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  • What is your marketing budget?

    I'm curious what everyone's marketing/advertising is in a given season? Also, where do you allocate those funds? (billboards, radio ads, flyers, etc.)
    Austin Smoot, Specter Media
    www.SpecterMedia.biz
    contact@specterenterprises.com

  • #2
    I think that really depends on what your goals are, what city you are located and how big or how much your haunted house can afford. If I had a haunt aimed at making a profit at 10,000 people I would have a different budget all together than the one I currently have. Larry
    Larry Kirchner
    President
    www.HalloweenProductions.com
    www.BlacklightAttractions.com
    www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
    www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

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    • #3
      What is a budget?

      Never had one. Not for personal or farm. Ok so maybe I keep tabs on income projections, expenses, depreciation schedule, mortgage and so on. After 15 years I still want to do a decent job of covering surrounding area. I hit reasonable distance people will come and try to understand what potential customer will be seeing from me and the other 15 places in that zone. But I do hate getting up to 15% of previous years gross racked up in advertising for the coming season. But; I am also running another business at same time. Last week I finished harvesting enough wheat to make 140,000 loaves of bread. During haunt season I am also putting in 80 hours a week farming on top of our haunt on Fri & Sat. nights. So....I am kind of a quirk. Or maybe better thing is "one size does not fit all".

      What has worked for me....AVOID ALL BULLSHIT in advertising. People have heard it from everywhere. Tell them WHY to visit your place. Deliver a good experience AND do it for less than others. Concentrate on word of mouth for long run but keep your presence out there.

      Came back and edited/added. Since I state 15% of previous year decided it would be good to say my haunt ticket is $15.
      Wicked Farmer
      Last edited by wickedfarmer; 08-04-2015, 06:25 AM.

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      • #4
        Marketing Budget

        Thanks for your input and replies. As a follow-up, when it comes to marketing, what has been the most cost effective (i.e. "Biggest bang for your buck.")
        I have actually found in other industries that billboards usually come with a hefty price tag, but rarely have the right ROI to make them worth it. What other marketing channels have worked for you?
        Last edited by smootah; 08-06-2015, 07:48 PM.
        Austin Smoot, Specter Media
        www.SpecterMedia.biz
        contact@specterenterprises.com

        Comment


        • #5
          Billboards

          I correct myself, that has been my experience in other industries. I have yet to attempt Haunt marketing through billboard advertisement. Are there other channels of marketing that you have found to be effective?
          Austin Smoot, Specter Media
          www.SpecterMedia.biz
          contact@specterenterprises.com

          Comment


          • #6
            Most haunters I speak with tell me $50,000 to $80,000

            Larry
            Larry Kirchner
            President
            www.HalloweenProductions.com
            www.BlacklightAttractions.com
            www.HauntedHouseSupplies.com
            www.HauntedHouseMagazine.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Most haunters I speak with tell me $50,000 to $80,000

              Larry[/QUOTE]


              And that is why I will never become BIG. I do not even come close to the $50,000 level. Fifty thousand would cover me for three years with change left over. I have all advertising expenses covered in first 20 minutes every night. But then again there have been farmers that have wanted to hire us to set them up with farm equipment so they can do as good as job as we do farming. And we tell them that is their first mistake trying to do exactly like someone else. I only haunt Fri & Sat. nights for 6 weeks. But then again I am also harvesting beans and planting wheat at this time of year in a couple different townships. Late October I am harvesting corn closing haunt at 11pmish (sacrilegious) and going back to farming after they leave. It is not that I am a cheapskate; just going for maximum efficiency of WHOLE FARM. And I'll be frank...my rear is dragging after 3 hours of solid GOOD haunting. Spending $50,000 so I HAVE to keep doors open till 1 am....No thanks.

              But like Larry said above the budget depends on what you are trying to do.

              Wicked Farmer
              Last edited by wickedfarmer; 08-08-2015, 05:20 PM.

