Summer sometimes leaves much to be desired. Dark clouds and heavy rain showers often dominate and sometimes there just seems to be no end to those miserable rain showers. Daytime attractions such as amusement parks and zoos have to get it right from the summer and therefore have many outdoor locations.
While it is nice for the guests who do come that there are fewer crowds, long periods of rain can generally result in lower visitor numbers. Fortunately, it is possible to bypass the downpour and use rain smartly in your digital marketing strategy. We would like to give you some tips.
Create a special landing page about rain and bad weather
Take the people by the hand and create a landing page about “what to do when it rains”. On this page you highlight all your indoor activities such as attractions, animal enclosures and performances, as well as other activities that people can do at your daytime attraction when it rains. Think, for example, of shopping in the souvenir shops or enjoying all kinds of goodies in a restaurant or café. You can then start using this page in Google Ads, in your email newsletter or share it on social media. In this way you give people the feeling that your day attraction is also worth a visit during the rain.
Such a page is also very good for your SEO. By using keywords about rain and days out, people can consider visiting your day attraction on a rainy day. If you have a complete indoor location, it goes without saying that a landing page must be made for keywords about “indoor activities” and “activities with bad weather”. After all, this is a real USP for your daytime attraction, especially in the volatile Netherlands.
Show indoor activities in your current content
Does it look like it will rain heavily for a longer period of time in the summer? Then make sure that you do not show images of people enjoying the sun on social media, e-mail and in your advertisements. Instead, you can respond to the bad weather by showing images of people in indoor locations or how much fun you can still have despite the rain. For complete indoor attractions, it is again a nice idea to make a video of sad people in the rain who completely revive when they visit your daytime attraction.
WeatherAds is a good and time-saving solution for Display advertising. The target audience remains exactly the same; the only thing adjusted are the ads active during a specific scenario. These scenarios are linked to USPs. For example, we implemented this for the Dolfinarium, where the focus was on the water slides in Waterpret during temperatures above 25 degrees, while the focus shifted to the indoor shows during rain. Want to know more about this? Read our WeatherAds case study.
Rain insurance or bad weather rate
Does your daytime attraction have many outdoor locations, so rain will really significantly affect the day? Then a rain insurance may be something for your day attraction. With such an insurance policy, you give a free ticket for a subsequent visit with an x number of millimeters that fall during the opening hours of your day attraction. This insurance usually costs a few euros and people can purchase it extra with their ticket.
Another option is to sharply discount tickets by date in bad weather. Many day attractions nowadays work with tickets by date that are offered cheaper than open-date tickets. If people buy tickets by date, you are actually assured that they will visit your attraction that day. If you also make these tickets even cheaper because of the weather, you give people a good reason to visit your day attraction despite the rain. Conversely, day attractions with only indoor areas can offer discounts in the same way, especially at high temperatures. Be sure to share this in your ads and on your social media.
Respond to the rain on location
Do people come to visit your day attraction on a rainy day? Then you can also respond smartly to this on the day itself. For example, bet on the sale of umbrellas and ponchos and prominently announce at the entrance that you sell these items. This can be done, for example, by means of a sign at the front souvenir shop. There are always people who regret not bringing an umbrella or poncho during the day.
It goes without saying that it is wise to ensure that you have enough covered locations where people can take shelter when it rains heavily. The same applies to queues in the open air. Creating a covered waiting area is also ideal for days with a lot of sun, so people wait in the shade instead of in the full sun. And of course you know... after rain comes sunshine... ☀️
And finally
Would you like to brainstorm with us (= Red Online) about how our specialists could help? Schedule a free consultation with us.
With thanks to: Joyce Dijkstra, SEO and content marketer at Red Online Marketing