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FALL2022- MKT301- 35W- TEAM- ASSIGNMENT 1
SEGMENTATION/ TARGETING/ POSITIONING (STP):
THEME AND AMUSEMENT PARKS
This first team- assignment is worth 10 points.
Its grading will be based on three criteria:
1 Content refers to the treatment of the topic logically and analytically. This is the substance, the
“what” of the paper; what you had to say about the topic, what you presented in defense of your
position, and what your analysis revealed about thought processes and grasp of the material you
grappled with. Content also refers to the use of the concepts taught during past classes.
2 Organization is the way your paper is presented, including both the overall organization and the
arrangement of sub-parts. These include relevant title and subheadings; introductory material,
where needed; connective and transitional links; and what used to be called “rhetoric”: the skillful
arrangement of the pieces for maximum persuasive impact on the reader.
3 Mechanics refers to the use of Spelling and Grammar check, the use of Standard English, the
basics of sentence structure and punctuation, and effective and sensitive word choice usage.
This assignment must use the following format when submitted:
• FONT size: 12 (Times New Romans ONLY for both headings and body of assignment)
• FONT color: only black
• 1.5 spaced content
• Very important: A MINIMUM OF 4 pages is requested (6 pages maximum)
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INTRODUCTION
This team- assignment allows you to demonstrate your knowledge of the Segmentation, Targeting,
and Positioning (STP) strategies, which are essential for successful marketing. As a result, the
assignment addresses the critical thinking skills of concept application and strategy formulation,
the marketing functional area skills of STP, written communication skills, as well as your own
personal idea generation and creativity skills.
By working in a team, you will use the information provided and additional information located
on your own to create a unique theme park design and formulate a complete STP strategy for it.
The market can be domestic or global and the theme park is a physical location.
Case Objective — Develop a theme park idea (3 different attractions) with a precise target market
that will be successful in the real world.
Case Background — A variety of theme park information links are listed below. In addition, your
strategic marketing goals are supported by the reference article titled, “Success Factors of Theme
Parks: An Exploratory Study” by Birgit Pikkemaat, and Markus Schuckert, from a 2007 issue of
the Tourism journal.
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List of References:
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_park
***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_parks
***https://www.alltopeverything.com/most-popular-amusement-parks-in-the-world/
http://www.themeparkreview.com/
http://www.themeparks-us.com/
http://www.screamscape.com/
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/amusement-parks/best-amusement-parks-in-the world
https://vacationidea.com/ideas/best-amusement-parks-in-usa.html
https://familyvacationist.com/amusement-parks-for-kids/
https://www.theparkdb.com/blog/an-introduction-to-indoor-entertainment/
***https://www.businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/as
sets/3633/im_en_2010_4_Gothelf.pdf
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7113227/
***https://www.academia.edu/2202581/A_perceptual_mapping_approach_to_theme_park_visito
r_segmentation
https://daxueconsulting.com/china-worlds-largest-amusement-park-industry/
Szu-Ju Lin, Chao-Hua Li, and Ching-Sing You (2012). Consumer behavior and perception of
marketing strategy for amusement parks: A case study of Taiwan. African Journal of Business
Management, Vol. 6(14), pp. 4795-4803.
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.981.5761&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Milman, A., Tasci, A.D.A., and Wei, W. (2020). Crowded and popular: The two sides of the coin
affecting theme-park experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. Journal of Destination Marketing &
Management.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7485498/
Theme Parks Get Back on Track.
https://www.oracle.com/industries/food-beverage/sports-entertainment/theme-park-trends/
As Consumers Feel Comfortable again, Amusement Parks Could be in Line for a Busy
Summer
https://morningconsult.com/2021/06/30/amusement-parks-pent-up-demand/
Theme Park Marketing & Industry Trends Shaping 2023.
https://linchpinseo.com/trends-in-the-theme-park-industry/
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The science behind the Disney magic!
https://mpk732t12016clusterb.wordpress.com/tag/perceptual-mapping/
A Guide to Theme Park Target Market
https://mapchise.com/blog/a-guide-to-theme-park-target-market/
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INSTRUCTIONS
Here are the specific steps to complete the STP of a Theme Park:
FIRST, develop a unique THEME PARK IDEA and name it by combining/modifying existing
theme park attractions and creating entirely new features. Use the table below and background
links above to guide your ideas.
