Marketing Plan - Folly Farm

Folly Farm Marketing Plan
‘Creating awareness for the opening of a Holiday Park and

the range of bundled offerings available to customers.’
Dafydd Rhys Bevan
20102203
Ethics Number: 2019D191
Cardiff Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Business and Management Studies with Marketing
May 2020
Word Count: 6,541

Dafydd Rhys Bevan BSP6008 20102203
Declaration
I declare that this Marketing Plan has not already been accepted in substance for
any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. It is the
result of my own independent research except where otherwise stated.
Dafydd Bevan
ii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Dr. Paula Kearns for her mentorship and continual support
throughout the duration of this Marketing Plan. I would also like to express my
gratitude to Chris Ebsworth, the Managing Director at Folly Farm for allowing me to
first, base my third-year university product around Folly Farm. Then second, allowing
me to conduct such a detailed and insightful interview which provided me a solid
foundation for the completion of this Marketing Plan. I would also like to thank my
Personal Tutor Kelly Young for her guidance and encouragement throughout my four
years in university.
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Contents
Declaration……………………………………………………………………………………ii
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………iii
Contents……………………………………………………………………………………...iv
Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………..vii
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………….viii
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………….ix
1.0. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………...1
2.0. Situational Analysis…………………………………………………………………….2
2.1. Macro-environment…………………………………………………………….2
2.1.1. Political………………………………………………………………..2
2.1.2. Economical……………………………………………………………2
2.1.3. Social………………………………………………………………….2
2.1.4. Technological…………………………………………………………3
2.1.5. Legal…………………………………………………………………..4
2.1.6. Environmental………………………………………………………..4
2.2. Micro-environment……………………………………………………………..4
2.2.1. Market…………………………………………………………………4
2.2.2. Customer Segments…………………………………………………5
2.2.3. Market competitiveness……………………………………………..6
2.2.4. Competitor Analysis………………………………………………….6
2.2.3. Stakeholder mapping………………………………………………..6
2.3. Internal-environment…………………………………………………………...7
2.3.1. Mission Statement and Brand Values……………………………..7
2.3.2. Organisational Structure…………………………………………….7
2.3.3. Staff Competencies………………………………………………….8
2.3.4. Value chain analysis…………………………………………………8
2.3.5. Financials……………………………………………………………..8
2.4. SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………………9
3.0. Objectives……………………………………………………………………………...11
3.1. Occupancy Rates……………………………………………………………..11
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3.1.1. Caravan Pitches…………………………………………………….11

3.1.2. Showman’s Wagons………………………………………………..11
3.2. Return on Holiday Park Investment…………………………………………11
3.3. Technological Engagement……………………………………………...…..12
3.3.1. Re-Launch App (Downloads)……………………………………...12
3.3.2. Method of Booking………………………………………………….12
3.4. Footfall……………………………………………………………………..…..12
3.4.1. Footfall Increase…………………………………………………….13
3.4.2. Return Visit – Park………………………………………………….13
3.4.3. Return Visit – Holiday Park………………………………………..13
3.4.4. Bundled Offerings…………………………………………………..13
4.0. Strategies………………………………………………………………………………14
4.1. Segmentation………………………………………………………………….14
4.1.1. Parents with children aged 0-9……………………………………14
4.1.2. Teenagers/Social Teens…………………………………………...15
4.1.3. Grandparents………………………………………………………..16
4.2. Targeting……….………………………………………………………………17
4.3. Positioning……………………………………………………………………..18
4.4. Digital Marketing………………………………………………………………21
5.0. Tactics………………………………………………………………………………….23
5.1. Campaign 1: ‘Stay with Us’…………………………………………………..24
5.1.1. Undifferentiated Website Links……………………………………24
5.1.2. Differentiated Online Adverts……………………………………...26
5.2. Campaign 2: Re-Launch Folly Farm App…………………………………..28
5.2.1. Undifferentiated Instagram Story Advertisement………………..29
5.2.2. Undifferentiated Facebook ‘Watch’ Advertisement……………..30
5.3. Campaign 3: ‘Continue YOUR Adventure’…………………………………31
5.3.1. Undifferentiated Facebook Poster………………………………..32
5.3.2. Undifferentiated Instagram Story…………………………………32
5.3.3. Differentiated Website Advertisement……………………………33
6.0. Actions…………………………………………………………………………………34
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6.1. Year 1 Gantt Chart……………………………………………………………35

6.2. Year 2 Gantt Chart……………………………………………………………36
6.3. Year 3 Gantt Chart……………………………………………………………37
7.0. Controls………………………………………………………………………………..38
7.1. Financial Plans………………………………………………………………..38
7.1.1. Year 1 Financials…………………………………………………...38
7.1.2. Year 2 Financials…………………………………………………...39
7.1.3. Year 3 Financials…………………………………………………...39
7.1.4. 3 Year Plan Overview………………………………………………40
7.2. KPI’s……………………………………………………………………………41
7.3. Contingency Actions………………………………………………………….46
8.0. Appendices…………………………………………………………………………….47
8.1. Appendix 1 – Transcript of interview with Chris Ebsworth (Folly Farm
Managing Director)………………………………………………………………...47
8.2. Appendix 2 – Internal-environment…………………………………………71
8.3. Appendix 3 – Micro-environmental analysis……………………………….77
8.4. Appendix 4 – SWOT Analysis……………………………………………….83
8.5. Appendix 5 – Macro-environmental analysis………………………………86
8.6. Appendix 6 – Year 1, 2 and 3 Quarterly Goals…………………………….94
8.8. Appendix 7 – Participant Information Sheet……………………………….96
8.8. Appendix 8 – Participant Consent Form……………………………………98
9.0. References…………………………………………………………………………….99
vi
Abbreviations
3D – 3 Dimensional
B2C – Business to Consumer
CCTV – Closed-circuit Television
CDM – Construction Design & Management
EU - European Union
F&B – Food & Beverage
GDPR – General Data Protection Regulations
GPS – Global Positioning System
HR – Human Resources
KPI’s – Key Performance Indicators
ONS – Office For National Statistics
PESTLE – Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental
PR – Public Relations
QT – Quarter
QT 1 – 1st Quarter
QT 2 – 2nd Quarter
QT 3 – 3rd Quarter
ROI – Return on Investment
SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
UK – United Kingdom
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List of Tables
Table 1 – Caravan Pitches

Table 2 – Showman’s Wagons
Table 3 – ROI Holiday Park
Table 4 – Re-Launch App
Table 5 – Method of Booking
Table 6 – Footfall increase
Table 7 – Park Return Visit
Table 8 – Holiday Park Return Visit
Table 9 – Bundled Offerings
Table 10 – Year 1 Gantt Chart
Table 13 – Year 1 Financials
Table 16 – 3 Year Financials
Table 17 – KPI’s
viii
List of Figures
Figure 1 – Stakeholder Mapping

Figure 2 – Organisational Structure
Figure 3 – Organisation Financials
Figure 4 – SWOT Analysis
Figure 5 – Parents Customer Persona
Figure 6 – Teenager/Social Teen Customer Persona
Figure 7 – Grandparents Customer Persona
Figure 8 - Local Attractions Cost/Quality
Figure 9 - UK Competition Cost/Quality
Figure 10 - Local Attractions Technological Presence
Figure 11 - UK Attractions Technological Presence
Figure 12 – Marketing Mix
Figure 13 – Facebook Post
Figure 14 – Instagram Media
Figure 15 – Instagram Post
Figure 16 – Instagram Story
Figure 17 – Newspaper Banner
Figure 18 – Search Engine Advert
Figure 19 – Instagram Story Advertisement
Figure 20 – Instagram Story Advertisement
Figure 21 – Facebook Watch Advertisement
Figure 22 – Facebook Poster
Figure 23 – Instagram Story
Figure 24 – Website Advertisement
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1.0. Introduction
Folly Farm is a tourist attraction located in Begelly, Pembrokeshire (Folly Farm,

2019). Originally starting as a dairy farm, the business then diversified into a visitor
attraction (Ebsworth, 2019). They are currently one of Wales’ leading attractions with
an annual footfall of over 500,000 and in 2019 just under 8 million in revenue
(Companies House, 2019). This has led to the organisation winning various awards
for their service and product delivery (Folly Farm, 2019). The park has one of the
most diverse offerings under four categories; Zoo, Barn, Fairground and Play.
Folly Farm undertook research which indicated that other UK attractions with similar
footfall figures for the year had accommodation on site (Ebsworth, 2019). As a result
of this, Folly Farm have continued their expansion to begin work on the introduction
of a holiday park stretching over 100 acers right next door to the award-winning
attraction (Folly Farm, 2019).
The marketing challenge is to create a plan to launch this, creating awareness of the
expansion and the range of bundled offerings that will be available to customers.
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2.0. Situational Analysis
2.1. Macro-environment
A macro-environmental analysis has been carried out to highlight the key external
factors that will affect the organisation (Baines et al 2017), which are discussed
below. Further understanding can be gained from the PESTLE analysis (see
appendix 5).
2.1.1. Political
Following the interview (see appendix 1) the organisation outlined that the impact of
Brexit will benefit the local market as many will opt for staycations (Ebsworth, 2019).
This is supported by evidence shown in the micro-environmental analysis (see
section 2.2. and appendix 3) that indicated there are an increase in staycations
(Mintel, 2019). Brexit will hinder the likelihood of guests visiting from abroad,
however this was outlined as low priority to the organisation due to the main target
base being UK based (Ebsworth, 2019).
2.1.2. Economical
BBC (2019) outlined that following the general election the £ exchange rate saw a
rise. This will benefit the organisation as cost of imported goods will be cheaper with
a stronger £. BBC (2018) also outline Wales as having the second lowest disposable
income in the UK regions. This hindering the organisation as they are based in
Wales, low disposable income means less custom (Ebsworth, 2019). However,
digital marketing strategies are to be implemented (see 4.0) meaning their reach is
not limited to just Wales, these can aid to attract other UK audiences to the
organisation.
2.1.3. Social
Research from Office for National Statistics (2019) show a growing number of
families in the UK which means more opportunity for Folly Farm due to this being the
target audience. Marketing to households could mean that engagement from one
could result in custom from all, which will benefit in achieving this marketing
challenge. The UK population currently has a high number of 20-34-year olds
2
(Statista, 2019) meaning that they are likely to be starting a family soon. This
benefits the organisation as these are to become the primary target audience.
Statista (2019) shows an increase in social media usage in the UK and how likely
consumers are to base their decision-making processes off it when planning trips.
The organisation outlined that they see more engagement through Facebook
meaning that many online campaigns will be pushed through Facebook. It was also
discussed how the organisation can put out tasters to see the engagement levels
and then based on the data, analyse, and implement the most favourable.
More children have access to tablets and mobile devices than ever before (Ofcom,
2016) and despite this the organisations current apps presence is low. The
organisation outlined the desire to revamp the app. The app was originally designed
to reduce paper consumption on the park, however, could now be used as live gps
interactive map on park or for booking purposes.
The organisation further outlined the social aspect of customer expectations.

Customers display high expectations for cleanliness, health and safety and
accessibility. This along with being review wary meaning if these expectations are
not achieved, reviews posted online can lead to word of mouth spread and poor
brand image (Ebsworth, 2019).
2.1.4. Technological
A key technological advancement that has aided the organisation is the introduction
of the asset management tool, Mobaro App. The app allows management to set
maintenance assignments, check financial and park figures any time. This will allow
a plethora of customer data to analyse which will benefit marketing campaigns
(Ebsworth, 2019). The continued utilisation of this app will benefit the success of the
Holiday Park as being a new entrant (Porter, 1979) will require maximum efficiency
to gain market share. Guests will be on site 24-7 meaning that efficiency will be key
in achieving a positive experience for them.
This would not have been possible had it not been for the organisation’s broadband
investment (Ebsworth, 2019). Being situated in Begelly, Pembrokeshire, mostly a
rural area there is limited broadband capacities. This benefitted the organisation
early on through being able to constantly change images and designs on the
3
website. This internet advancement will benefit guests when uploading photos to
social media or browsing on site.
2.1.5. Legal
The organisation outlined that they are heavily licenced which will only increase with
the Holiday Park expansion. Various regulations need to be abided by including
health and safety, on side building CDM, zoo licencing and public entertainment
licensing (Ebsworth, 2019). These are unlikely to have an impact on the expansion
of the Holiday park assuring they are all in line with government regulations.
However, failure to do so will have severe implications legally and socially.
2.1.6. Environmental
Weather and climate conditions influence the parks attendance. The organisation
outlined that extremely good weather hinders the parks numbers as customers opt
for other local competitors such as beaches and national parks. The preferred
conditions were outlined as partially cloudy with sunny intervals. However, good
weather influences guests on planning trips which will benefit the organisation. Wet
days tend to be received well as the variety of indoor activities available still attracts
customers (Ebsworth, 2019).
Furthermore, the organisation employs green incentives such as their biomass

project which optimises their residual heat usage. This pushes a positive image for
the brand but could hinder with the Holiday Park expansion as maintaining this could
more of a challenge with guests on site 24/7.
2.2. Micro-environmental
Micro-environmental analyses are used when identifying organisations that directly

