Theme parks have become masters in the art of branding, and savvy waterpark-resort operators can use the same approach to create new opportunities to increase customer spending and guest stays.

Understanding the brand value concept
In a nutshell, your brand tells your story. A strong brand creates an emotional response that extends beyond the product or service and relates to customers on a personal level. For example, when a waterpark resort has a strong brand, it can act as an emotional diversion from work, school or other obligations for patrons. It creates positive feelings that are likely to encourage return visits. In effective brands such as McDonald’s or Nike, this emotional experience becomes the motivation to use or purchase the product or service. People will pay more for products and services that reach them on an emotional level.

In the case of a waterpark resort, branding introduces a new level of excitement, which can make the property seem bigger than the sum of its parts. This environment supports spontaneous spending and provides opportunities to cross brand within the facility. The idea of “Yes, I’ll splurge on that! I’m on vacation!” can be a powerful way to drive revenue.

Telling your brand story
In telling your brand story, you must first understand the kind of emotional response guests might be looking for. For instance, you might focus on families hungry for fun ways to spend time together. In this scenario, you’ll want to develop activities and themes with multigenerational appeal. This will enable families to connect and make memories together, thereby developing that emotional attachment and driving the revenue engine.

The brand story you develop can be real or imagined, but it must establish place and occasion with history and characters. This is where facilities can get creative. The story you create, and its applications to your architectural and engineering plans, are the basis of theme. Your facility design is the three-dimensional and two-dimensional telling of your brand story.

One simple way to develop your brand story is to use your surrounding area. Let’s say you’re located near the site of a historic Revolutionary War battle. Your brand theme could be the Great American Adventure. You might feature early leaders such as George Washington and create a colonial-style village with historic flags, a giant map of the country overlaid on the floor and an eye-catching, three-dimensional mural depicting images such as the Statue of Liberty and Golden Gate Bridge.

By locating your facility near other attractions — and promoting activities and attractions outside the hotel — you can boost revenue by increasing customers’ length of stay. True, some will venture off property to spend money, but once back at the resort, the opportunities for activity and spending through themed execution and the “story” of the resort create the sense that there’s more to do than they first assumed. It’s the idea of “Oh, we haven’t been there yet.”

To that end, theming your restaurants can provide the perception of several different places to eat. In the case of the Great American Adventure, theming could be reflected in the restaurants’ cuisines, such as New York bagels in the morning, Southern-style barbecue for lunch, and Italian-American pasta and pizza for dinner. In addition, a nightclub themed for Chicago blues might be an ideal place for adults to unwind, and shopping that is themed for America’s heartland provides unique opportunities for additional revenue.

Incorporating characters and attractions that bring your brand to life is another way to build the brand image of your waterpark resort and create chances for additional dining and purchasing. At the “Roaring Gorge,” for instance, customers might find mountain guides who greet them prior to navigating white-water rapids, glacier slides and bubbling pools. Another example might be a uniquely timed special event, such as the idea of a “fourth meal” or special snack during evening entertainment.

Guest accommodations also can further your brand story. Continuing the Great American Adventure example, rooms or bungalows could be named for a specific adventurer such as Davy Crockett, and include fun facts and themed decor in each one.

Regardless of the story you choose, remember that when it comes to branding your waterpark resort, the late Dutch architect Aldo van Eck may have said it best: “Whatever time and space mean ... place and occasion mean more!”