Describe THEME PARK IDEA in detail with 1 page of content.
Types of Theme Park Fun YOUR
Theme Park
Choices
Target Market Customers &
Positioning
RIDES & AMUSEMENT
(Disney, 6 Flags, Kings Island, Busch
Gardens)
ADVENTURE & ROLE-PLAY
(Universal, H-Potter, Disney)
MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
(Freestyle, Hard Rock)
SPORTS & ATHLETICS
(ESPN/Disney, Sports Camps)
PARTICIPATION &
INTERACTIVITY
(LegoLand, Disney, Museums)
EDUCATION
(Colonial Williamsburg, SeaWorld,
Aquariums, Zoos, Planetariums,
Museums, Disney)
OTHER
(Global/Foreign Themes,
New/Original Ideas, etc.)
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SECOND, Segmentation of the market.
The first step of the STP marketing model is the segmentation stage. Segmentation refers to the
process of dividing your audience into smaller groups based on certain characteristics. This process
allows you to group your individual audience members into similar groups so you can better
communicate your products, features, and benefits that may be most relevant to them.
Your goal is creating various customer segments based on specific criteria and traits that you
choose. The four main types of segmentation include:
1. Geographic segmentation: Dividing your audience based on country, region, state, province,
city, climate, terrain, urban/suburban/rural, city size/ population density
Geographic segmentation would be most helpful for:
a) small/local businesses choosing to engage in local marketing only
b) major retailers selecting new location for market expansion/development
c) international brands/firms selecting new countries/regions for their market expansion
d) firms operating in diverse countries with multiple distinctive regions
e) highly logistically dependent firms (manufacturers, wholesalers, transport)
2. Demographic segmentation: Dividing your audience based on age, gender, income,
education level, occupation, family size, family life stage/cycle, religion, ethnicity, etc. It
answers the question of who your buyer is.
It is a very common segmentation approach because it is simple, easy to understand, low cost, and can be constructed quickly and precisely from government sources, such as Census
data. Demographics may provide a good starting point to segmentation, if we can combine
several of the segmentation variables. To give us more information about a particular
segment.
3. Behavioral segmentation: Dividing your audience based on how they behave and interact
with your business: What they buy, how often they buy, what they browse, etc. Which
products do they buy, which brands they prefer, how price sensitive are they, how brand
loyal are they, what are their attitude toward the product/service.
Common variables:
a) Key benefits sought
b) Level of brand loyalty
c) Degree of price sensitivity
d) Volume of purchases = heavy or light users or non-consumers
e) Occasion = seasonal, special occasion versus everyday purchase
f) Buyer readiness stage (or stage in their customary journey)
g) User status
h) Usage rates
4. Psychographic segmentation: Dividing your audience based on why your buyer buys (e.g.,
priorities, personality traits, and beliefs and values)
Psychographic variables include personality traits, lifestyles, people’s activities, interests,
and opinions (AIO), values, and mindsets. In other words, we are seeking to understand the
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consumer as a person first. What motivates them, what interests them, what they value, and
so on?
It is typically much deeper and more insightful than either geographic or demographic
segmentation, but without a relevant connection to consumer behavior it lacks usability for
marketers.
You need to ensure that the resulting segmentation structure is suitable for targeting, position, and
marketing mix.
When you split consumers into market segments, final segments must be:
a) Clearly identifiable – we know the type of consumer who is in each segment (that is, the
characteristics that have resulted in them being classified into that segment)
b) Easy to measure – we can measure the size and growth rate of the segment
c) Large enough to be profitable – the likely sales and revenue will be sufficiently profitable for our
firm
d) Mutually exclusive – consumers tend to logically fit into one segment only
e) Unique behavior – from a marketing perspective, consumersin each segment act relatively differently
(in terms of purchases), relative to the other segments identified
f) Reflective of consumer behavior – the segments provide clear insight into how these consumers
behave with purchasing and/or their response to marketing mix tactics
g) Workable as target markets – reachable through communications, we have the
capacity/resources/access to channels, etc.
h) Informative – segments should provide the marketer with helpful (and even predictive) information
about the consumers in the market
i) Strategic fit – segments that work well in our strategy and business objectives
j) Logical and easy to communicate – the segments make sense to us as a business, and they are easy
to communicate to relevant staff and management
Ideally, most businesses would be best to look at 3 to 5 segments when dissecting their markets.
