Universal studios

Title : - Business report , Universal studios, Orlando , Florida

Student ID : - 140112001

Group Name : - BIRSH

Module : - Understanding the market process

Word count : - 1382

 Table of Contents

1) Executive summary. .3

2) Introduction 3

3) Target segment..4

4) The Marketing Mix :

a) Product..5
b) Price ...5
c) Place ...6
d) Promotion6

5) The 3 Extra Ps:

a) People..7
b) Packaging..7
c) Positioning....8

6) Critical Success Factors 9-10

7) References ..10-12
Executive Summary

This report analysis the core factors that contribute and affect the functioning
of the Universal studios Theme park in Florida. Thereby examining how the
brand has been able to achieve stability and sustainability, thus pioneering
itself into a well recognized brand worldwide. Most of the analysis in this
report has been done in reference to the brands major competitors. Moreover
the findings on this report were brought to conclusion by the evidence of the
brands marketing mix and its major critical success factors, and wishes to
provide insight as to how these factors could be altered for better brand
performance.

Introduction

Universal studios, Orlando opened to a huge gathering to locals on the 7th of

June 1990. NBS universal, now owned by Comcast, had a long-time ambition
to set up a studio based theme park on the east coast. In 1986 Universal
announced that construction would begin on a site that Disney themselves
had planned to build a park some 20 years ago. This prompted Disney, the
only direct competitor in Orlando and worldwide, themselves to start
construction on their own studio based theme park, Walt Disney world, now
called Disneyland. Even though Universal is way behind in terms of popularity
and attendance (Thanks to its much smaller size), since Universal struck a
deal with J.K. Rowling and opened its Wizarding world of Harry Potter in
2010, its been having some kind of resurgence with an 7.2% increase in
attendance to 2012, whereas Disneys share of theme park attendance in
Orlando shrank by 3.8% during the same period, to which Dennis Speigel,
President of the International theme park services commented theres no
question that Harry potter was the biggest driver.
Target Segment

Universal studios has something for everyone in it. Tourists of all ages
enter the Universal studios. A general ticket at the studios cost around
$82, which is accepted to be afforded by mid-lower level income and
upwards. However Universal studios rides and adventures compared
to its main rival are generally accepted for teens and older, because of
the high octane thrill their rides are accepted to have
The marketing mix

Product
Universal studios Theme park provides an adventurous experience, where
customers are entertained by many attractive, mind-boggling and high octane
rides. Some of their major attractive rides include Harry Potter and the
Forbidden, where adventure seekers are susceptible to pulsating shocks and
the Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster where you launch from 0 to 40mph in 2
seconds ( 20 times as fast as the speed of sound). The theme park also consists
experiences for more mature customers like the Shrek 4-D or the Simpsons
ride. NBC Universal say it blatantly on their annual report: Our success
depends on the consumer accepting our content, which is difficult to predict,
and our results of operations maybe adversely affected if our content fails to
achieve sufficient consumer acceptance or our costs to acquire content
increases.

Price
Universal studios is in a duopoly market, where price sensitivity is very low.
Universal attracts more customers every passing year even though there is a
price hike almost annually. As to the contrary price hikes arent by a huge
percentage every year ( Less than 10%), and usually take place as a result of
either Disneys hikes or their own hikes which prompts Disney to do the same.
As a result Universals prices are almost similar to its competitors and changes
over time. . Apparently even though most of Universal studios customers are
teenagers, getting more mature audience through the gates would also
increase gate receipts and help them largely to cover cost which is sustainable
and help manage costs, especially due to worlds aging population and the
tourist market is moving towards older people.
Place
Orlando is a famous tourist attraction place for amusement and entertainment
parks, where customer from all over the country and abroad visit during their
holidays. Situated in the east coast, Universal studio is sandwiched between
the beaches and many other themed parks. Trip advisor, Worlds best site for
holiday planning ranks the Universal studio as the 2nd best attraction in
Orlando, whereas VisitOrlando.com concedes Universal Studio the top spot.

Promotion
As Universal studio provides adventurous experience, most of their
promotional campaigns are that of discounts, targeted more towards more
than 2 customers or customers staying for more than two days. However
Universal has long been criticized for its not advertising its theme parks
specifically.
The 3 Extra Ps
People
NBC Universal has great employee welfare facilities; this is because employees
are entitled to many benefits that wouldnt be received at the Average
workplace. They are entitled to constant and immediate health attention,
Disability covers, travel insurance, vacations, paid leaves and even retirement
plans for long-term serving employees. As of 31st December 2011 Universal
employed 34000 employees. Past employee reviews on Indeed.com present
an clear over-view of how much of this is true. One regular complaint you
might come across is low pay and outdoor work in extreme temperatures, this
is one aspect where they could certainly improve. Universal has its own
keeping the environment clean movement where regular projects and
workshops are carried out to inform people about the importance of a cleaner
future.