or indirectly influence the operational performance of another organisations (Baines
et al, 2017). Further micro-environmental analysis can be located in appendix 3.
2.2.1. Market
Folly Farm would be classified as a visitor attraction (Mintel 2019). Research from
Mintel (2019) shows over 340 million people have visited a UK visitor attraction this
year, with a projected increase through to 2024 reaching 401 million a year. Many
4
from these figures are opting for staycations as opposed to holidays abroad with
60% of people who engage with staycations visiting an attraction this year.
The trend shown is to benefit Folly Farm with the Holiday Park extension as most
customers looking for staycations also want to attend visitor attractions (Mintel,
2019). A growing number visiting attractions shows a prosperous market. Following
the green initiatives outlined in section 2.1.6 Mintel (2019) shows organisations that
emphasise an awareness to green initiatives and zero waste models appeal to more
environmentally aware consumers. Folly Farms biomass initiative is an example of
this.
The accessibility to on-site food and drink offerings are of strong importance to
customers (Mintel, 2019). This benefiting Folly Farm as there is a plethora of dining
options onsite, along with the redevelopment of the ‘hungry farmer restaurant’
(Ebsworth, 2019) showing they are well equipped for this consumer demand.
The organisation noted that this year the market is crowded, with many consumers
opting for natural attractions such as the national park and islands. If this trend is to
continue it could see a decrease in park footfall, however, could still present the
opportunity of consumers staying in the Holiday Park if marketed to appropriately.
2.2.2. Customer segments
The organisation outlined three primary segments, parents of children aged 0-9,
teenagers/ young adults without children and grandparents. These segments are
further explained in section 4.0.
The organisation claimed that many customers revisit on average 3-4 times a year,
displaying loyalty to the brand. It was also discussed that the customer base is within
a 2-hour distance, predominantly Swansea, or holiday makers staying in the local
area. The organisation has around 10,000 annual pass holders which support a 70%
return rate and the same return rate is shown by general visitors. These figures
support the notion of the organisations brand loyal customer base and will benefit the
organisation moving forward as maintaining these figures will be a pivotal role in the
success of the park.
5
However, Mintel (2019) is reporting that Zoo attendance is deteriorating. Young

people account for a large share of zoo attendees and many are now opting for
music events instead. Mintel (2019) show after-hours events can aid in persuading
young people to attend attractions. Should this trend continue, it may result in
afterhours events targeted towards young people to meet their demands. This could
also benefit the Holiday Park attendees of all demographics as this could be sold as
a bundled offering.
2.2.3. Market competitiveness
The organisation stated no direct UK competition due to the sheer range of product
offering with the addition of the Holiday Park (Ebsworth, 2019). However,
competition will arise from other natural and organisational attractions both local t
and nationwide. Further analysis along with perceptual maps can be found in
appendix 3.
2.2.4. Competitor analysis
The organisation will be a new entrant to the accommodation sector (Porter, 1979)
meaning they have little to no experience, only experience coming from the renting
of the farm cottage. Other UK accommodations have more experience and will likely
have more data on what is successful and what is not, thus having competitive
advantage over Folly Farm. This will take Folly Farm some time to fully comprehend
and could result in a slow start up.
2.2.5. Stakeholder mapping
The organisation is responsible for providing the best quality service to guests. From
a financial standpoint, the four directors are the main stakeholders, being concerned
with the overall efficiency and profits made. In relation to quality, employees should
be invested in their service delivery as customers are regarded as stakeholders as
their opinion matters most.
6
(Figure 1 – Stakeholder mapping)
2.3. Internal-Environment
An internal analysis is used to evaluate and understand the capabilities of the

organisation, product range, marketing capabilities, human and financial resources
(Baines et al, 2017). To aid this section, further internal-environment analysis can be
located in appendix 2.
2.3.1. Mission Statement and Brand Values
The organisation is ever diversifying and developing the brand, this reflected with the
constant adaptation of their mission statements to realign with new product offerings.
“Exceeding expectations, The Family Way” (Folly Farm, 2019) is the current mission
statement and reflects the organisations brand values of family-oriented values. The
perception that anyone can de-stress and enjoy the experience, irrespective on their
position on the socio-economic scale. The organisation prides themselves on high
quality guest experiences and sustainable long-term employment for local people.
2.3.2. Organisational structure
The organisation pursues a democratic leadership model where responsibility is

shared equally amongst directors. The directors are acceptant of input from within
the organisation, reflecting their extended family values. Final decisions are made by
directors (Woods, 2005).
7
(Figure 2- Organisational Structure) (Folly Farm, 2019)
2.3.3. Staff Competencies
The organisation seeks to hire staff who align with their family values. Various jobs
inevitably require different education levels. The organisation noted that if skillset
gaps were identified in employees, training programmes were in place to develop the
staff competencies. These include career development plans and chartered institute
programmes. This showing the organisations commitment to service delivery.
Marketing staff competencies are to a standard where implementation of the
proposed strategies (see 4.0) into the campaigns (see 5.0) should offer present no
issue. However, due to the demand of some of the outlined objectives, outsourced
assistance will be required as internal staff skill sets will not be applicable.
2.3.4. Value Chain Analysis
Porter (1985) value chain model can be applied to the organisation and helps to
categorise the organisation into nine areas. Comprehensive detail can be found in
appendix 2 which shows how the organisation increase value to their business
model.
2.3.5. Financials
The organisation outlined how income is split between door entry and on site spend.
A small percentage is also acquired through their green incentives. To follow in
8
figure 3 is the organisations financials for 2019 (Companies House, 2019). This
showing an annual turnover of £7,792,888, an increase of £277,303 from the
previous year. This accompanied by £1,060,591 profit showing a successful
business plan and reinforcing their sustainability.
(Figure 3 – Organisational Financials) (Companies House, 2019)
2.4. SWOT Analysis
A comprehensive list of the identified Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and

Threats relating to the organisations business operations can be seen in the SWOT
analysis (Baines et al, 2017) in appendix 4. See figure 4 for a summary.
9
(Figure 4 – SWOT Analysis) (Baines et al, 2017)
The organisations biggest strength is their large product offering, this paired with the
Holiday Park extension results in an unparalleled point of differentiation. The biggest
weakness is the geographical location which has poor transport infrastructures
making it challenging for guests to locate. Paired with busy holiday periods, the M4
can act as a funnel causing hold ups and congestion which could cause guests
avoiding coming all together.
Opportunities for the organisation are many, the main being the addition of the
Holiday Park which further increases product offering and provides another revenue
stream. However, threats arising from this such as failure to achieve occupancy
levels could result in a failed expansion and will require serious review. This could be
an impact of the limited marketing meaning customers are unaware, or underselling
the expansion resulting in guests not pursuing interest.
10
3.0. Objectives
The organisation expects the Holiday Park to achieve occupancy levels of 30% for
caravans and 48% for lodges during the first year. Then increase for the following 2
years. This will help to aid the completion of the next objective in 3.2 (McDonald,
2016).
3.1. Occupancy Rates

3.1.1. Caravan Pitches (40 Units)
Time From To
Year 1 0% 30%
Year 2 30% 32%
Year 3 32% 35%
(Table 1 – Caravan Pitches)
3.1. Occupancy Rates

3.1.2. Showman’s Wagons (30 Units)
Time From To
Year 1 0% 48%
Year 2 48% 50%
Year 3 50% 52%
*Occupancy levels to be measured by number of units available for booking*
(Table 2 – Showman’s Wagons)
3.2. Return on Holiday Park Investment
The Holiday park is an extension implemented with the intention of making ROI
within a reasonable timescale. The progression towards this is a key objective which
is shown below over a three-year period. This based on the current 30 Showman’s
Wagons and 40 Caravan pitches. Not including unbuilt or non-operational units.
3.2. Return on Holiday Park Investment (10m)

Time From To
Year 1 0 3.5%
Year 2 3.5% 6.5%
Year 3 6.5% 9%
(Table 3 – ROI Holiday Park)

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3.3. Technological Engagement
The organisation expressed a desire to re-vamp the outdated app thus providing the
objective of an app re-launch to include 3D interactive maps of available bookings on
the Holiday Park, interactive gps map which aligns with objective 3.3.2 and various
other features to improve guest experience. The objective will be centred around
downloads over a three-year period.
3.3.1. Re-Launch App (Downloads)

Time From To
Year 1 0 125,000
Year 2 125,000 150,000
Year 3 150,000 200,000
(Table 4 – Re-Launch App)
The introduction of the app will also provide an opportunity to shift the method of
booking more online. This providing another objective over a three-year period as
shown below. This will allow for greater planning in the future as prediction on footfall
numbers will be made easier.
3.3.2. Method of Booking

Telephone Online In Person
Year 1 10% 50% 40%
Year 2 5% 60% 35%
Year 3 2.5% 65% 32.5%
(Table 5 – Method of Booking)

3.4. Footfall
As shown in appendix 1, the organisation outlined their annual footfall to be around

500,000 a year with customers revisiting on average of 3-4 times a year. Both
season pass and regular visitors showing a 70% return rate. This helping to establish
four sub objectives as shown below.
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3.4.1. Footfall Increase

Time From To
Year 1 500,000 505,000
Year 2 505,000 510,000
Year 3 510,000 525,000
(Table 6 – Footfall increase)
3.4.2. Return Visit - Park

Time From To
Year 1 70% 72%
Year 2 72% 75%
Year 3 75% 75% Maintain
(Table 7 – Park Return Visit)
3.4.3. Return Visit – Holiday Park

Time From To
Year 1 0% 30%
Year 2 30% 35%
Year 3 35% 40%
(Table 8 – Holiday Park Return Visit)
3.4.4. Bundled Offerings
The sub objectives above can be aided by the introduction of bundled offerings.
These are communication tools used to persuade customers along with purchase
decision making. They also provide the opportunity for upselling.
3.4.4. Bundled Offerings

Time Aimed objective
Every Quarter Create a tailored range of bundled
offerings.
Regularly update to align with market
trends and demands
(Table 9 – Bundled Offerings)
13
4.0. Strategies
STP analysis (Baines et al, 2017) and digital marketing strategies (Baines et al,
2017) will demonstrate how the objectives are to be achieved (McDonald, 2016). It is
essential for the organisation to have clear strategies as these are the foundations
upon campaigns are built on. The more suited the strategies are to the objectives,
aids the implementation of suitable campaigns (McDonald, 2016).
4.1. Segmentation
The segmentation process involves dividing markets into distinct and identifiable
groups or segments. Segmentation will enable the organisation to maximise
marketing resources towards desired target audiences who will likely be engaged
with the organisation based on their behavioural characteristics (Baines et al, 2017).
Members of these segments display common needs and characteristics that
influence their marketing actions (Baines et al, 2017). The organisation identified a
UK target audience of holiday makers staying in the area or public living within a two-
hour radius which consists of Parents with children aged 0-9, Teenagers/Social
Teens and Grandparents.
4.1.1. Parents with children aged 0-9
Mintel (2018) shows the average age of parents at their child’s birth in the UK is 33
for men and 30 for women. Therefore, it can be assumed that for this segment, Folly
Farm would be targeting parents who are of a Millennial/ Generation Y demographic
(BBC, 2017). Millennials are classified as those born between 1980 and 2000 (BBC,
2017). Growing up with rapid technological growth, their expectations of services are
higher than other demographics. This influences their high buying power and allows
them to display less brand loyalty (De Pelsmacker et al, 2017). They are recognised
as being sophisticated, technologically savvy and more cautious towards marketing
pitches. Smartphones are an integral part of their professional and personal lives.
These are used informally through social media and texting as well as formally with
emails and meetings (Venuta, 2014). This reinforcing their preferred communication
format of peer to peer communications through social media and instant messaging
platforms, where the recommendations of friends influence their purchasing
decisions (De Pelsmacker et al, 2017). Statista (2019) shows millennials can be
14
influenced through social media to plan trips, Facebook leads this with 51%,
Instagram 29% and Twitter 13% showing Facebook being their preferred form of
communication. This aligns with Ebsworth (2019) who states Facebook as having
the most social media draw.
Research from Mintel (2018) shows 71% of UK parents with children aged 5-11 and
77% of UK parents with children aged 4 and under feel they are in an okay or
healthy financial situation. This showing a stable and broad target segment for Folly
Farm.
Names: Mike and Sarah
Evans
Age: 33 & 31
Financials: Financially
stable family
Generation: Generation Y
Educational Level: Degree
and A-Level
Status: Married with children
(Figure 5 – Parents Persona) (Servant Group International, 2020)
4.1.2. Teenagers/Social Teens

Teenagers/ Social Teens are members of Generation Z, those born from early
2000’s to 2010. They display behavioural characteristics such as digital-natives,
innovative, ambitious, capable, (Priporas et al, 2017) realistic approaches to life and
are communication driven (McKinsey, 2020). They have strong demand for internet
communication and are expectant of the presence and accessibility of technology
wherever they go (Priporas et al, 2017). Generation Z are more acceptant of
embracing new culture and social norms, they are optimistic in their futures and
believe they can implement positive change (BBC, 2017).
Most teenagers will be living with their parents and those working part time jobs will
likely be earning around £4.55 per hour (GOV UK, 2020). This may present a
reliance on pocket money. Statista (2019) shows the UK average weekly pocket
money to be £7. This meaning that this segment will have less available funds as
15
opposed to other sectors. Unless the reliance parental funding is available, this
segment will be less likely to have the funds to engage with the Holiday Park unless
accompanied by a member of the other segments. This however should have little
impact on a day visit due to the low admission costs (Folly Farm, 2020).
Statista (2019) shows only 19% of Generation Z are not influenced by social media
in their decision making when planning trips. Preferred platforms include Facebook
50% and Instagram 46%.
Names: Sioned, Ben, Anwen and Tomos