If we only have one segment, then we have not engaged in market segmentation, as this is the
entire market.
In your case, you must have 3-4 segments and target 2 segments.
THIRD, step two of the STP is targeting the market for your unique theme park. Your main goal
is to look at the segments you have created before and decided which segments you created during
the segmentation phase are worth pursuing. Your ideal segment(s) is (are) one that is actively
growing, has high profitability, and has a low cost of acquisition.
1. Size: Consider how large your segment is as well as its future growth potential.
2. Profitability: Consider which of your segments are willing to spend the most money on your product
or service.
3. Reachability: Consider how easy or difficult it will be for you to reach each segment with your
marketing efforts.
4. Difference: There should be a measurable difference between any two segments. The lack of it leads
to unnecessary duplication of efforts.
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5. Benefits: Different benefits attract different segments.
When selecting your target segment(s), do not forget that everything you consider fits with your
target customers and their needs.
What is the target marketing strategy used:
a) Undifferentiated (mass) marketing
b) Differentiated (segmented) marketing
c) Concentrated (niche) marketing
d) Micromarketing
Describe TARGETING in detail with TWO (2) pages of content.
FOURTH, determine, describe, and chart the best DIFFERENTIATION, POSITIONING &
PERCEPTUAL MAP STRATEGY for your unique theme park. Think about the meanings in the
mind of consumers that will differentiate you from two competing theme parks. Use the
“positioning bases” to determine how your theme park can achieve a desirable position in the target
consumer’s mind (e.g., closest to the “ideal”). After the Positioning Strategy is determined, chart
the “Perceptual Map” that illustrates your theme park’s brand space in the target consumer’s mind,
compared to two competing theme park brands.
While segmentation and targeting are about customers, positioning is about your product from the
customer’s perspective. You can consider positioning as the bridge that connects your product with
the audience. This is the stage where you perform competitor analysis, figure out your value
proposition, and communicate that to your customers.
Based on what your brand stands for, you can position your product in several ways. If you are in
the luxury market, you can appeal to the ‘desire for prestige’ among customers by positioning
yourself as a status symbol. Or, if you fall in the budget category, you could differentiate yourself
by offering more benefits to your target at a lower cost than your competitors.
Describe DIFFERENTIATION AND POSITIONING in detail with TWO (2) pages of content.
Getting to the Right Position
Arriving at the best positioning and differentiation strategy involves a process. The goal of the
process is to design an identity that both confirms the value of the product, service, or brand in the
customer’s mind and explains why and how the offering is better than the competition. To reach
that goal, marketers typically follow a positioning process comprised of the following five steps:
a) Confirm your understanding of market dynamics
b) Identify your competitive advantages
c) Choose competitive advantages that define your market “niche”
d) Define your positioning strategy
e) Communicate and deliver on the positioning strategy
Step 1: Confirm Your Understanding of Market Dynamics
At the start of the positioning process, you need a firm understanding of your target market.
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Step 2: Identify Your Competitive Advantages
A competitive advantage is some trait, quality, or capability that allows you to outperform the
competition. It gives your product, service, or brand an advantage over others in purchasing
decisions. There are different ways to differentiate your product/service:
a) Product differentiation (durability, reliability, repairability)
b) Service differentiation (convenience, delivery, installation)
c) Channel differentiation
d) People differentiation
e) Image differentiation
Competitive advantage may also come from:
a) Price: Something in your production process or supply chain may make it possible for you
to provide comparable value at a lower cost than competitors.
b) Features: You may provide tangible or intangible features that your competitors do not:
for example, more colors, better taste, a more elegant design, quicker delivery, personalized
service, etc.
c) Benefits: You may provide unique benefits to customers that your competitors cannot
match. Benefits are intangible strengths or outcomes your customer gets when they use
your offering. For example, time savings, convenience, increased control, enjoyment,
relaxation, more choices, feeling better about oneself, etc.