Packaging ( Physical Evidence)

NBS Universal has a long-term historic logo. The Universal logo is identified all
over the world and is famous for many movie and TV franchises including The
Fast and Furious series. The Universal logo is differentiated for the theme
park with studios underneath it where as pictures is used in movies. Thus
making Universal one of the most sustainable leaders in the entertainment
industry.
Process (positioning)
Since its inception in 1990, Universal studios have been under constant
innovations and upgrading, this is almost an non-stop process. Regular
upgrading is vital for Universal studios to survive in the long-term of the
entertainment industry. What causes these changes are driven by 3 main
reasons:

1) New movie franchises by Universal

2) As a referral point for a returning customer
3) And to keep up with better rides in other theme parks and competition.
Critical Success Factors
1) Expansions to new territories.
As big as NBC Universal is, they have only expanded to one continent
(i.e. Asia). The company believes that sustainability elsewhere in the
world would be a definite factor in its non-expansion. However
Universal studios in Asian countries have a much cheaper ticket than
that of Florida, which suggests that they can start a massive expansion
spree in other parts of the world, namely Australia and Oceania, as this
could also promote NBS Universals other prospects as a whole.

This would require heavy studies to be carried out in terms of selecting

the availability of the target audience, proper site, starting up costs, the
right city and retaining the quality and standards that NBC Universal is
known for.

2) Keeping up with technology advancements

Universal success so far has been on adapting to new technologies and
trying to mend themselves and innovate with these technologies to
match consumer taste. Leveraging new technologies need also to be cost
effective and attract new customer that are currently loyal to their
competitors (similar to what they did with Harry Potter). This also
includes on the franchised ride that they try to introduce which both
should be liked by the customers and cost effective to built.
3) Carry out regular market research among the target markets
Research is creating new knowledge (Neil Armstrong). There is no
better way to know how an organization is performing other than in
financial terms is research of their target market. It plain words it alone
determines whether the product delivered satisfies customer needs.
Market research also may highlight what customers think what service
Universal studios is lacks. Discovering the customer needs would and
reverting them may in return lead to them choosing Universal studios
over its rivals. Regular complains of how the Universal studios are for
teenagers and doesnt have sufficient rides for kids have been a regular
complaint and therefore customers complain of the justification of the
ticket prices. Thus Universal needs to improve that aspect to increase
the competitiveness to Disney.

4) Corporate Social Responsibility

I think that today, more so than ever, corporate responsibility is the

best strategic as well as financial path that most businesses can
follow. For most businesses there are both compelling reasons to be
responsible and compelling statistics that validate that responsible
businesses do better according to traditional financial metrics. Of
course, how you define "responsible" is somewhat of a conundrum.

-Jeffrey Hollender

It doesnt necessarily mean that corporate social responsibilities should

create financial benefits. Especially Universal Studios who dont carry
out advertising and promotion campaigns as a marketing tool. However
there are other ways Universal studios can use corporate social
responsibility to their strength, holding overnight shows and having
festival celebrations is another way they in which they can receive a
upper hand in competition.
References
i. Niles, R (2013), Theme park history: A short history of Universal
Studios Florida (Online). Available from :
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201308/3609/
(Accessed on 26th April 2015)

ii. Garcia, J, (2014), Harry Potter helps Universal take bigger share of
theme-park attendance (Online). Available from :
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-04-19/business/os-
universal-orlando-market-share-20140419_1_universal-
orlando-wizarding-world-theme-park-attendance (Accessed on
26th April 2015)

iii. NBCUniversal 2011 Annual report, (Online) Available from :

http://apps.shareholder.com/sec/viewerContent.aspx?compan
yid=cmcsa&docid=8430852 (Accessed on 26th April 2015)

iv. Trip Advisor (Online) , Availble from :

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g34515-
d102432-Reviews-Universal_Studios_Florida-
Orlando_Florida.html (Accessed on : 29th April 2015)

v. Indeed (Online), Availble from :

http://www.indeed.com/cmp/Universal-Studios-
Orlando/reviews (Accessed on : 30th April 2015)

vi. Multiple (Online) , Available from :

http://rasheedikram.wix.com/universalstudio (Accessed on : 2nd
May 2015)

vii. Universal Orlando , (Current), Thrill Rides (online) Available from :

https://www.universalorlando.com/Rides/Thrill-Rides.aspx ,
https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-
Tickets/General-Admission.aspx ,
http://www.universalorlandojobs.com/benefits/extraordinary-
benefits , https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-
Tickets/Hot-Deals.aspx (Accessed on 26th April 2015)