Age: 15, 15, 14, 16
Financials: Low income – Reliance on
parental input
Generation: Generation Z
Educational Level: GCSE
Status: Single/ Young couples
(Figure 6 – Teenagers/Social Teens Persona) (Common Sense Media, 2020)
4.1.3. Grandparents
Grandparents will typically be part of the baby boomer’s generation, those born
between 1945-1965. They display characteristics such as being less critical of
marketing techniques, non-bargain hunters, a desire for luxury and high-quality
products (De Pelsmacker et al, 2017). Baby boomers are well marketed to in the
tourism sector as they are typically financial stable and highly educated. They also
display desire for novelty, escape and authentic experiences (Patterson and Pegg,
2009). Retired households have also seen a boost in private and workplace
pensions matched by an increase in disposable income (BBC, 2017).
Research from Statista (2019) shows that 82% of baby boomers are not influenced
by social media in their trip booking decision making process. Half of baby boomers
now have a social media presence with the remainder using the internet for more
narrow purposes such as search engines (Ofcom, 2017). However, there has been
an increase in their online consumption of newspaper articles (Statista, 2020) which
16
is due to many taking to smartphones and tablets as a form of consumption (Ofcom,

2017).
Names: Madge and Keith

Age: 62 & 65
Financials: State and Workplace pensions
Generation: Baby Boomer
Educational Level: College and
Apprenticeship
Status: Married – Grandchildren
(Figure 7 – Grandparents Persona) (SmaartHouse, 2020)
Segmentation is a low-cost strategy that involves more research than capital

investment, making it suitable (Johnson et al, 2017) to Folly Farm as it limits threats
on financial expenditure. This aligns with the smaller marketing campaigns Folly
Farm employ (Ebsworth, 2019). It is acceptable (Johnson et al, 2017) as the level of
risk to stakeholders (see appendix 3) is minimal due to the return on this strategy
from the outlined segments likely being positive as the product offering meets their
needs. This will lead to positive reactions from the stakeholders. Due to the low cost,
segmentation is feasible (Johnson et al, 2017) meaning little will need to be spent on
implementing it. The only cost will be the marketing department at Folly Farm having
to use their skill sets to employ it.
4.2. Targeting
This plan will employ campaigns consisting of two targeting strategies,

undifferentiated and differentiated. The approaches will need to be utilised in
accordance with the needs outlined in section 4.1. Failure to implement the
strategies in accordance with the desired segments needs will result in poor
engagement (Baines et al, 2017).
Parents and Teenagers will be targeted using undifferentiated strategies based on

their similar social media preferences (Statista, 2019). These will consist of
Facebook and Instagram adverts which will all be similar in nature. Whereas
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differentiated strategies will be utilised for Grandparents due to their lesser

confidence on social media platforms, preference for newspaper and search engine
browsing (Ofcom, 2017). These will consist of search engine recommended adverts
and online newspaper adverts.
The outlined targeting approaches, matched with the intended campaigns will allow
for word of mouth spread between segments, e.g. online adverts targeted towards
Teenagers could result in discussion with Parents who ask peers on
recommendations (De Pelsmacker et al, 2017) or Grandparents who engage in
search engine searches to gather additional information (Ofcom, 2017).
Adopting both targeting strategies will be suitable (Johnson et al, 2017) due to their
relationship with the segmented consumers media consumptions. This will aid the
creation of undifferentiated and differentiated (Baines et al, 2017) campaigns which
will be acceptable (Johnson et al, 2017) due to the low risk associated in targeting
segmented consumers in their preferred media consumption methods. If
implemented correctly will return well, however, if implemented poorly, can risk
negative customer perceptions of the brand due to poor campaigns. The feasibility
(Johnson et al, 2017) of this will depend on the marketing departments skill set and
budget in creating campaigns. The campaigns to be outlined are of lower cost
budget. Successful campaigns will bring positive stakeholder reactions.
4.3. Positioning
A clear position in the visitor attractions market (Mintel, 2019) will encourage
customers to engage with the organisation. Failure to establish a clear position with
a differentiated product offering will result in customers taking their custom
elsewhere (Baines et al, 2017).
Perceptual maps (Baines et al, 2017) below in Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 show Folly
Farms positioning in relation to their local and UK competitors. These perceptual
maps have been created based on the segmentation desires above. They consist of
Cost/Quality and Technological Presence/Quality. Mintel (2019) suggests Folly Farm
will face competition from other attractions, not limited to organisations but general
visitor attractions. These are reflected in the perceptual maps below and further
information can be found in Appendix 3.
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(Figure 8 - Local Attractions Cost/Quality)
(Figure 9 - UK Competition Cost/Quality)
19
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The introduction of the Holiday Park requires new positioning amongst competitors,
thus showing the strategies suitability (Johnson et al, 2017). The strategy is
acceptable (Johnson et al, 2017) despite the moderate risk from needing to deliver
on this positioning to avoid poor guest experience. It is likely that this positioning will
be achieved based on the service delivery standards Folly Farm possess which will
lead to the return from guests to be positive, thus pleasing the stakeholders. This
showing the strategies feasibility (Johnson et al, 2017) through the marketing staff’s
capabilities in delivering the message of the positioning to segments
4.4. Digital marketing
Advancements in media and technology have forced organisations to adapt their

marketing to changing customer behaviour and desires (Baines et al, 2017). As
mentioned in section 2.1.3, customers are becoming more reliant on social media
when planning trips (Statista, 2019) and there has been an increase in technology
access for children (Ofcom, 2016). Further evidence of the need for digital marketing
is shown (see section 4.1) by both Parents (Venuta, 2014) and Teenagers (Priporas
et al, 2017) being technologically dependent and Grandparents engaging more in
online newspapers (Statista, 2020). This showing the growing importance of
marketing to these segments through digital consumption formats.
The organisation stated their satisfaction with their current digital presence.
However, to aid the success of the outlined objectives (see 3.0), further digital
marketing will need to be employed (see 5.0). These will be campaigns centred
towards meeting the needs of growing digital engagement through all three
segments identified in section 4.1. The campaigns will feature undifferentiated and
differentiated strategies through a range of media platforms. These media platforms
are reflective of the segmented groups preferred forms of communication (see 4.1).
These are to include undifferentiated social media marketing which will seek to
facilitate user-generated and user-shared content with a focus towards active
engagement from customers. These social media campaigns will be targeted
towards Parents and Teenagers based on their reliance on social media when
planning trips (Statista, 2019). The campaigns will be implemented on Facebook and
Instagram social media platforms based on segmentation analysis (see 4.1) showing
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Facebook and Instagram to be the preferred social media platforms for the
segments.
Digital strategies will also be adopted for the acquisition of the Grandparents
segment (see 4.1.3.). These will include e-marketing digital strategies (Baines et al,
2017) featuring adverts on search engines and newspaper articles to align with
Grandparents’ media consumption. These will be differentiated campaigns to align
with a lesser technologically savvy segment featuring more simple digital messages
and imagery.
Adopting digital marketing strategies are suitable (Johnson et al, 2017) based on
their ability to reach the target segments in their preferred media consumption
formats. These strategies will help inform the segments of the Holiday Park opening
and the benefits it will offer them. Digital marketing strategies are acceptable
(Johnson et al, 2017) due to their low risk and high potential for return if implemented
correctly. The completion of these to a high level will please stakeholders. It is
feasible (Johnson et al, 2017) to believe Folly Farm can finance these strategies
based on their financials (see 2.3.5.). So long as the staff utilise their marketing
competencies, the campaigns will be of a high standard maximising the potential for
success.
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5.0. Tactics
This section outlines the tactics suitable to implement the chosen strategies, (see
4.0) which ensure the achievement of the outlined objectives (see 3.0). Relevant
areas of the marketing mix will be selected based on their ability to aid the
campaigns in achieving this plan’s outlined objectives. These are shown below in
figure 12.
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5.1. Campaign 1: ‘Stay with Us’
The concept of this campaign is to create awareness and inform customers of the
new product offering Folly Farm offer. This campaign will aid the completion of
objectives (see 3.0) 3.1, 3.2, 3.4.1 and 3.4 based on its ability to persuade
customers to engage with the organisation (Fill, 2013). It will be implemented
through five advertisements. These consisting of differentiated and undifferentiated
digital marketing through three undifferentiated posts, targeting Parents and
Teenagers, accompanied with two differentiated Google and newspaper adverts
targeting Grandparents. The implementation of this campaign is within the
organisations’ marketing departments skill competencies and financial budget based
on all content to be created utilising internal resources.
5.1.1. Undifferentiated Website Links
Segmentation analysis (see 4.1.1 and 4.1.2) show both Parents and Teenagers to
be heavily reliant on social media in trip decision making and general social media
usage (Statista, 2019). Therefore, this advertisement will seek to inform (Fill, 2013)
these segments about the updated product offering Folly Farm have to offer under
the ‘Stay with Us’ campaign. The business expressed their desire in using owned
media for many advertisements meaning owned media will be maintained in this
instance.
Facebook Post - Owned Media
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Instagram Post – Owned Media
Instagram Story – Owned Media
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5.1.2. Differentiated Online Adverts
Segmentation analysis (see 4.1.3) shows the Grandparents segment display desire
for high-quality products and escapism meaning a message displaying the quality
and escape factor of the Holiday Park will need to be shown to them (Fill, 2013). It
also shows their engagement in online newspapers and simple browsing search
engine searches. Paid media will be required to target the Grandparents segment
based on their inability to be influenced by owned social media (Statista, 2019).
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Newspaper Advert
Search Engine Advert
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5.2. Campaign 2: Re-Launch Folly Farm App
The organisation noted their displeasure with their App, referring to is as outdated.
The concept of this campaign is to re-launch the App to achieve objective 3.3
increasing the organisations technological presence (see 3.3). This app will seek to
change customer booking preferences to online to allow for better planning for the
organisation, thus meeting objective 3.3.2. It will also seek to improve convenience
for customers in booking with a 3D interactive map showing available pitches and
lodges. The app will feature an interactive map of the park making it easier for
guests to navigate. This campaign will inform (Fill, 2013) customers of the app re-
launch, inform them of the benefits in doing so, thus prompting them to download it.
This will aid the achievement of objective 3.3.2.
This campaign will be targeted towards Parents and Teenagers through B2C
undifferentiated digital marketing. It will seek to gain their engagement through social
media marketing on Facebook and Instagram, these will be in the form of paid
advertisements.
The implementation of the marketing behind the campaign is within the organisations
staff competencies, they will create and then distribute the ads using third party
providers. However, third party resources will need to be utilised in the re-vamping of
the app which will require funding.
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5.2.1. Undifferentiated Instagram Story Advertisement
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5.2.2. Undifferentiated Facebook ‘Watch’ Advertisement
30
5.3. Campaign 3: ‘Continue YOUR adventure’
The concept of this campaign is to aid the success of objective (see 3.0) 3.4 and in
doing so will also aid the success of 3.1 and 3.2. The campaign will be targeted
towards existing customers who have visited Folly Farm hence the ‘Continue YOUR
adventure’. This implying they have yet to finish the adventure they started upon
arrival. It will seek to persuade (Fill, 2013) customers to return by offering bundled
offerings and promotional offers. These to be demonstrated through B2C
undifferentiated and differentiated digital marketing utilising owned media platforms
Facebook, Instagram, and the Folly Farm website. The promotional offers will show
pervious prices which have been replaced by discounted sales promotion offers (Fill,
2013).
Owned media will be used due to the customers being existing customers so brand
awareness is likely to be high. Thus, removing the need for paid media as the
customers will be seeking information themselves. Undifferentiated digital strategies
will be used to target Parents and Teenagers, again based on their social media
usage. Whereas differentiated digital strategies will be used for Grandparents due to
them requiring information on the quality of service, escapism, and more simple
messages due to most lacking confidence online. Earned media will be gained from
peer to peer communication between Parents, informing one another of the
promotional offers demonstrating evangelism. Evangelism will also be demonstrated
in the interactions and ‘tagging’ of friends in the comments sections.
This campaign will present no issue to the marketing department at Folly Farm in
implementation. It is a low-cost campaign that can be done in its entirety internally.
31
5.3.1. Undifferentiated Facebook Poster
5.3.2. Undifferentiated Instagram Story
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5.3.3. Differentiated Website Advertisement
33
6.0. Actions
Illustrated below are Gantt charts demonstrating a step by step plan (McDonald,
2016) relating to who, where, when and the cost of the activities required to
implement the campaigns above (see 5.0). The start date of each task is indicated
by the left side of the green bar. The deadline is indicated by the right side of the
green bar followed by no other green bars.
Below are Gantt charts for Year 1, 2 and 3 of the plan. Quarterly milestones have
been outlined (see appendix 6) to ensure the plan maintains its progress towards the
main objectives (see 3.0). These are aligned to the KPI’s shown in 7.2 which review
performance up to these quarters. A detailed financial plan can be seen in 7.1. This
does not take into consideration staff salary as there is to be no additional hiring’s
based on their competencies (see 2.3.3.) being applicable to the tasks. This meaning
organisational costs of the head of marketing and marketing officers’ salaries will be
unchanged.
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6.2. Year 1 Gantt Chart
35
36
37
7.0. Controls
This section outlines the relevant information that needs to be measured and
monitored following the implementation of the plan (McDonald, 2016). It will consist
of the detailed financial plan, KPI’s and contingency actions.
7.1. Financial Plan
Below is the detailed financial plan for the three years which clearly indicates what
the expenses are and the potential profit minus expenditure. Figures have been
acquired from average ticket prices (Folly Farm, 2019), occupancy rates and footfall
figures (see 3.0).
7.1.1. Year 1
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7.1.2. Year 2
7.1.3. Year 3
39
7.1.4. 3 Year Plan Overview
(Table 16 – 3 Year Financials)
The implementation of this plan will cost £226,942.96 and will generate £2,113,403 in income giving an estimated profit of
£1,886,460.04. It will achieve this over a 3 year period by implementing the campaigns (see 5.0) causing customer
engagement which in turn will increase the occupancy rates of caravans from 0% to 35, Showman’s Wagons from 0% to
52% and park footfall figures from 500,000 to 525,000. This will then achieve 9% progress towards the Holiday Park ROI.
7.2. KPI’s
The following KPI’s will be used to monitor the plans progress in achieving the objectives through the utilisation of the campaigns
(see 5.0). These are quarterly reviews scheduled to align with the progress towards achieving the targets as seen below. KPI’s will
ensure the organisation remains on track towards the targets. Contingency plans to follow will show the recommended action to be
taken if progress is higher or lower than expected. As all campaigns utilise digital marketing, they all require media engagement
reviews. Media engagement relates to the number of shares, clicks, swipes, views, comments, and likes (Fill, 2013). These can be
all individually measured and shown in ‘current’ progress aligning with their year and quarter.
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41
42
43
44
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7.3. Contingency Actions
Contingency actions are the actions to be taken by the organisation in the event of
higher predicted success, or lower predicted success (McDonald, 2016).
In the event of unpredicted enormous success from this plan, the organisation could
approach booking capacity. This will require further financial expenditure to increase
production of additional units to meet market demands. Should the Holiday Park be
approaching capacity it is important for the organisation to tone down marketing
campaigns to avoid new customers becoming disappointed if booking is unavailable.
Instead, marketing is to be directed towards the App and the Park, showing the
diverse product offering with less focus on the Holiday Park.
If additional units are scheduled to be built, progress is to be sped up and if

