Saz Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Don't think this has been posted, but plans have been submitted for the new theming element: http://planning.runnymede.gov.uk/RBCNGE/ngeResultsForm.aspx?intref=RU.13/0125 Looks rather good! pluk and Inferno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jom222 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Bigger than I thought it was going to be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Looks rather nice - a lot bigger than I was expecting too! Though not ground breaking news, the plan states that "the reaction to the ride has been very positive" but the economic climate and "the response to...the marketing...was not as successful as anticipated". So, Swarm's "thrill factor" needs increasing, which is the point of this additional miss (and presumably the backwards things. The graphic on the billboard (so I guess the slogan and whatever else) will be applied on the front and back using self-adhesive vinyl. Woo. Should look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Don't think this has been posted, but plans have been submitted for the new theming element: http://planning.runnymede.gov.uk/RBCNGE/ngeResultsForm.aspx?intref=RU.13/0125 Looks rather good! I cant seem to view it on my PC! I am not sure which document to download either? Also the actual graphic on the billboard should be good too, I think it will have a good design and hopefully my slogan P.S those who entered the slogan competition, the results are meant to be coming out tomorrow(who won etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 For all you lazy hobnobs out there, here is a overview of the plans! From above: Shows position of theming Sign: Close up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I know I managed to get on it now Looks good for the moment, I didnt know the actual ride would go through it! I thought it would just go under! "RISK OF GETTING HAND CHOPPED OFF IF STUCK OUT" is the sign going on the billboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I know I managed to get on it now Looks good for the moment, I didnt know the actual ride would go through it! I thought it would just go under! "RISK OF GETTING HAND CHOPPED OFF IF STUCK OUT" is the sign going on the billboard Yes, the big 'train sized' hole is there for decoration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yes, the big 'train sized' hole is there for decoration I think what he meant was that before the plans were released, he thought it would just go underneath it. As for the slogan competition, the winner(s) will be contacted by tomorrow, the 'results' might not necessarily be 'revealed', if you will. I doubt my entry of 'SMASH THE SWARM, join the Resistance' will get chosen.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Mine were: 'With Evolution Comes Consequences' 'Evolution Isn't Kind' and my favourite ... 'Put Your Hand's Down Chav' Cornflakes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Mine was "Evolution is coming". Not very good I know but ties in with the original slogan. But to the post above, raising arms on rides isn't chavy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchada04 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 My entry was 'Graphic' and would you look at that, it was chosen Looks alot better than I had in mind and will hopefully add the element of near misses which The Swarm doesn't have many of compared to Raptor. JoshC., Doc, Cornflakes and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 So one of the first marketing campaigns which wasnt criticised by enthusiasts was classed as unsuccessful. Interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 That's the way I roll Anyway, personally I think this a amazing picture to show how the ride will look with all the theming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 My entry was 'Graphic' and would you look at that, it was chosen Looks alot better than I had in mind and will hopefully add the element of near misses which The Swarm doesn't have many of compared to Raptor. Wait you won the swarm competition? You were only meant to send a slogan! I so badly wanted to win! My best one was: "Challenge THE SWARM Before it reforms." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbles1 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Wait you won the swarm competition? You were only meant to send a slogan! I so badly wanted to win! My best one was: "Challenge THE SWARM Before it reforms." Umm, I think it was sarcasm. OldFarmerDean and MattyMoo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJames Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yea it was I doubled checked with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 So one of the first marketing campaigns which wasnt criticised by enthusiasts was classed as unsuccessful. Interesting The park assuming that because they didn't get a high number of visitors being purely down to the ride's marketing not being good enough... That's more interesting and telling tbh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I'm sure they base it on more than just numbers, all parks were down with the recessio. Maybe guest feedback on the marketing who knows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saz Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 I think a lot of the problem stems down to the ride itself - 'Europe's highest winged-coaster' just didn't cut it as an attention grabber. Colossus had 10 inversions, Nemesis Inferno was 'like the one at Alton Towers', Stealth was really tall and fast, Saw was based on a popular horror movie franchise but Swarm simply didn't have the right gimmick. That is why I think a wooden coaster is a must for the 2015/16 coaster - I just hope Merlin rejects their supposed belief that the public think wooden coasters are unsafe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted February 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 This is the trouble though, the public pretty much expect a gimmick in a ride now. If a coaster doesn't have a gimmick, the public seem to think it's not as attention worthy / worthwhile, but if it has one, it must be good. Until parks break away from the ideas of coasters relying on gimmicks, the public aren't going to lap up coasters that don't rely on ones. The thing with Swarm's advertising is, they did all the things they would normally do, except a bit better (in my honest opinion of course, and I think that's agreed with many non-enthusiasts I speak to), and there was more of it. So where could they go wrong, other than the fact the advertising wasn't focusing on a gimmick. And, in truth, Swarm is a bit of a gimmicky coaster in reality, but nonetheless a solid, well-rounded ride. I genuinely cannot think how they could have marketed bettered... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 In terms of marketing, the only things I think that weren't quite right were - lack of much actual and any quality ride footage in the main ad (relative to the whole ad length. Just a few quick cut shots, with no play on the slow turn upside-down at the highpoint which I would have thought would have grabbed peoples attention). Yes it looks stylish, but the ride and the theme don't come across too well. - longevity of the campaign. This is the main one. Maybe it was just me but after the excellent build up with the viral snatches, Lez Coogan online and on park, missing wall, cinema teasers etc, it just died. I saw the full ad quite a bit for around a month after opening, then it vanished. The only thing coming out from the park was via facebook which is naturally seen almost exclusively by those who are fans already, preaching to the converted is unlikely to bring in new people. What concerns / annoys me about all this is Though not ground breaking news, the plan states that "the reaction to the ride has been very positive" but the economic climate and "the response to...the marketing...was not as successful as anticipated". So, Swarm's "thrill factor" needs increasing, which is the point of this additional miss (and presumably the backwards things. So the response (presumably from riders doing exit surveys) to the ride has been very positive, yet they are fiddling with .... the ride? Not sticking with what people have told them they have done so well, people have told them they like and instead fixing the marketing which people didn't react to and Thorpe admit has failed, but messing with the bit they have done well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the ride is perfect. But the things that are wrong with it (length, odd dull ending, fastrack/general queue faff, continuity of theme in places) do not get fixed by slapping a gimmick on top. In fact this is likely to make some of these things worse. It smacks of lack of confidence in their ride and being a knee jerk reaction. People aren't stupid, Thorpe can call it an evolution all they like but making such drastic changes just one year after opening will look to all the world like the ride is inherently not good enough at its core. I am interested in the sensation of riding backwards and will be giving it a try at some point, I'm sure a fair few people might do the same, so from that point of view it could be a successful move in the short term. But in the long term the ride is deeply devalued and I'm sure guest satisfaction will not rise, people with too many choices to make are rarely happier, wondering what they are missing out on. And that is before we see how they have managed the queue line and fastrack around this, which I'm guessing won't be pretty but would be glad to be proven wrong. The effort and money they are spending on The Swarm would be put to better use fixing up almost anything else on the park and letting the word of mouth from all the people who have been reacting so positivity to the experience to bring in the punters. Maybe if the rest of the park was somewhere near the standard The Swarm already is more people would be coming back anyway, gimmicks or not. Mark9, Jammy3112, Fred and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 ^Absolute spot on post... "The ride is good, but the marketing wasn't, so we're changing to ride to make the marketing better"... Classic Thorpe... pluk and Inferno 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 Wouldn't the visitor numbers be affected by the fact 5-6 million people, native and foreign were going to the 2 biggest sporting events on earth, The Olympics and Paralympics, I mean if Swarm was introduced in 2011 or 2013 it probably would of attracted more people because there wouldn't be a massive event distracting people if you can call it that. If a football world cup ever came to Britain again (highly doubt it) and it was the same year as when Thorpe opened a new roller coaster, the park would be dead as all the football fans and chavs will have disappeared (with chavs I'm not saying that's a bad thing) and the park probably would be quieter then normal and Thorpe probably wouldn't hit its target. Seeming the Olympics and Paralympics were on I think Thorpe did quite well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyMoo Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 The effort and money they are spending on The Swarm would be put to better use fixing up almost anything else on the park and letting the word of mouth from all the people who have been reacting so positivity to the experience to bring in the punters. Maybe if the rest of the park was somewhere near the standard The Swarm already is more people would be coming back anyway, gimmicks or not. This x1000. Reverse Swarm just smacks of desperation, especially when there are so many rides that need some TLC... or just need a lick of paint. pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RideAddict Posted February 15, 2013 Report Share Posted February 15, 2013 From what I saw of the ride advertising last year, I was impressed. I'm not really sure if they did do enough, and I can't think of many ways of bettering it. It appears to me though that certain theming elements were missed. I know the flame effect came later in the year due to things beyond their control, but the excellent phonebox and ambulance that both "landed" mid-season are a fantastic addition, and one wonders why this was never installed for its opening. I'm still not in favour of this back row change, I shall try it once but not put myself out too often to ride is backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.