Create a list of the things that make you different from competitors in positive ways. Then identify
which of these factors are also competitive advantages: the influential factorsthat help you perform
better in the marketplace and cause customers to choose your product, service, or brand over other
options.
As a rule, it is relatively easy for competitors to undercut your pricing or match your features, so
it is difficult to maintain a consistent competitive advantage in either of these areas. Market-leading
products, services, and brands are most likely to differentiate based on benefits—the intangible
strengths and outcomes that are harder for competitors to match.
You do not necessarily need a long list of competitive advantages, but your list should be
substantive: it should include the things that truly create distance between your offering and
competitors. Dig deep to identify the intangible benefits your customers experience–or intangible
benefits they could experience—from your offering that make it different and better than the
alternatives.
Step 3: Choose Competitive Advantages That Define Your Niche
Your list of competitive advantages represents a set of possible positioning strategies you could
pursue for your product, service, or brand. The next step is to examine how these factors fit into
customer perceptions of your broader competitive set. Your goal is to pick a positioning approach
that gives you a unique and valued position in the market that competitors are not addressing.
A perceptual map is a great tool for this step. Perceptual maps create a picture of how different
competitors are positioned in the market, based on the key criteria that strongly influence customer
decisions.
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Marketers use these sorts of perceptual maps to identify gaps in the market; these ones represent
opportunities to fill a niche in the market that isn’t being addressed.
An alternate approach for you is to list two most important competitors and their competitive
advantages. Then, add your own offering and competitive advantages to the list. Based on the
alternatives available to customers, think about where there are gaps between what customers want
and value most and what they can get from the choices available today. Identify where your
competitive advantages can help you fit into these gaps, since they will be the most promising
positioning approaches for you.
Step 4: Develop Your Positioning Strategy
Strong positioning uses your most promising competitive advantage to carve out the niche you
will fill better than anyone else. Your positioning strategy takes this competitive advantage to
explain what distinguishes you from the competition. Perhaps you deliver an emotional benefit
that your target audience doesn’t get anywhere else (haunted castle attraction).
You can follow any one or a mix of the following positioning strategies:
a) Category-based positioning– determines how are your products or services better than the existing
solutions on the market.
b) Consumer-based positioning– aligns your product/service offering with the target audience’s
behavioral parameters.
c) Competitor-based positioning–is a straightforward approach to prove you are better than competitors.
d) Benefit-based positioning– benefits that customers will get from purchasing your product/service.
e) Price-based positioning– distinguishing based on the value for the money people get when purchasing
your product/service.
f) Attribute-based positioning– Competitors, price, and benefits aside, this calls for zeroing in on a
unique selling proposition that makes your product or service stands out from the rest.
g) Prestige-based positioning– proves that your products supply a certain boost in status to those who
purchase.
Step 5: Communicate and Deliver on Your Positioning Strategy
Communicating your positioning strategy begins with creating a positioning statement. Your
positioning builds on a competitive advantage, and it is essential for you to deliver on the
expectations your positioning sets in customers’ minds. You should design your positioning
strategy to endure over time, while recognizing that it can and should be adjusted from time to
time to reflect changes in the competitive set, your target segment, market trends, and so forth.
If your positioning is based on being an ideal “lifestyle” fit for your target audience, for example,
you need to demonstrate how your offering is attuned to the needs and experiences of this audience.
This includes evolving as your target segment evolves. If your positioning is based on “owning”
an important benefit like delight, then you should explore all the ways you can deliver that benefit
better than any competitor who might try to imitate you.
All the different factors that you considered before should have made it easy for you to identify
your niche. There are three positioning factors that can help you gain a competitive edge:
a) Symbolic positioning: Enhance the self-image, belongingness, or even ego of your customers.
b) Functional positioning: Solve your customer’s problem and provide them with genuine benefits.
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c) Experiential positioning: Focus on the emotional connection that your customers have with your
product, service, or brand.
The most successful product/service positioning is a combination of all three factors.
The marketing mix provides the set of coordinated tools you use to execute on your positioning
strategy. You might think of your positioning strategy as the tune you want your target segment to
hear. The marketing mix is how you orchestrate and harmonize that tune, making it a memorable,
preferred choice for your target customers.

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