implemented quickly will allow further marketing to be implemented showing the
increased capacity of the Holiday Park. It is important to maintain quality with this
additional project as the organisation strives for excellent product delivery meaning a
poorly implemented rushed project could tarnish this.
However, if the plan is to underdeliver on its promise, marketing expenses are to be

toned down to the more familiar owned media formats. This will mean
advertisements will target existing customers due to them following the organisations
social medias. This can still allow for successful reach and engagement, however,
will be a predominantly existing customer market.
A review and revaluation of the plan in its entirety will need to be considered if the
plans recommendations see a negative impact for the organisation. This could result
in abandoning the plan and creating a brand-new plan, learning from the mistakes
made previously. However, if this is not spotted early in quarterly reviews, it may be
too late to salvage and have negative repercussions for the organisation.
(6,541 words)
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8.0. Appendices
8.1. Transcript of the interview with Chris Ebsworth (Folly Farm Managing Director)
The respondent was provided with the participant information sheet prior to the
recording of the interview and given time to read and ask any questions relative to
the interview process. Once the respondent was happy to continue, they were
presents with the participant consent form which they agreed to sign. A copy of the
participant information sheet was also left with the respondent following the
interview.
Interviewer: Thank you for allowing me to conduct the interview
Respondent: No Problem
Interviewer: Can you just confirm your name, the name of the organisation and your
role within it please?
Respondent: Yeah, Chris Ebsworth and the name of the organisation is Folly Farm
Leisure Limited and my role is managing director.
Interviewer: How many years have you worked here?
Respondent: Ooh, twenty, more than twenty years
Interviewer: Can you tell me a little about the background of Folly Farm please?
Respondent: Sure, so initially it was a dairy farm and it was in my wife’s family and
its been in the family for over 70 years and when I came along, well no if we go back
to the beginning about mid 1980’s there were pressures on agriculture with the
common agriculture policy informs and I think Glyn, my father in law had been away
on a couple of grassing trips and had a look at some other attractions that had
successfully diversified because farmers hadn’t really gone down the diversification
route at that time. He saw a good example in Devon, Cornwall called Milky Way,
which is still running today in the same family. He came across an idea to try to
*Interview interrupted by staff member requiring respondent’s attention*
Respondent: Sorry, right so
Interviewer: Its fine, don’t worry
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Respondent: So, where were we? Glyn
Interviewer: Just talking about the place in Devon really
Respondent: So Milky Way which is still run by the family that started it and then
one day Glyn, I think he was milking some cows and he looked over the gate and
quite by chance there was some people which had pulled up in the car and they
were looking over the gate ‘what are you doing’ and he said milking some cows, ‘can
we have a look’, so he showed them around and he thought, this might be a good
idea so he expanded the viewing gallery on the milking parlour and I think he brought
in, this is before my time, he brought in some goats, sheep and pigs for people to
look at and that was the base of the farm attraction and then his wife at the time was
a headmistress at a local school and she wanted to move out of that setting and to
do something together and they identified a gap in the market for a agricultural
based educational experience, so primarily it was aimed at school children and
passing trade as and when it came. So that’s kind of how it started, and it worked
really, really well to a point where they were running the attraction and the dairy farm
together, but the attraction was reliant on the dairy farm to develop and if it hadn’t
had such a strong agricultural unit, it wouldn’t have worked. But there was a tipping
point somewhere in the early 1990’s which is when I became involved and at that
point we decided to move out of the dairy and concentrate everything on the tourist
attraction and there is key landmark dates which are available on our website which
can show you the timeline of progression and that, you know we’ve got thinks like we
brought in the go-karts, we put in the fairground, then we started on the zoo
development and the latest thing we are doing now is the accommodation project,
which obviously is
Interviewer: Is the basis of my marketing plan, pretty much
Respondent: The basis of this
Interviewer: So, do you have a mission statement, and would you be able to explain
a little bit more about it?
Respondent: Mission statement, we do, but I think it’s changed
Interviewer: Ever progressing
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Respondent: Just changed, because it used to be ‘to exceed guests’ expectations’

but I’m pretty sure its been updated
Interviewer: So, would you say those are the main values and beliefs that you push
for?
Respondent: Its about family, family values really. So, with our business we run it
pretty much as we did when it was a farm. So, its 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
365 days a year.
Interviewer: Yeah, non-stop
Respondent: And that’s the way we’ve done it, but for us it’s a way of life and its not
just a business, its about creating something that we are proud of that gives long
term sustainable employment for local people and provides a good quality
experience, I should say an exceptionally good quality experience for the right value.
You know which is accessible for everyone.
Interviewer: Yeah
Respondent: It doesn’t matter where you are on the socio-economic scale or

disposable income and that’s what we are trying to do.
Interviewer: So, are those in like with your corporate strategies then?
Respondent: Yeah, to give repeat visits. But its very much, our corporate strategy
has changed again because initially it was, we reinvest all the profits in the company
to continue to expand and change and move on. We’re still doing that now, but we’re
doing that in a, we’ve adopted a sustainable approach to it so we don’t, we’ve been
in business now for 30, 31, 32 years I think so we’re not about what are we going to
be doing next year, it’s where are we going to be in 10 years’ time
Interviewer: Yeah planning ahead
Respondent: And you know, there are some very interesting progressive things that
are happening in the company and its no longer just about the four directors which
are in one family, its about our extended family which I everyone that is working in
the business, the people that drive it. So, we created a management team with lots
of different, heads of different departments and they are very much involved in the
strategic operation of how we are going forward.
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Interviewer: Yeah. How’s that structured then, so from top to bottom for
example?
Respondent: Top to bottom, obviously we’ve got the four directors, so myself and
Karina, Glyn and Anne and then moving down you’ll have heads of departments, so
you’d have Alex Torok who’s our general manager, you’ve got Zoe who’s head of
marketing, we’ve got a head of finance, head of human resources and then we’ve
got a head of commercial and a head of engineering as well. So, there’s if you like,
there’s sort of 6 people that are key and then below them is the next level which will
be managers of each department or unit then they’ll have senior supervisors and
supervisors and so on.
Interviewer: Yeah, great
Respondent: So we have different committees and working groups depending on,

oh and of course we have the zoo manager as well and the farm manager as well,
sorry, zoo curator, but I can, if I give you an employee handbook, an up to date
employee handbook
Interviewer: Yeah, that will be brilliant
Respondent: That’ll have the structure in it and its also got the updated mission
statement as well
Interviewer: Yeah, okay great. So, what sort of skills do you look for in your staff
possessing?
Respondent: It depends what level. So, the key is somebody, it really, if you can fit
into our family values and you know, you can learn and deliver a good guest
experience, that’s 90% of it
Interviewer: That suits it, yeah
Respondent: and then after that, it’s, it becomes, it depends which department
you’re working in. So, for example in the zoo department you’ve obviously got to
have animal skills, we’d request that everyone would be educated to degree level in
an animal science, because of the level of understanding you need to have to be
able to have to do the job
Interviewer: The level of care, yeah
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Respondent: Yeah, but with, say for example of engineering, it’s the same there,
you’ve got to have qualifications to show that you are competent, and you can do the
job to a prescribed level. But then if you break that down and you go down to say
someone that perhaps just works in the operations department, so they might be
running a, one of the reception tills or working on the custodial team or something
like that, what we try to do then is to identify skill sets that they have and if there are
any gaps, we will provide them with a career development plan. So, everybody that
works for us will be on a company plan
Interviewer: Yeah, so they are up to date, yeah
Respondent: Which the HR team, that might be NVQ, it might be additional work
based training which we run here where we also, because we have got a training
centre here now, we are offering that to other business’ so other local tourist
attractions and other, you know, any business can come onto those courses and
we’re hoping this year to, well we are just going through the process to becoming an
accredited training centre. So, we’ll be able to deliver those courses with our own
staff, rather than using external providers.
Interviewer: That’s great
Respondent: And also, we’ve partnered, another development is we’ve partnered

with Pembrokeshire College.
Interviewer: Right, yeah
Respondent: And they Are moving their entire animal care course to Folly Farm
Interviewer: Really?
Respondent: And they’ve just, they are just completing a purpose-built facility up by
the rhino
Interviewer: That’s actually amazing, because you’ve put some people through
degree courses before?
Respondent: Yeah, yeah we do. With personal development, well we’ve done,
anyone that works on the HR team we put them through the chartered institute of
personal development. We’ve done the same with our marketing team, they do
51
chartered institute of marketing and we have other students that have gone through,
once we’ve identified and developed a skills gap we’ll
Interviewer: Put them through yeah
Respondent: Put them through the training, yeah.
Interviewer: Brilliant. So, would you be able to talk a little bit, I know it’s a sensitive
subject about the current financial status of the park?
Interviewer: In terms on how you generate income and main sources of income?
Respondent: Yeah okay, so you can split, you can split the income down pretty
easily really, it’s not complicated really, but you’ve got, obviously you’ve got
admissions
Interviewer: Yeah
Respondent: And you’ve got secondary spend, so your secondary spend is all of
your catering, your rides, because obviously we charge tokens for the rides and get
any other guest experiences that are added on, so it could be like animal adoptions,
which is like an online retail but we do sell them in the shop as well and animal
experiences as well. So, that’s pretty much how it works
Interviewer: So, would your main source of income would be spend on site? Or on
door entry?
Respondent: It’s pretty split between entry and secondary spend, but it’s all on site.
Yeah and then we do a, we’ve got a lot of green initiatives, so we do earn a bit of
money through residual heat initiative for biomass.
Interviewer: Okay
Respondent: So we, if we’re producing heat which we’re using and also for the solar
station that we’ve got here as well, but it’s small in comparison to, you know, what
we’re doing.
Interviewer: What would you say in your opinion are the organisations strengths?
Respondent: The strengths are diversity of our product because if you look at other
attractions in the UK and further afield, there are none than I can think of that are a
farm attraction, with play areas, rides a vintage funfair, accommodation
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Interviewer: Everything
Respondent: Yeah so and that’s the thing, we’re not, if you were to define, if you
were asked to define Folly Farm in one sentence, it’s quite difficult to do
Interviewer: Yeah it is, I’ve found it difficult to try and summarise it
Respondent: Yeah it is, so we undertook a brand awareness exercise, with a

