transpor t Museum Best Activity Day Out New Forest Activities Best Animal Day Out Drusillas Park Best for Big Kids Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
LONDON & SOUTH EAST
Best for Lit tle Kids Paultons Park, home of Peppa Pig World Best for Thrills THORPE PARK Resor t Best At traction Event Christmas at Kew - Kew Gardens
Best FREE Family Day Out Haldon Forest Park Best Educational Day Out Oceanarium Best Activity Day Out Wookey Hole Caves and Attractions Best Animal Day Out Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre Best for Big Kids The International Centre for Birds of Prey Best for Lit tle Kids Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm
SOUTH WEST
Best for Thrills Crealy Theme Park Resor t Best At traction Event Firework Spectaculars - Flambards Best FREE Family Day Out Natural History Museum Colchester Best Educational Day Out IWM Duxford Best Activity Day Out Dotty Pottery Best Animal Day Out B anham Zoo Best for Big Kids Hilltop Outdoor Centre
EAST OF ENGLAND
Best for Lit tle Kids BeWILDerwood Best for Thrills Pleasurewood Hills Best At traction Event Dinos at Night - ROARR! Dinosaur Adventure Best FREE Family Day Out Sherwood Forest Country Park Best Educational Day Out Black Country Living Museum Best Activity Day Out CONKERS Best Animal Day Out West Midland Safari Park Best for Big Kids Alton Towers Resor t Best for Lit tle Kids CBeebies Land at Alton Towers Resor t Best for Thrills Alton Towers Resor t Best At traction Event Drayton’s Magical Christmas Drayton Manor Theme Park Best FREE Family Day Out St Fagans National History Museum Best Educational Day Out Techniquest Best Activity Day Out Zip World Fforest Best Animal Day Out Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo Best for Big Kids Heather ton World of Activities Best for Lit tle Kids Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo
WALES 23
Best for Thrills Oakwood Theme Park Best At traction Event Museum Sleepover ‘Dino Nights’ National Museum Cardiff
MIDLANDS
AWARDS WINNERS 2019 Best FREE Family Day Out Stanley Park Best Educational Day Out Science and Industry Museum Best Activity Day Out Chill Factore Best Animal Day Out Blackpool Zoo Best for Big Kids The Blackpool Tower Dungeon
NORTH WEST
Best for Little Kids The Ice Cream Farm Best for Thrills Blackpool Pleasure Beach Best At traction Event Christmas at Dunham Massey Best FREE Family Day Out Discovery Museum Best Educational Day Out Beamish Open Air Museum Best Activity Day Out Beamish Wild Adventure Park Best Animal Day Out Whitehouse Farm Centre Best for Big Kids Inflata Nation Newcastle
NORTH EAST
Best for Little Kids Whitehouse Farm Centre Best for Thrills Beamish Wild Adventure Park Best At traction Event Kynren Best FREE Family Day Out National Railway Museum Best Educational Day Out Eureka! The National Children’s Museum Best Activity Day Out York Maze Best Animal Day Out Cannon Hall Farm Best for Big Kids Flamingo Land Resor t Best for Little Kids Cannon Hall Farm Best for Thrills Flamingo Land Resor t Best At traction Event Halloween - Flamingo Land Resor t
YORKSHIRE
Best FREE Family Day Out National Museum of Scotland Best Educational Day Out Dynamic Ear th Best Activity Day Out For th Boat Tours Best Animal Day Out Blair Drummond Safari & Adventure Park Best for Big Kids The Real Mary King’s Close Best for Little Kids Heads of Ayr Farm Park
SCOTLAND
Best for Thrills Landmark Forest Adventure Park Best At traction Event Dippy on Tour - Kelvingrove Ar t Gallery and Museum
Best FREE Family Day Out Ulster Museum Best Educational Day Out W5 Best Activity Day Out We Are Ver tigo Best Animal Day Out Streamvale Open Farm Best for Big Kids Let’s Go Hydro Best for Little Kids Roar and Explore
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NORTHERN IRELAND
BEST EVER MONTH FOR OUR
MEMBERSHIP It’s been a successful summer for our membership scheme, with exciting new par tners, a surge in new members and being able to see loads of families enjoying great days out for less over the holidays. •
We began our rollout into Scotland and Wales, with offers now live in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff
•
We’ve secured a par tnership with Prezzo, strengthening our dining por tfolio
•
August was our best ever month for the membership, with record-breaking sign ups and claims over the summer
But the adventure doesn’t end there; we have fantastic plans for autumn and winter to secure new par tners, improve our membership area and help even more families discover great days out for less.
