An Internal and External Marketing Analysis of Chessington World of Adventures

 

This blog  is a presentation of internal and external marketing analysis of Chessington World of Adventures a popular family theme park in the UK that consists of rides, animal attractions and theme entertainment. The report is aimed at assessing the performance of the organisation in the competitive tourism environment using the existing marketing models. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) model is applied to evaluate the internal marketing strategy of Chessington and its ways of identifying and serving its key groups of visitors (Kotler, Armstrong and Balasubramanian, 2023). Besides this, the Five Forces model is used to analyse external market forces such as competition, power of buyers, suppliers and substitute threats (Porter, 2008). The results show that Chessington enjoys a differentiated family-based offering and has a strong competition as well as price-sensitive customers. The final part of the report is the recommendations that are intended to improve digital engagement, seasonality management, and long-term competitiveness.

Introduction

Marketing is crucial to the performance of the tourism and leisure organisations in the highly competitive environments. Tourism marketing is based on the identification of visitor requirements and elaboration of strategies that can provide value by offering unforgettable experiences and communicating effectively (Kotler, Armstrong and Balasubramanian, 2023). The theme parks must constantly change their marketing strategies because of the evolving consumer demands, seasonal and high competition in the UK leisure market.

The targeted blog report is about Chessington World of Adventures, which is one of the established attractions in the UK that has integrated theme park rides, zoo visits, and family-based entertainment. The aim of the report is to examine the internal and external marketing environment of the organisation through two major frameworks namely as an internal analysis tool, the Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) and an external analysis model, Porters Five Forces (Porter, 2008). The report will detect the marketing strengths and challenges of Chessington and its prospects of future development through this analysis.

Company Background

Chessington world of adventures is a top family attraction in the UK, in Surrey in the county of Surrey and run by Merlin Entertainments which is one of the largest leisure and entertainment corporations in the world. Incorporated in 1987, the park is the only theme park to feature a mix of a classic theme park, a zoo, and themed areas of resorts with the differentiated experience, oriented mainly towards families with young children (Merlin Entertainments, 2024). The attraction has a range of rides, animal exhibits, live shows and themed lands, including Wild Asia and Land of the Dragons, which enhances the entertainment and educational aspects.

The geographical location of the park close to London offers good readings in terms of road and transport access which has attracted both the domestic and international visitors. Chessington is also part of the Merlin family, which means that it enjoys the branding synergy, operational experience, and cross-promotional presence with other attractions in the UK (Blythe and Martin, 2023). Nevertheless, working in the competitive and seasonal tourism marketplace, Chessington needs to constantly innovate its products and services and ensure the high level of services so as not to lose its appeal among families.