corporate company and everybody came in and we sat down and we all drew what
we thought was the brand and what it represented and the values and everything on
bits of paper and stuck it everywhere and they came up with a brand document and
that is more to do with, what we suddenly realised is that over the years we’ve gone
through, we used to be called Dairy Way at Folly Farm, then we became Folly Farm,
then we became Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo, now we’re just Folly Farm,
because we’ve created the brand
Interviewer: You don’t need all of the
Respondent: We don’t need to communicate all the little bits and pieces and it was
getting too complicated
Interviewer: Yeah, you’ve got the brand
Respondent: And the idea was, how do you communicate that to your customers
and then what we’re trying to do is to do that through tone of voice, using the right
colours and in marketing material, the right photographs, everything is done in the
same style and you’ll see as you walk, you know if you every walk around, even in
the staff room downstairs we’ve got our family values which we’ve painted on the
wall. It’s all about conveying a positive message which tried to encompass
everything, which is really difficult to do
Interviewer: I can imagine, yeah
Respondent: So that’s, I think one of our main strengths. The other strength is we
are lucky to be situated in one of the most beautiful counties in the United Kingdom.
Interviewer: Yeah true, very true
Respondent: We have amazing beaches, we’ve got the national park, wide open
spaces, we have some of the best restaurants in the UK. We’ve got really amazing
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accommodation experiences available and were not at capacity in Pembrokeshire,

we’re got capacity to take a lot more and I think when people come away from busy
town life and they come on a family holiday to Pembrokeshire. We’ve got so much to
offer them and to destress and to bring everyone back together as a family you
know, so instead of you’re on your mobile phone, you’re destressing you’re switching
everything off, you know, going back to family routes and I think that’s a massive
important factor in the product and services that we are offering. Also I think we
because we are a small young management team, we are able to be very reactive in
our strategic approach. So if we decide we want to do something, we’ll look at it, get
the data, analyse it, we have a lot of data on our hands now, we don’t suffer from
analysis paralysis we just pick stuff up, have a look at it, is it going to work, is it going
to work, let’s give it a go. There’s no red tape, we don’t have to get loads of things
signed off we, you know, most, nearly all the equity is, the developments, the capital
expenditure is put in because the park makes good profits and we are able to try
stuff and everyone’s enthusiastic and wants to get on and push it in the right
direction so we are all kind on the same page.
Interviewer: Going towards a collective goal
Respondent: Yeah, we don’t have to consult with a board, and that can be, I’ve
seen it in other organisations, that can be quite restrictive. We’ve tried to empower
our key management staff and let them make the decisions, and if they make a
mistake, sometimes they do but they learn from it and they move on and do
something good and that’s really important for the developments and the business
going forward really
Interviewer: Would you say there are any weaknesses that you’ve outlined in the
organisation?
Respondent: Weaknesses, okay so the largest one is probably geographical,

because although we are in, what I would consider to be the best county in the UK,
we are surrounded by sea on three sides, transport infrastructure routes are not the
greatest, especially if you are bringing people from England over the bridge, then
you’ve got the M4 tunnels,
Interviewer: Motorway slowly gets narrower
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Respondent: Yeah, its like a big funnel and then a lot of people when the travel a
long distance, they might, get to sort of Swansea or Carmarthen and think, ah we are
there, well you’re not, you’ve still got another 50 minutes. So I think geographical is
one issue, I think the general economy can be a weakness which we are not really
that much in control of and that’s really dependant on people’s disposable income
and also if you go back 10 years, people didn’t have smartphones and now they do.
So there’s a competition, you see a lot in the press, you know, give the kid a
smartphone
Interviewer: Yeah, it’s amazing, I didn’t get a phone until I was 12, 11-12 I think and
now they are 7-8 and have a smartphone
Respondent: And they are not kicking football’s around
Interviewer: No, not anymore, no
Respondent: We are competing against that, I think, against technology that

children have access to. Transport costs I think are, they are a pressure, I think that
will get worse, until we sort out the infrastructure and how we are going to move to
whatever the future has for transport going forward.
Interviewer: Have you outlined and opportunities going forward?
Respondent: Yeah, so
Interviewer: With the holiday park
Respondent: Yeah, that’s the biggest one probably because we undertook a bit of
research and found that most parks with our sort of size of visitor numbers and we
are doing just under half a million visitors a year. We found that the majority of them
have some sort of accommodation offering and we have got a really good and
unique opportunity to develop an offering that is specific to Folly Farm that does not
exist anywhere else. So, it’s quite a challenging plan to realise, but we have broken it
down into phases, so I think the first phase is we are doing the touring caravan park.
Then that will move on to showman’s wagons which are coming on, which you wont
see anywhere else and then we have got the Kharafi lodges which complement the
rhino, so you’ll be able to wake up and have your breakfast on your sundeck
Interviewer: Overlooking, is it overlooking the enclosure?
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Respondent: Yeah, which is quite cool
Interviewer: Yeah that’s nice
Respondent: Yeah and that will be heavily themed as Folly Farm so its very much
an extension to what we are already doing
Interviewer: Are each areas differently themed? Were there 3 different areas?
Respondent: Yeah so, it will be so, I’m trying to remember the areas, Zoo, barn,
farm, play, sorry zoo, farm, fair, play
Interviewer: Right, yeah
Respondent: Yeah, so those are the 4 areas and we are trying to pick up elements
of each one of those within the development we’re currently working on
Interviewer: When are you expected to open the first section?
Respondent: The first section will be open end of June, maybe slightly earlier
depending on how we are getting on. We are just getting to the back end the
development now of the caravan section. But you know, we are also continuing with
other things on park
*Interview paused while respondent answers a phone call*
Respondent: Sorry
Interviewer: That’s alright, no problem
Respondent: Yeah so, what were we talking about?
Interviewer: Just about any on site developments that you said you’ve also got
coming on
Respondent: On site developments, yeah, so we are also continuing with other

things, so we’ve got, updates to the old funfair restaurant to bring that up to date
Interviewer: My area of the woods there
Respondent: Yeah, your old area there. Which has become a tired area and wasn’t
really fit for purpose, especially once we built the new hungry farmer restaurant. So
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we are doing that and we are also doing a couple of new enclosures and one of
them will be dwarf African crocodiles which will be coming
Interviewer: Yeah, saw that on your website
Respondent: We are looking also at programmes, because I think where we are at

the moment we’ve developed the business to a level where we’ve got a huge range
of things going on in the park so you cant actually get round them in one day and
with the farm or the zoo attractions or whatever so what we are trying to do now is to
look at different ways of attracting people back and that will be through, we are doing
return free within 7 days, one offer that we are doing we’ve introduced a family
annual pass, which we didn’t used to do, so that’s different. We’re also looking at
events, so in the past with events we’ve worked with licensed character providers
and that’s worked really well, the likes of Peppa Pig, stickman that kind of thing
Interviewer: Yeah those where the busiest ones, the Peppa Pig days
Respondent: Yeah so they’re back next year, and then the following year we’ve got
two realty exciting developments which I cant tell you about because they’re
commercially sensitive
Interviewer: Yeah, sure, no problem
Respondent: But they are event based over a long period of time and that should
drive footfall significantly
Interviewer: With reference to the holiday park, you said you undertook research,
what gave you the idea of the holiday park? Was it just the footfall numbers?
Respondent: Well we’d bought the farm next door, because it was on our boundary
and it would have been crazy for us not to. To develop it into whatever, you know,
but we had to establish a change of use which we did and we had already had the
caravan club and other organisations stay on site using car parks, which weren’t
really up to scratch and I had bought a touring caravan for my young family and
spend most of my time tracking around different sites around Pembrokeshire and I
found it very difficult to get anywhere in July, August and September because it was
Interviewer: Fully booked
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Respondent: Fully booked, so we also started, obviously you’ve got the Bluestone
development which is phenomenal, and the occupancy levels are amazing. We have
run for 6 years I think now a 5 star self-catered accommodation on site and that has
done extremely well, the occupancy levels have been crazy, its doing so well. So, we
thought well, looking at other attractions our size throughout the UK, they have an
accommodation offering, there’s a space there, there’s a market for it and we just
started drawing up plans and it took sort of 4 years of development to get it off the
ground and talking to visit wales about their expectations from it and what sort of
things we would need to achieve a 5 star rating, because we don’t just want to be
touring park, we want to be the best
Interviewer: Top of the range, yeah
Respondent: Subsequent developments on it with the lodges and other

accommodation products and also talking to the local planning authority over
numerous years and having lots of meetings we came up with a strategy to develop
it into what it’s going to be
Interviewer: Is it going to be exclusively for just guests visiting Folly Farm?
Respondent: No, if you wanted to, you can stay there and never come to Folly
Farm. For us, its more about extending our operating season so we would very much
like to have people visiting the attraction all year around, currently in the winter as
you know we close after October half term and we just operate winter weekends,
then up until February half term we are open again 7 days a week. So, what we feel
is that we will be able to extend that offering, whether it be a Friday to Monday
initially over the winter, and the other thing is, we’ve got a management plan which
we are going to employ on the holiday park, to encourage people to use us more
than once a week. So we are getting secondary visits, whereas we may have only
had one and the other point of it is could extend our operating hours in the summer
as well, so we could be open later and have exclusive access for our guests in the
holiday park
Interviewer: That’s great, in terms of occupancy levels what would you be looking at
percentage wise, say in the first year?
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Respondent: In line with visit Wales’ occupancy levels for the type of
accommodation, so I think caravans are 30%. I think the lodges are more like 47%-
48%, so something like that
Interviewer: Great, and then moving on from that. What market would you say Folly
Farm sits in? I know you said it would be hard to summarise it earlier, but if you had
to try?
Respondent: Yeah, we’ll it changes all the time because if you had asked me that
question 5 years ago, I would have said under 9’s is our primary target, but it is
changing all the time and we are getting a lot of older people, couples that don’t have
children and we are also getting lots of older teenagers that are starting to reengage
and to come to Folly
Interviewer: When they look up from their phone
Respondent: Yeah, it could be the association that they came here when they were
children, but we are moving, because we have been going such a long period of time
now we are getting people that are coming back, they came here when they were
children and they’re coming with their children. So, and lots of grandparents are
bringing their children as well, so I would say we are primarily young family, but it is
extending all the time, pushing into new targets
Interviewer: Would you roughly know market sizes for these areas? So, would you
classify yourselves as a tourist attraction? Any idea on your market share etc?
Respondent: Market share, I asked our head of marketing just to jot some things
down, so we are on about in terms of the micro business environment?
Interviewer: Yeah, micro, yeah
Respondent: Tourism and leisure market, market size, 10,500 tourism businesses
in Wales and the industry is worth around £5.1 billion, key words and trends within
the market towards attractions, you’ve got things like Lanterns, Brick sky safari you
know that sort of thing, animal adoptions is also another
Interviewer: So, would you say your market has developed over the years, in terms
of customer expectancy?
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Respondent: Yeah, it’s much more crowded and there’s competition for holiday
makers, the competition for their spend is higher but for lots of different reasons. I
think this year there has been a big swing to people looking for natural attractions,
like the Islands, so they’ve done really well and the national park has done really well
and the national trust is doing exceptionally well. I went to a recent destination
Pembrokeshire forum meeting and the national trust were reporting that they were
reporting that they were at capacity and didn’t really want any more visitors. The I’m
in a room with a load of other attraction providers and hoteliers we’re saying, well no
actually we want more. So, it’s interesting, there are winners and that’s definitely a
trend. Also, reputation management through reviews and awards have become a
key to success in a crowded marketplace so, marketing for us is more about
protection of the brand and its not about placing adverts in newspapers or radio
advertising, its more about keeping up with your profile and that’s really important
Interviewer: You say about the challenges then, about the national trust not wanting
more people coming down and that you want more, would you say there are any
other challenges you could potentially see your market facing?
Respondent: Yeah, legislation, increased costs and supplies, we don’t know what’s
going to happen tomorrow, whether we are in the EU or not. We do try to buy as
much as we can within Pembrokeshire, then in Wales, then in the UK, then Europe
then rest of the world, but some of it you have to get from the rest of the world, but it
all comes through European ports, so interesting, so watch that space and I think
also a challenge would be third party booking agents, we get quite a lot of people
saying we would like to get commission etc. We tend not to do much of that, we
develop our own in-house systems that we employ and where we don’t have our
own in house, we tend to bolt systems on third part provision
Interviewer: Would you say you tend to try and categorise your customers, in terms
of age, spending habits or frequency of visit
Respondent: Yeah, we have got a lot of data on them. Not personal data, but we do
try to work out as close to as we can, the visitor profile and to be honest with you, it
hasn’t really changed that much and its more are they day visitors, travelling to us
within 2 hours or are they holiday makers staying within the area and annual pass
holders, you would think the majority of them are in Pembrokeshire, but they’re not,
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they are in Swansea. I think that probably in Pembrokeshire we are all employed in
tourism and we are all too busy
Interviewer: Yeah, true, true. So, would you say you have loyal customers? In terms
of revisiting?
Respondent: Yes, I think most people probably visit 3-4 times to the park
Interviewer: As you said, there’s so much you almost have to visit again
Respondent: Yeah, yeah
Interviewer: Do you have any figures for return visit customers?
Respondent: Loyal customers, we’ve got 10,000 annual pass holders with a 70%
visitor return rate on annual passes and return visitors they are around 70% return
visit as well
Interviewer: Yeah, brilliant, thank you. So, with your target audience you mentioned
earlier is predominantly younger children. With the holiday village be specifically for
that?
Respondent: It will be the same really
Interviewer: Similar again
Respondent: Yeah, so, we are looking at parents of children aged 0-9, secondary
would be teenagers and young adults without children and adults without children
and then grandparents
Interviewer: And then also, do you know how many overseas guests you have to
the park?
Respondent: Not a great deal
Interviewer: Yeah, I didn’t think there would be that many
Respondent: No, it used to be quite high, we used to get a lot of traveling from
Ireland but the ferry links are quite restricted form where they used to be so we are
not seeing that market as much now and also the Euro
Interviewer: Currency rates, yeah
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Respondent: Yeah. We do tend to get quite a few Dutch and German, but it not a
huge market
Interview: Yeah okay, so would you say you predominantly target a UK customer
base?
Interviewer: Can you identify any challenges that your customers might bring to
your organisation?
Respondent: Yeah, the biggest one is expectation regarding cleanliness and also
health and safety and accessibility, especially with something lie vintage rides
because you cant just chop up a ride and make it disabled access, its just
sometimes that’s the barrier which you just cannot overcome
Interviewer: Yeah that’s fair enough, and then to what extent do you utilise the Folly
Farm app? What can be done on it?
Respondent: Yeah, the app needs a lot of work. Have you seen it?
Interviewer: Yeah, I have, yeah I downloaded it and have had a look at it
Respondent: Initially, the idea of the app was that we were printing a whole load of
maps and timetables and we thought well this is ridiculous, because at the end of the
day we were picking them up and putting them in the skip, which just is not our way,
its so wasteful. So, we thought we would develop the app to give people access to
the maps and the timetables, so that’s what it’s for, but we also use it for upselling,
so you can go on there and buy your annual passes and your animal adoption and
zoo keeper experiences
Interviewer: Can you book a ticket on it on the day?
Respondent: Yeah you can book a ticket, pull up in the car park, you can book a
ticket.
Interviewer: Great. In terms of your marketing strategies, what current marketing