A BIG THANK YOU TO SOME OF OUR NEW PARTNERS:
JOIN NOW! Want to be a par t of our membership scheme? We offer fantastic marketing oppor tunities in exchange for a fantastic family-friendly incentive to pass on to our members.
TOP CLAIMED MEMBER OFFERS IN SUMMER 2019 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Drayton Manor Theme Park Blackpool Pleasure Beach LEGOL AND® Discovery Centre Birmingham Alton Towers National SE A LIFE Centre Birmingham Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo Blue Planet Aquarium Chessington World of Adventures Resor t Dudley Zoological Gardens Godstone Farm 25
You have the chance to attract new visitors for FREE*, and our members get the chance to do more together, for less! Want to find out more? Get in touch now:
par tnerships@dayoutwiththekids.co.uk
* Minimum requirements apply
IN THE KNOW Annabel Graham-Mar tin Head of Par tnerships at Haven “There’s no doubt that Haven and Day Out With The Kids have something in common – we both recognise the impor tance of family time together. The UK is such a wonder ful place to explore and many of us are just a couple of hours’ drive away from some of our most beautiful beaches. Our 38 holiday parks dotted around the UK coastline can offer an escape from the everyday that lots of families crave. Each one has a whole range of fantastic facilities and exciting activities for all ages which make for great value breaks, helping families create memories that will last a lifetime. Plus, DOW TK members can save up to an ex tra £50 when they book using their unique code or landing page. Working with DOW TK has given Haven the oppor tunity to increase our brand awareness amongst parents who may never have taken a Haven break before. The responsive team mean we can get our very latest offers out there on the website and also across their popular social channels. Whilst we’ve only been working together since the beginning of 2019, we’re cer tainly looking forward to seeing what the future holds for both brands.”
180,000
3,000+
45
151,000
Parents on the sign up list
Par tner venues being promoted
Counties where the scheme is live
Visits to attractions using our membership and counting!
BECOME A MEMBERSHIP PARTNER! par tnerships@dayoutwiththekids.co.uk 26
OUR PARENTING SURVEY One of the current focuses for the DOW TK marketing team is gaining a deeper understanding of our family audience’s needs and wants, to help us improve our platform for the people who use it most. To this end, we launched a sur vey over the summer aimed at finding out just what drives families to have days out, and what’s involved in the decisionmaking process. Using an entirely organic audience of parents browsing our website to find days out over the summer holidays, we created a sur vey to take a closer look at the motivations and challenges facing parents in the modern age. The findings were really interesting we’ve shared some of the most notable here as we thought they’d be handy for our attraction par tners to use too!
See results >
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Families have days out primarily to create memories When asked to choose between different reasons a family might go on a day out, a whopping 94% of respondents chose “to create family memories”. It seems that memory-making is a key factor in driving family’s leisure time - it’s a good idea to tailor your marketing accordingly.
Cost is an overriding factor in making a decision Cost was cited as the biggest deciding factor when choosing what to do when going out as a family by over three-quar ters of our respondents, showing that parents are looking for value - kids aren’t cheap af ter all! The weather, and the distance needed to travel both also came out as strong factors, with about half the audience selecting them too.
Parents can be risk-averse and seek reassurance before travelling Parents are prolific readers of reviews before visiting somewhere: 80% of our audience chose them as the source of content they turn to before commit ting to a destination. What’s more, 79% of them said they seek the opinion of other parents before going someone new. It stands to reason that a mum with young kids will want to make sure other mums have had a good experience before taking the little ones there.
Families notice other families having a good time online Around two-thirds of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they of ten notice other families out and about having a good time on social media. We already know that parents can be strongly influenced by the activities of other parents - we’d recommend you encourage as much checking-in, uploading of photos and tagging of other friends in social media posts as you can while families are at your venue.
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SEASONAL CAMPAIGNS Following the launch and success of our four hero seasonal campaigns this year, we’re excited to announce that these are now bookable for the whole of 2020! Designed to generate ex tra exposure around the key school holiday and seasonal periods, our campaign packages combine blog, social and campaign hub activity to put your at traction front of mind for our parents. Interested in finding out more? Register your interest now for spring, summer, autumn and winter - we’re expecting them to sell out!
