You are a regional marketing director of a theme park in the southeastern United States. The chief marketing officer (CMO) of global operations of the theme park group wants you to lead the marketing response to a recent safety incident that has affected the brand globally. You are tasked with designing a phased marketing strategy for reopening all parks in the group while addressing the organizational goals of maximum safety, effective crisis communication, improved customer satisfaction, and increased profit potential.

As a first step, you must create a short report for all other regional marketing directors to help them understand the role of marketing in creating and sustaining customers’ brand loyalty, which is necessary for improving long-term customer satisfaction and profit potential.

As explained by Aaker and Moorman in Strategic Market Management, brand loyalty is the tendency of customers to purchase products from the same brand over and over again, rather than switching to other choices. Brand loyalty can also be viewed as a “resistance to switching;” it gives a business an edge over its competitors by causing it to be the first choice when a customer makes a spending decision. If a company has a high degree of brand loyalty it can redirect its assets to more impactful spending, including how it allocates those resources towards marketing efforts.

Prompt
Review the memo from the CMO of the organization in the course scenario and write a short report on the role of marketing in creating and sustaining a brand. You will also explain the benefits of customer loyalty to the brand.

Specifically, address the following criteria:

Explain the role of the four Ps of marketing in creating and sustaining brand.

How does product (theme park services) from the four Ps of marketing reassure existing customers and invite new ones? Explain.
How can price (entrance ticket, services, and food and beverage costs) from the four Ps of marketing be used to generate new customers and motivate existing ones? Explain.
How can place (location and ambience of the parks) from the four Ps of marketing restore and enhance confidence of customers in the brand? Explain.
How can promotion (events, outreach programs) from the four Ps of marketing create additional traffic and more engagement? Explain.
Explain the benefits of customer loyalty to the brand.

Determine the benefits of brand loyalty in reducing marketing cost.
Explain how brand loyalty can be used to create a barrier to entry for the new competitors.
Explain the how brand loyalty can help overall financial performance.