strategies do you use to attract customers?
Respondent: Pretty much every single channel going, we’re using a mix of things,
so owned media, website, on site advertising, brochures. Earned media, would be
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PR, social organic search and then paid media, radio, print, paid social and paid
search.
Interviewer: Which would you say is the most utilised?
Respondent: Brochure is very important, because people just pick it up, we print
something like 1 million broachers and that we do in partnership with Heatherton. So,
we have our own distribution.
Interviewer: So how far out do you distribute the leaflets?
Respondent: We go all the way up to Borth, then draw an arc all the way through
Brecon, all the way down to Newport. Pretty much all of that and then there’s a little
bit we do over the bridge, but not a lot, so we do sort of just get into Hereford. Just
as well, social media is amazing because of the amount of analytical data we can get
from it. So, if I was to be hyper critical I would say we can get a bit clouded with
social, and put a lot of time and effort into it in my opinion, but you can see real term
gains from that so it’s obviously the biggest fastest growing media there is. It used to
be something like TV advertising, so 20 years ago we did a lot of TV advertising, we
don’t touch it now
Interviewer: Yeah, it’s so expensive now as well
Respondent: Yeah and we can’t get the stats back from it and it’s not
geographically targeted as well as it used to be. People are watching catch-up TV
because they are getting their media through routes, so they just skip through the
adverts, because what’s the point in sitting through them. Outdoor media is good as
well, we do a lot with signs and bus advertising and if we’ve got special events on we
might run out that
Interviewer: Do you still go into schools with animals at all?
Respondent: No, no, we do have various engagement programmes, community

engagement programmes, so things like our association with the sports awards and
that’s more about us giving back to the community, but at the same time getting
different target audiences that may not have been to us for us for a while or may
have never been to us, thinks like Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra and theatre, we’re
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getting a totally different group of people coming here, we light the funfair up at night
and they could think to bring the kids back or their grand kids back
Interviewer: It’s similar with me up in University, some people just still think it’s a
Farm, they don’t necessarily know about the other aspects
Respondent: Yeah, the biggest thing is we try to undersell and overdeliver
Interviewer: That’s great that
Respondent: So, when the expectation is there and then they actually get
something a lot better and that is probably a weakness of ours as well, because if we
are doing something for a group or for somebody, we tend to put everything into it
regardless of what the costs are, so it might actually end up costing us, but we want
them to go away and say wow we had a fantastic experience, let’s go back. The
worst thing you can do is underdeliver a product and then they be disappointed
Interviewer: Yeah, disappointed, word of mouth spreads. So, In terms of

stakeholders, who are the organisations stakeholders, I think you touched on it
earlier?
Respondent: Who are our organisations stakeholders?
Interviewer: Yeah, so were they the 4 directors then?
Respondent: I would say it extends beyond that, I would say it’s a mix of the four
directors, if you’re looking at financial stakeholders, yeah, but then you’ve also got
everyone that works within the organisation, I would consider them to be a major
stakeholder and all of our guests are stakeholders, absolutely undoubtably. If anyone
is in this industry and they say their guests are not stakeholders then they are crazy,
that’s what I reckon
Interviewer: Yeah that’s fair enough. So, do any stakeholders have any more power
than the others? You mentioned customers then, would they?
Respondent: I would say, the customer is king and this goes back to very early
training, in previous careers but I would say they are number one, you’ve got to listen
to them, you’ve got to make sure you’re delivering a product that they want for the
right price that exceeds their expectations and if you’re not, that’s when I starts to go
wrong
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Interviewer: I remember that from my training, the customer is always right
Respondent: Yeah
Interviewer: In terms of political aspects, how much of an impact do, you touched on
it earlier with raw materials, do you think Brexit is going to have on your
organisation?
Respondent: Yeah, you just don’t know, it’s just uncertainty. We’ve been through
recessions in the past and financial crisis, change of government, you could, it
depends on your viewpoint. You could be optimistic or pessimistic, so I could sit here
and say it going to have a negative impact if we leave the EU it’s going to put
pressure on this, pressure on that, labour government win the election it’s going to
put pressure on this, pressure on that, but it’s also going to bring opportunities. I
think now if you look at business, business always finds a way to deal with whatever
the challenges are. We started switching over, I’m going to give you an example now
Interviewer: Yeah, sure
Respondent: We started switching over and using social media and website activity
probably 15-20 years ago and that was all on dial up, there wasn’t broadband, that
didn’t exist and the broadband came around to the rest of the country, but didn’t
come here. What we found was people were looking for high quality, rich content,
high definition photography on websites that sold a product at a great level and they
showed video content all that sort of stuff. We had so much information and content
to upload because we couldn’t do it, because we would have to sit and wait the
whole day to upload it, which was crazy and then the next day you want to change it
and put another picture up, it just took too much time. So, what do we do? We put in
a private ethernet direct to the BT exchange in Saundersfoot, cost us £15,000, but
we had our own pipeline, giving us 100mb up and down. So, it was great
Interviewer: I wouldn’t mind that
Respondent: We adapted to a situation, we knew we needed it, could see the

opportunity there and we said let’s get on with it. It’s going to be the same with
Brexit, we may have, if we leave the EU, I think initially there’s going to be a lot of
people who might go for the staycation if there’s a change of government it might
change peoples thoughts on how they spend their disposable income. You may
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have, if there is a labour government, or well we’ll find out tomorrow, that might bring
about different opportunities for the employee stakeholders in the business and I
think those signs are very exciting. I think there are going to be challenges, I mean
on the other side of it a lot of our vet and meds for zoo animals come from Europe,
so are they going to get held up in the port of origin, but we have done things that we
can, as far as we can to advise any hold ups, by stockpiling things that we can, not in
massive quantities, but in enough to get us through, I think there then may be initial
issues that we will have to iron out, but at the end of the day. I think the UK business
group is a pretty resilient industry and we’ll find ways because there isn’t another
option. You can’t just say, Brexit is why you’re not doing well, that’s not good
enough. You’ve got to find a new way around it. I think it will be difficult
Interviewer: Yeah of course
Respondent: But, exciting and I personally think we are on the brink of a bit of a
revolution, I think we’re, we’ve seen it before with the industrial revolution, and there
was massive socio economic change and I think we are somewhere going down that
road now, and that doesn’t frighten me I think that’s really exciting. Potentially it
could completely change how our business is operated and owned long-term and
that’s great, something to embrace.
Interviewer: Yeah brilliant. So, in terms of the social media side, you mentioned
earlier with your usage of it for the data. Would you say you’re happy that you use it
to a reasonable standard?
Respondent: Yeah, we do a lot. Yeah we pretty much, most of our decisions now
will be based on analytical date we get. So, if we were looking for example to put in
some character appearances next summer, what we did is we put out a little bit of
information on Facebook, ‘what do people think about this’, looked at the
engagement and that helped us form our opinions as to which ones are going to be
popular for our audiences and that’s what we did and we did the same based on the
accommodation, the holiday accommodation. So, it’s only a segment of the market,
probably a quite small representation, but it gives you s general feeling and if we
could have had that 20 years ago it would have been really exciting. We are so lucky
now that we’ve got the ability to interrogate that data and do stuff with it.
Interviewer: Which social media platforms do you use the most?
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Respondent: Yeah, Facebook is probably the biggest, then Instagram and then
review sites. We use TripAdvisor and Google reviews, but we’ve found that Google
reviews is outdoing TripAdvisor, it’s doing really well. There’s a lot of engagement
with that one. I think also, there’s a warning with social media as well, that if you
engage with it, it’s a massive animal and you’ve to keep going with it, you can’t just
switch it off. The other thing is that people send you a private message, you’ve got to
respond. You can’t be, it’s the weekend, it’s Christmas, I’ll reply in January, you have
to be there to respond. So, somebody has got to do that job
Interviewer: Yeah, somebody to man that all the time. Then with technology, how
much would you say technology has an impact on your organisation?
Respondent: Huge. It used to be nearly nothing, and we used to talk about that a
lot, we don’t have lots of different devices, but now we’ve got devices everywhere, all
over the place. The last, it’s from stuff like CCTV which is all available on the
internet, webcams, website development optimisation, all that sort of stuff, all the
data is driven by it. We have dabbled a bit with capture points before with wifi, but we
don’t do that anymore because it was too much and we didn’t know what do to with
it. The largest technological advancement we made was the adoption of a asset
management tool which we brought in last year and we use that for a lot of stuff. It’s
called ‘Mobaro’ and was developed by an ex MD of Drayton Manor with a software
company. We were one of the early adopters and basically what you do is you use
that for all of your health and safety, could be anything from fridge temperature
checks, to ride engineer testing, it could be custodial to say the toilets had been
cleaned it might be checking that the telehandler has had its daily test, it could be
that you are walking around the park, take a photo, create an assignment for
somebody to do the job and then one of the engineers will get a notification and then
he knows he’s got to do that job within a certain time, then if he doesn’t do it then it
pings back to the person who created the assignment to say that this job hasn’t been
completed. It’s amazing, but it is only as good as the people who drive it.
Interviewer: That’s amazing, yeah so if they don’t do it then there will be a lot of
back and forth
Respondent: That’s really good and then we use a awful lot of technology on the
rides, so obviously all the rides are 1920’s-1930’s so we’ve replaced all of the motors
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with motors for saving power and also less wear and depreciation on the machinery,
those can all be programmed to do various sets of things, they are all standardised,
so the start, stop systems are all standardised
Interviewer: You mentioned about the app, someone can ticket on the app, do they
have a barcode then which they just show to the desk and scan it?
Respondent: Yeah, they will have a barcode on them which is scanned. We also
use a software to track our ticket sales, and retail, so everything goes through the
same system and that is pretty cool because we get data out of who’s bought the
tickets and where they are from
Interviewer: Yeah, very true. So, will tills around the park, they are all technology
based, is that data sent straight away? Or is somebody going down and cashing it
up?
Respondent: No, that’s all automatic and available on the cloud. So, all the
management team have an app on their phone, which is cloud based, as is the
Mobaro system, so not only are we getting our asset management data, we are also
getting our visitor data, whenever I want it. So, I was in Carmarthen yesterday, and
wanted to know what the park visitor numbers at 11 O’clock, I just open that app up
and it tells me who’s on the park, I can get a breakdown of age, whether they are
annual pass holders, yeah it’s pretty good.
Interviewer: So that broadband investment is paying off then, if all that data is on
the cloud
Respondent: Yeah, yeah it’s been pretty good
Interviewer: Is there still customer wifi, did you say?
Interviewer: Is that available all around the park?
Respondent: Pretty much, yeah. Couple of spots and that will be the same for the
holiday park then
Interviewer: Okay, brilliant. Yeah naturally
Respondent: The reason we extended that was because people tend to share stuff
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Interviewer: Yeah, and it shows the location
Respondent: Yeah, you want people checking in, we’ll have a photo board, the one
we did this year we had 4 deck chairs for each zone, you know those giant deck
chairs
Interviewer: Yeah, the massive ones, yeah
Respondent: They’ve got the Folly Farm logo on the back, and the amount of
people posting on the internet was really interesting and then we ran a competition,
so if you had your photo taken at all 4 then you win, whatever
Interviewer: Yeah and then it’s just more exposure for you. So from a legal
standpoint, what legal points must you consider in terms of financials, regulations,
animals and hygiene?
Respondent: Probably one of the most heavily governed industries going. We’ve
got zoo licensing, public entertainment licensing, health and safety legislation which
is huge, and then you’ve got all your financials and your PCI compliant, you name it
we’ve probably got it, but it’s worse for us because we are also, we also build stuff
ourselves, CDM regs, we’ve got construction industry accredited training, we’ve got
all the plant and machinery training that we do. It’s absolutely massive, we’ve got two
people in the organisation and their job is just health and safety
Interviewer: Really? That’s incredible. So in terms of environmental issues, on a