BRING ON SPRING
GET SUMMER SORTED
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Premium content slots for Easter and May half term - great for events
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Feature in blog content with page one Google rankings including ‘Easter egg hunt’, ‘Easter events near me’ and ‘May bank holiday events’
Premium content slots for the school summer holidays, when our site traffic spikes
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Feature in blog content with page one Google rankings including ‘Summer activities for kids’, ‘Swimming pools near me’ and ‘Things to do in the school holidays’
SPOOKS & SPARKS
FESTIVE FAMILY FUN
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Premium content slots for Halloween, October half term and Bonfire Night great for promoting events
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Premium content slots for Christmas and the wider festive season - great for promoting events
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Feature in blog content with page one Google rankings for ‘Pumpkin picking’, ‘Halloween events for families’, ‘Firework display near me’ and ‘Half term events’
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Feature in blog content with page one Google rankings for ‘Christmas events near me’, ‘Santa’s grottos’, ‘Ice skating’ and ‘Christmas things to do’
Book now: par tnerships@dayoutwiththekids.co.uk 29
WATCH LIST
As 2019 draws to a close, we take a look at the exciting new openings and launches coming to the UK in 2020...
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THE ONES TO WATCH As a fantastic 2019 begins to draw to a close, at tention is quickly beginning to shif t to what’s to come in 2020. From new rides and extensions, to the launch of a whole new zone, here’s our guide to some of the biggest announcements for next year so far, as well as some of our recent favourites!
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TOR N A D O S P R I N G S C O M E S TO PAU LTON S PA R K Nex t year is set to be monumental for Paultons Theme Park, as the park’s fif th and biggest themed land yet is set to open doors in 2020. The multi-million Tornado Springs will have a 1950s Americana theme and will feature unique thrill rides, such as the UK’s only free- spinning ride Storm Chaser. Characters like Al, a handyman and a former race driver, and his wife Jessie, the diner owner, will bring the whole concept to life. They’re active on social media already - check them out on Twitter!
D U P LO VA L L E Y E XT E N S I ON AT L EG OL A N D® W I N D S OR R E S ORT Here’s another exciting opening to look forward to in 2020! LEGOL AND® Windsor Resor t has recently announced plans to extend their popular DUPLO area. As par t of the project, the Brickville area will undergo a makeover and a brand new coaster for preschoolers, will arrive at the park. Designed especially for kids aged 2-5, DUPLODream Coaster is set to be the star of the ex tension. It’s per fect for first time riders. Works begin in September 2019 and are scheduled to continue for six months, with the DUPLO Valley expected to be available to the public in March 2020.
WOR L D OF DAV I D WA L L I A M S C O M E S TO A LTON TOW E R S R E S OR T
N E W T H R I L L R I DE AT F L A M I N G O L A N D R E S ORT When it comes to big thrills planned for 2020, we cannot overlook Flamingo Land’s ambitious quest to add a 10-inversion roller coaster to its list of rides. The park has applied for planning permission with the local authorities and is hoping to make the aptly named “Inversion” ride available to the public in 2020. If given the green light, the 34m-tall ride would be a second generation version of Thorpe Park’s Colossus ride. It would feature 1 ver tical loop, 1 cobra roll, 2 corkscrews and 5 hear tline rolls not for the faint hear ted! It’s expected to reach a speed of 85km/ h on a 875m track. It’s been rumoured that the coaster was originally produced in 201 1 for a Brazilian theme park but was never constructed... 32
A DV E N T U R E PA RC S N OW D ON I A S EC U R E S £4M I N F U N DI N G In September, the jewel of Nor th West Wales, Adventure Parc Snowdonia, was approved to receive £3.9 million in Welsh Government funding. The money will go towards the development of the park’s indoor thrill at traction, Adrenaline Indoors, which opened in July 2019. Also, work has begun on building a Hilton Garden Inn hotel - which is expected to open doors in 2020. This ambitious project is set to see Adventure Parc Snowdonia transition from a largely seasonal business to an all-weather at traction, which can contribute largely to the development of tourism in the region.
Exciting news at Alton Towers Resor t - some of the UK’s favourite David Walliams characters will be get ting their own themed land at the park! Located around the existing Cloud Cuckoo Land area, The World of David Walliams is expected to open for the public in Spring 2020. Whilst the official announcement may have been released only recently, the project is already two years in the making. With over 100 specialists, including the “Merlin Magic Making” creative team, working relentlessly on the new development, it is set to be yet another ground-breaking family at traction by Merlin Enter tainments.
WHY NOT JOIN THE FUN? 17 MILLION Families search our site for ideas every year
60 MILLION Total reach across our social media networks every year
10 MILLION Clicks are sent to par tner websites every year
From supercharging your listing and promoting to our members, to booking your slot in a key se asonal campaign, we can help to put you in front of more families to make 2020 your best year yet
READY TO COME ON AN ADVENTURE? p ar tnerships@dayoutwiththekids.co.uk