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              • #8
                Your PR budget should be determined by what one can afford. Yes, You have to spend money to make money, but don't spend more than what you can afford. A year one attraction isn't going to have a $10,000 to $80,000 budget. Most likely at that level you are relying on gorilla marketing and word of mouth. An experienced attraction with many years of moderate success can afford to allot more budget for PR and say less on building materials. The question is what are you trying to achieve with your advertising dollar? If you want to flood the market to expose your attraction to more potential customers that's one thing but if you want to inform your current audience of new and exciting changes within your town and nearby county than that's another.

                If your looking for the secret to advertising success, the answer is there is none. What works for us here most likely will not work elsewhere. It's understanding your market, what's trending now and how to use that to promote your event. What you did last year won't necessarily work this year either. The market changes frequently. New ways to advertise form every year, new products, stations, papers, apps, blogs, fairs, conventions, forums are created almost daily. Look at what your area is currently trending at and focus your attention there.

                Asking what someone's marketing budget is, is like asking what their attendance is. Your not going to get a straight answer on numbers or what works best for them. To most it's been a trial and error project for many many years, met with a lot of failure which makes revealing what has been successful hard to do.
                Daniel Burnett
                PR/Operator
                Reindeer Manor Halloween Park: Est. 1974
                13th Street Morgue/Dungeon Of Doom/Reindeer Manor


                sigpic

                reindeermanor.com
                whenhingescreak.com

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by MorgueofDoom View Post
                  Asking what someone's marketing budget is, is like asking what their attendance is. Your not going to get a straight answer on numbers or what works best for them. To most it's been a trial and error project for many many years, met with a lot of failure which makes revealing what has been successful hard to do.
                  Great point, Daniel. I'm also interested in seeing the type of advertising that Haunters use. Example: Billboards, flyers, TV ads, Theater Previews, etc.
                  Recently I was listening to the Haunted Attraction Podcast as they were interviewing one of the founders of the Shocktober Fest attraction (the #1 attraction in the UK currently, I believe) and they briefly stressed the importance of their marketing strategy. Only two years ago 20% of their advertising budget went towards social media marketing, however, this year that has gone up to 90% of their budget. The tactics that they have been using are spot on and they have been blowing up. I find it incredible and I was curious if American haunts have, as well, truly ventured into the capitalization of social media marketing.
                  Austin Smoot, Specter Media
                  www.SpecterMedia.biz
                  contact@specterenterprises.com

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                  • #10
                    We're trying something new this year. I'll share the results and details about it after the season.

                    Our budget for everything related to marketing is about $40,000.

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                    • #11
                      Usually around $60,000 dollars. We buy some local radio, tv , flyers, and some digital ads with google. Our goal is to reach about 18,000 guests each season.

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                      • #12
                        Marketing

                        We at Pixel Pushers offer everything from flyers, tickets banners, posters, signs, feather flags to shirts, hats, stickers, temporary tattoos and so much more.

                        Contact us for deals on all marketing products. We also have world class designers with years of haunt marketing design.
                        Sean Hughes - National Sales Manager
                        sean@pixelpushersinc.com
                        312.613.7326 Mobile
                        847.550.6560 X 102 Office
                        844.44.PIXEL X 102 Toll Free


                        www.pixelpushersinc.com - The nations leading printing and design company for the haunted industry.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by hauntfarm View Post
                          Usually around $60,000 dollars. We buy some local radio, tv , flyers, and some digital ads with google. Our goal is to reach about 18,000 guests each season.
                          Hauntfarm, as well as others, we should talk

                          A colleague and myself recently launched an online marketing practice specifically tailored to marketing haunted house attractions. We've found that although radio and tv ads are traditional forms of marketing -- there are more efficient ways of reaching your target audience. We are offering our services completely free this year to three haunts where we will develop, run and monitor your social media platforms; this we do with years of experience developing content for over half a million online followers. Visit our site: www.SpecterMedia.biz

                          I personally think that you can reach your goal of 18,000 guests with a budget half that size if done correctly. I'm willing to discuss more ideas if you are. You can reach me at: contact@specterenterprises.com
                          Austin Smoot, Specter Media
                          www.SpecterMedia.biz
                          contact@specterenterprises.com

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