lovely day like today, the weather and climate, what would you say are your main
environmental issues?
Respondent: Yeah, yeah. If it’s extremely good weather, we do tend to see a

decrease
Interviewer: Need that Folly Farm weather
Respondent: Yeah, they do tend to go to the beaches and outdoor attractions. This
year we had a pattern where we had reasonable weather, which was great for us
and then we had a really wet day, and the wet days normally we pick up on, but it
wasn’t so good because it we hadn’t had that many wet days, so people were like,
wet day, pyjamas on, scrambled eggs on toast, stick a film on. We are weather
dependant for sure.
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Interviewer: So, would you say, a cloudy day, little bit of sunshine?
Respondent: Yeah cloudy day, but we do like the sunshine, we like good weather
as well, it gets the holiday makers thinking about booking a holiday and staying in
Pembrokeshire. So, we need a bit of a mix, snow is not good
Interviewer: No, snow is never good weather really, especially around here. Then
finally, who would you say are your main competitor is?
Respondent: That would be Longleat, they would be a major competitor, I would

say, obviously the beaches if the weathers good, Bristol Zoo, free attractions such as
St Fagans and Time. Time is the biggest competitor, because we’ve just got so
much opportunity to do different things and it’s just trying to fit it all in
Interviewer: That could be a positive as they have to come back
Respondent: You’ve got to try and fit it all into one life, it’s not long enough and
there’s not enough hours in a day
Interviewer: In terms of Pembrokeshire, with the addition of the holiday park. Have
you identified any, main competitors for that area?
Respondent: I wouldn’t say we will be competing necessarily with anyone. I think

we are aligning the product to be complementary, to our product. It’s not Bluestone,
it’s not a caravan park, it’s not Florence Springs it’s
Interviewer: Folly Farm
Respondent: Different, yeah, it’s Folly Farm, it’s a standalone product which I think
well expand on it’s own right, I think it will do well
Interviewer: Brilliant, well, thank you very much for this, is there anything else you
would like to add to the interview?
Respondent: I don’t think so, good luck with your degree
Interviewer: Yeah, I’ll give it my best, thank you.
*End of Transcript*
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8.2. Internal-environment
Mission statement
Folly Farm are constantly diversifying and developing their brand, this is reflected
upon with their mission statements, over the years they have had various mission
statements reflecting on where the organisation was at during that time period. Their
updated mission statement for 2019 is “Exceeding expectations, The Family Way”
(Folly Farm, 2019)
Brand Values
According to Ebsworth (2019) Folly Farm is about family values. Irrespective of

where you are on the socio-economic scale you as a family can enjoy and de-stress
at Folly Farm. The business is still run similar to the farm, in that it is 24 hours a day,
7 days a week. This will be replicated with the same level of commitment and care
with the holiday park development. Ebsworth (2019) also describes how Folly Farm
runs as an extended family, the people within it help to drive towards collective
goals. The organisation is proud of that they offer long term sustainable employment
for local people as well as providing an exceptionally good quality guest experience.
“The customer is king” (Ebsworth, 2019) shows the value and respect they have
towards the customer.
Organisational Structure
Folly Farm utilise a democratic leadership model where leadership is shared equally
amongst the directors, all working together towards collective goals. They are open
to input from others within the organisation, reinforcing their extended family values.
Following input and discussion the overall final decisions are made by the four
directors (Woods, 2005). The current organisational structure is listed below,
however this is likely to change with the introduction of the holiday park as more staff
will need to be employed.
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Glyn Williams: Anne Williams: Chris Ebsworth: Karina Ebsworth:

Founding Founding Managing HR Director
Director Director Director
Tim Alex Sandra Carol Royston Badham & Zoe Norma Ben Kate Jane Hill:
Morphew: Torok: Phillips: Robbins: Emma Beynon: Wright: Tribe: Lewis: Torok:
Farm
Zoo General Commercial Retail Health and Safety Head of Head of F&B Head of Manager
Curator manager manager Manager Managers Marketing Finance Manager HR
Zoo Staff Angela Gareth

Gareth Emma Catrin Vanessa Kim
Thomas: Brown:
Morris: Owen: Williams: Thomas: Brickell:
Andrew Darren Assistant Assistant
Marketing Marketing HR Personnel Assistant
Russell: Phillips: Retail F&B
Officer Officer Manager Manager Farm
Manager Manager
Manager
Fairground Maintenance
manager manager
Retail F&B Kimberly Laura Walters:
Supervisors Supervisors Low:
Fairground Maintenance Trainee HR/
Supervisors Staff Trainee HR Office
Officer Administrator
Retail F&B Staff
Staff
Fairground Farm Staff
Staff
(Folly Farm, 2019)
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Staff Competencies
Ebsworth (2019) mentioned how when looking for staff in recruitment, the
organisation looked for potential employees who could fit into their family values.
However, with the various jobs available at Folly Farm, different education and
experience levels were required for different departments. An example Ebsworth
(2019) gave was someone for a job in the zoo department. The employee would
have to have clear animal skills and to be educated to a degree standard because of
the level of care and ability needed to competently execute the role.
It was also mentioned how if gaps are spotted in members of staff, these can be
trained and improved through career development plans. In some cases, even
putting staff through university degree’s once they have identified potential skills in
them but require the degree qualification to be promoted. Any staff member that joins
the HR team are put through chartered institute of personal development
programmes, as are the marketing department staff, they go through the chartered
institute of marketing development course. This is showing Folly Farm are happy to
improve staff competency levels through extra courses in order to improve the
quality of services they provide (Ebsworth, 2019).
Value chain analysis
Folly Farm have a unique product offering that is expanding year on year (Folly
Farm, 2019). It can be applied to the Porter (1985) value chain model through the
nine categories, split into support and primary activities.
Folly Farm offer firm infrastructure such as their management team, finance
department, legal representatives and planning from the management team. All
senior directors are in the same family and have a good working relationship
Ebsworth (2019) highlighting how they all tend to agree and are willing to try one
another’s ideas without needing the green light from others in corporate offices many
miles away.
Their human resource department is made up of a HR director, Head of HR, HR

Manager, Personnel manager and trainee HR officers. These employees are in
charge of the general care and wellbeing of all other staff members, rota planning,
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performance appraisals and training programmes. With the addition of two trainee
HR officers and the overall employee satisfaction levels, this area is clearly being run
efficiently and the addition of the new officers will allow them to learn in a positive
environment.
The introduction of the ‘Mobaro’ system to the organisation shows effective usage of
technology. The system has allowed for quick and easy communication between
staff members to report problems and to allow maintenance to resolve them upon
receiving the assignment. It has also helped improve data analysis for a further
understanding of the customer profile Folly Farm attract. Finally, the app has also
allowed the senior management team quick and easy access to park statistics such
as door numbers, guests on site money made so far on the day etc. This again
reinforcing their excellent adaptation and implementation in terms of technology. The
only criticism would be the Folly Farm app, which has already been addressed by
Ebsworth (2019) stating that it needed a lot of work.
The procurement is the raw materials and supplied needed in order to aid with their
delivery of service, so this is the overall guest experience from visiting the park. As
mentioned, Ebsworth (2019) stated they aim to “undersell and overdeliver". This
would be the relevant heads of departments going through inventory/stock orders
needed, then being in contact with the suppliers to place the order. For example, the
F&B department manager will get stock requests from all F&B supervisors and then
contact suppliers for deliveries based on supervisors’ recommendations and their
own personal judgement.
Next on Porter’s (1985) value chain model is the primary activities. First, inbound
logistics. This is where the raw materials will be stored, before being used to deliver
the service. An example of this would be a delivery of specific animal feed for zoo
animals.
Operations will then take over from inbound logistics. Upon the arrival of raw
materials, warehouse staff will be assigned to the delivery to securely store the raw
materials. Inventory lists will be updated, and the relevant departments will be
notified that their requested orders have arrived (Porter, 1985).
Next would be outbound logistics, as it’s a service that Folly Farm are offering, there
is not actual physical product. The product instead is the experience, therefore they
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are unable physically offer a product. The outbound logistics instead would be
ensuring everything is ready for guest service (Porter, 1985).
After ensuring the park is ready for opening, marketing and sales come in. Here Folly
Farm select their favoured communication methods. They currently use Facebook to
probe for customer reaction to potential events on park and benefit from receiving a
lot of data on the interactions on these posts. They then use the information based
on interactions to decide which event has the better chance for success (Ebsworth,
2019). Here they will communicate their message to relative target audiences,
informing them of their product offering. This is proving a success, based on their
interactions on social media posts. (Porter, 1985).
Then finally, the actual delivery of their service. After informing customers of their
product offering, these customers will now visit Folly Farm and react either positively
or negatively based on their experience. They can then post their reviews on
TripAdvisor and Google reviews letting other potential guests know their feelings and
attitude towards the brand and the experience they had (Porter, 1985).
Financials
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(Companies House, 2019)

As shown above, the annual turnover for Folly Farm in February 2019 was
£7,792,888, an increase of £277,303 from February 2018 (Companies House, 2019).
Ebsworth (2019) explained how the sources of income for Folly Farm are a fairly
even split between door entry and spend on site, however a small amount is also
earned from their green initiatives as mentioned in the PESTLE analysis. The overall
profit for the financial year is showing Folly Farm’s business plan to be solid,
maintaining a similar level of profit from the previous year also reinforcing the
sustainability of the organisations business model.
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8.3. Micro-environmental analysis
Market
Folly Farm would come under the Visitor Attractions market based off research and
definitions from Mintel (2019). Mintel (2019) indicated that over 340m have visited a
UK visitor attraction this year, with the figure set to reach over 401m by 2024. As
Ebsworth (2019) said, Mintel (2019) also support the notion that many UK
consumers are opting for staycations as opposed to holidays abroad, with 60% of
people attending an attraction as part of a staycation in the past 12 months.
This and the projected number of visitors to visitor attractions are clear benefits for
Folly Farm in the opening of the holiday park. Mintel (2019) also suggests
organisations that emphasise green initiates and zero-waste models help attractions
to capitalise on consumers environmental concerns. This again benefits Folly Farm
as their current green initiatives such as their biomass initiative would be a great
marketing tool to environmentally concerned customers (Ebsworth, 2019).
Furthermore, improved food and drink offerings are also seen as a strong
importance for consumers (Mintel, 2019). This linking into Folly Farm’s current
redevelopment plan for the ‘funfair restaurant’ to be updated because the directors
felt it wasn’t fit for purpose anymore and had become a tired area. Along with this the
recent introduction of the ‘hungry farmer restaurant to the park (Ebsworth, 2019),
showing Folly Farm are taking steps in the direction which Mintel (2019) are claiming
to be the most important to customers, thus proving another strong positive for the
organisation. Ebsworth (2019) identifies that the market is crowded and this year a
trend visible to them in the market that customers have opted for natural attractions
such as islands and the national park favouring from this trend. Should this trend
continue, this could hinder Folly Farm the park, but the organisation could capitalise
on this trend with the holiday park by targeting these customers to stay in the holiday
park and offer transport links to these locations as bundled offerings.
Customer segments
Primary market identified as parents of children aged 0-9, primarily young families,
however, is constantly changing due to children growing up, starting families and
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then coming back with them because they visited as a child and are now taking their
family. Secondary target audience would be teenagers and young adults without
children, then grandparents (Ebsworth, 2019). Ebsworth (2019) also mentions how
there is an increase in couples that don’t have children visiting the park and also
grandparents bringing their grandchildren. These trends are a positive for Folly Farm
as it shows that their product offering is suitable for all ages, irrespective where they
sit on the socio-economic scale, there is something for everyone. (Ebsworth, 2019).
It is also mentioned how customers tend to be loyal towards the brand, revisiting on
average 3-4 times a year and the main customer base tends to be day visitors
traveling within 2 hours from places such as Swansea to Folly Farm and then holiday
makers staying in the local area. The organisation currently has 10,000 annual pass
holders with a 70% return rate on annual passes and around 70% on general visitors
also (Ebsworth, 2019) These figures again only benefit the organisation having such
high return rates, keeping these customers happy and brand loyal will be key to the
continued success of the park. With these high figures, they will also benefit in terms
of the holiday park as the more customers visit, the more likely they could be to stay
in the accommodation and make a one-day trip into a 2/3 day stay.
However, Mintel (2019) is reporting that Zoo attendance is showing signs of decline.
With young people accounting for a large portion of zoo visitors, they are instead
opting for music events. While this may seem to hinder Folly Farm, the zoo is only
one of many areas in their product offering and despite the number of zoo
attendances falling, Mintel (2019) reports that after-hours tours and glamping are
ways of attracting these young customers. These are both being implemented by
Folly Farm following the holiday park expansion (Ebsworth, 2019) so it could be
turned around into a positive for them as they will still get the custom of this
segment.
Market competitiveness
Ebsworth (2019) feels that there will be no direct competition in terms of product
offerings available at Folly Farm. The sheer range of offerings upon the completion
of the holiday village will be unmatched in the UK. However, competition will come in
other attractions, not necessarily organisations but general visitor attractions. These
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will include, the beaches, Pembrokeshire national park and Caldey island.
Organisation competitors in Pembrokeshire will be Heatherton, Manor House Wildlife
Park, Clerkenhill Adventure Farm, Bluestone and Oakwood. However, due to the
reputation of Folly Farm, anyone going to any of these places in Pembrokeshire are
likely to also visit Folly Farm, especially Heatherton whom Folly Farm have a
partnership in brochure and leaflet distribution (Ebsworth, 2019).
In terms of other UK competition, Folly Farm will face competition in the market from
attractions such as London Zoo, Chester Zoo, Bristol Zoo, LegoLand, Longleat,
Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Drayton Manor, The Milky Way, Centre Parcs and
Butlins. Mintel (2019) suggest that organisations that fall under the following
categories within the visitor attractions market will be potential competition for Folly
Farm in gaining customer market share. These include country parks, gardens,
heritage visitor centres, historical properties, museums, art galleries, science
centres, places of worship, steam/heritage railways, theme parks, zoos, wildlife
parks and aquariums will all be competition for Folly Farm.
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There is a growing requirement for the organisations to acknowledge presence of

technology in today’s business environments (Baines et al, 2017) due to the
technology usage from Parents (Venuta, 2014), Teenagers (Priporas et al, 2017)
and even a growing number of Grandparents (Statista, 2020). Folly Farm’s internal
usage of technology is high as shown in 2.4.4. However, their utilisation of
technology in terms of on-site guest technological engagement such as interactive
signage and app utilisation/incorporation is low. This is a familiar trend with many
visitor attractions, especially natural locations where there is zero technological
presence. App presence is non-existent in the local market with the exception of
Bluestone who utilise their own app for booking and navigating purposes. The UK
market shows several organisations utilising their own apps to improve guest
service. These are displayed by their positioning towards the top right side of the
positioning map. Following the implementation of an app which utilises a 3D
interactive booking and site mapping. Folly Farm would be repositioned amongst UK
and local competitors as shown below.
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Competitor analysis
Research conducted by Folly Farm showed that attractions with similar yearly visitor
numbers (around 500,000) had some form of accommodation on site. This led to the
idea of the holiday park at Folly Farm (Ebsworth, 2019). As a new entrant to the
accommodation sector (Porter, 1979), Folly Farm have little experience in terms of
prolonged hospitality services. Their only expertise is the renting of the farm cottage
to guests wishing to stay there. Whilst this has been a success based on feedback
(Ebsworth, 2019), the holiday park is a far bigger scale and other organisations in
the UK have been offering accommodation facilities for many years now and have a
competitive advantage on Folly Farm through the data they would have collected on
what works and what doesn’t. Folly Farm will have to go through this and find it out
themselves thus being a hinderance on the opening of the holiday park as if the
services aren’t to the standard of their competitors, customers will take their custom
elsewhere, irrespective of the product offering inside the actual attraction park.
Stakeholder mapping
As an organisation, Folly Farm are responsible for providing the best possible guest
service they can to guests. From a financial standpoint, the four directors are the
main stakeholders as they are concerned with the overall efficiency and profit made
from the organisation. In terms of service quality, all employees should be heavily
invested in their service delivery quality and all customers will be key stakeholders
as their opinion matters the most. The whole model of the business is based on their
satisfaction and custom (Ebsworth, 2019).
Keep Satisfied Manage Closely

• Government • Active customers
• Heatherton – brochure/leaflet • Staff
partnership • TripAdvisor and Google reviews
Power
Monitor Keep Informed

• Competitors • Directors
• Non customers outside of target • Legal advisors
markets • VisitWales
• Past customers
Interest (Sedereviciute and Valentini, 2011)

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8.4. SWOT analysis

Strengths Weaknesses
• Diversity of product – Wide • Geographical – despite beautiful
product offering, further location, surrounded by sea on
increased with holiday park. Zoo, three sides. Transport
fairground, farm, play area and infrastructure routes are poor,
accommodation all in one especially coming from the M4.
• Established brand – No need Motorway slowly funnels down
for extras on name and logo, causing congestion and hold ups
simply Folly Farm is enough now. – could have negative impact on
Less communication needed business as customers don’t
• Location – One of the most want to be held up so choose
beautiful counties in the UK. other attractions with better
Surrounded by national park, transport infrastructure
beaches, great restaurants and • General economy – Less
wide-open spaces. Ideal for de- disposable income means less
stressing. customers and those who do
• Small young management visit, will spend less as they are
team – Allows for a very reactive more price cautious
approach. Quick decision • Smartphones, Tablets and
making, analyse data, make Games consoles – more and
decision, implement it. No waiting more children are getting
around for higher ups in board smartphones, tablets and games
meetings, quick and easy consoles earlier than in pervious
methods only years and are spending more
• Park makes good profits – time on them
Allows for money to be put back • Transport costs – Main
into the business for customer segment from
developments – led to the Swansea meaning at least a 1
holiday park hour drive – petrol consumption,
• Asset management – Mobaro bus and train fares
app allowing for data collection • Undersell product offering –
Trying to undersell and over
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and analysis wherever and deliver to maximise guest

whenever the users please experience once on site, could
• Efficient maintenance result in less customers because
assignments – Mobaro app some are put off because they
allowing for quick and effective don’t know the full range, product
assignment assignments, simply offering and service quality
take a picture of the problem and available due to underselling by
a member of maintenance will be marketing department
notified
• Personnel development –
Identify missing skill sets, provide
development plan or place on
course to increase staff
competency levels
• Green initiatives – Positive in
terms of CSR. Another source of
income because of efficiency
levels. Appeals to
environmentally friendly guests.
Reflects positively for PR
Opportunities Threats
• Holiday park – biggest • Brand might not be as
expansion to date. £10 million established outside of Wales –
project, first section opens 2020 Audience may not know what
with the remaining two to follow ‘Folly Farm’ is, simply by the
in the next few years. name. Would require further
Opportunity noticed after market communication and may become
research indicating other confused, assuming it is just a
attractions of a similar size in farm
customer volume have on site • Transport infrastructure – If
accommodation. Open to all transport links fail to be
customers, don’t have to visit upgraded, customers may avoid
Folly Farm to stay etc – broader due to hold ups and congestion
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target audience – higher chance • Mobaro app – Cloud based,

of profits internet drops, unable to access
• ‘Funfair restaurant’ makeover data until issue resolved. Also,
– one of the busiest food outlets potential security risk as all
in the park, however was senior management have it
becoming tired and dated and installed on their mobile devices
needed a revamp to be inline – potential for data breach
with where the park is going • Limited marketing – heavily
• In the process of becoming an reliant on positive reviews and
accredited training centre – owned media interactions such
potential for other organisations as Facebook and Instagram. Non
to come and learn from Folly followers of these pages may be
Farm and will provide another unaware of the development
source of income plans in progress
• Undersell and underdeliver
Holiday park – potential to
undersell and not over deliver. If
quality of park isn’t as expected,
cheaper alternatives are
available, customers may prefer
them as they don’t intend to
spend that much time there.
• Projected occupancy levels –
may not reach target occupancy
levels during phase 1, causing
for rethinking of further 2 stages
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8.5. Macro-environmental analysis
Political
# Factor Impact
1. Leaving the EU – customer • Staycation will benefit for local
decision making (Ebsworth, 2019) market. Negative for those
traveling long distances as they
will opt for more local
• Customers being more wary of
disposable income spending will
negatively affect secondary
spend figures
2. European specialist zoo vets and • Uncertainty on trade agreements
medicine (Ebsworth, 2019) when leaving the EU.
Problematic for Folly Farm as
other meds will potentially need
to be sourced
• Additional costs to bring
specialist vets into the UK
Economical
# Factor Impact
1. Exchange rate of £ has jumped • Benefit Folly Farm as cost of
following general election (BBC, imported goods will be less with
2019) a stronger £
• Stronger pound would also lead
to cheaper oil prices –
consumers potentially having
more disposable income due to
money saved on heating and
petrol
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2. Consumer disposable income • Main target audience identified

(BBC, 2018) as Wales (Ebsworth, 2019) have
the second lowest disposable
income from UK regions (BBC,
2018) – May have to consider
marketing further into England to
reach households with more
disposable income
Social
# Factor Impact
1. Growing number of families and • Increase in target market
households (ONS, 2019) numbers – positive signs as
more potential customers
• More young adults living with
their parents – potential for more
whole family days out/ family trip
– Benefit in terms of marketing to
one member could mean
achieving custom from all
members
2. UK population has a high number • Likely to be starting a family,
of 20-34 year olds, 13.17 million having children soon – Potential
(Statista, 2019) for long time customers if
marketed to correctly
3. Social media • Folly Farm target audience
engage more with Facebook
than any other form of social
media (Ebsworth, 2019) –
Majority of social media
advertising will be communicated
through Facebook and Instagram
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(second most used) (Ebsworth,

2019)
• Social media used for data
analysis on potential events.
Folly Farm has put out tasters for
various events on social media
and based on feedback and
interaction, has gone with the
most positively received
(Ebsworth, 2019) – Offers a
general feeling, however may not
be completely accurate as only a
small segment of true target
audience
• Folly Farm have open live chats
on Facebook for customer
queries. Has to be manned at all
times, replies must be quick
regardless of time and date
(Ebsworth, 2019) – As the
business expands further this
could become overloaded and
could lead to customer
dissatisfaction from not getting
replies quickly etc – would need
to be considered following the
expansion if this is still feasible
4. Folly Farm App Utilisation • “App needs a lot of work”
(Ebsworth, 2019)
• More children have access to
mobile or tablet devices than
ever before (Ofcom, 2016)
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• App was originally designed to

replace brochures and maps.
Since has been used for
upselling. – Revamping of app
would be beneficial for
expansion as potential
customers could see through
interactive map which pitches, or
wagons are free for booking.
• Interactive games/ puzzles could
also increase brand awareness if
they become popular on app
store
5. Customer review wary • Google reviews and TripAdvisor
reviews are of high importance
with customer decision making.
“Undersell and overdeliver”
(Ebsworth, 2019) key in
achieving this
6. Customer expectations • High expectation in terms of
cleanliness, health and safety
and accessibility (Ebsworth,
2019) – Will need to be reflected
for the Holiday Park, high
standards, disabled access etc
aiming for positive customer
reviews
Technological
# Factor Impact
1. CCTV • Holiday park will require further
CCTV installations for guest
safety whilst staying
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2. Broadband Investment (Ebsworth, • Begelly, Pembrokeshire mostly a

2019) rural area therefore limitations to
broadband speeds. £15,000
investment required to place
100mbps up/down ethernet
direct to the exchange in
Saundersfoot – Benefited the
organisation allowing them to
change their website freely,
uploading videos and pictures
quickly.
• Allowed no limitations on
broadband for further expansions
such as the ‘Mobaro’ app below
• Will benefit for guest wifi on park
and those staying in the holiday
park
3. Asset management Tool - Mobaro • Benefits attraction as is used for
(Ebsworth, 2019) all health and safety checks,
fridge temperatures, ride
engineer testing, custodial
checks and all other park
maintenance. Assignments can
be created by taking a picture of
a fault/ problem then all relevant
staff will be notified on their
mobiles to fix the problem – This
will be essential for the success
of the holiday park. If correctly
used, massive benefit for their
success
4. Visitor data – Mobaro (Ebsworth, • Benefits attraction as it a cloud-
2019) based app, so uses no physical
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hard drive space. Can see live

park data, accessed anywhere
on a mobile device.
• Able to analyse great amounts of
customer data – benefit in
knowing customer demographics
5. Technological advancements in • Guest expectations & feedback
ride motors (Ebsworth, 2019)
Legal
# Factor Impact
1. Heavily Licenced (Ebsworth, 2019) • Low impact licencing on holiday
park would be the zoo and public
entertainment licensing as these
have less impact of the creation
of the holiday park – Still
important to consider in terms of
brand image and park reviews
• CDM regs (construction and
design management) – Impact
for on site building, building the
organisation does without
external hiring – must abide by
these – Little impact on holiday
park construction as external
hiring chosen
• Health and safety licencing –
vital for organisation to follow
correctively to ensure guest
safety, failure to do this could
result in negative reviews,
customers not trusting the
organisation enough to stay
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there overnight and even in

extreme cases closure
2. GDPR • Customer data must be held in
like with GDPR regulations to
avoid fines (ICO, 2016) – Should
not be a problem for Folly Farm
as the regulations were imposed
in 2018 and they have had no
problems so far
Environmental
# Factor Impact
1. Weather and climate (Ebsworth, • Extremely good weather –
2019) Hinders the park as number
decrease – beaches and costal
paths chosen instead
• Good weather also benefits the
park as holiday makers tend to
think about going on holiday
when good weather is expected
• Wet days benefit the park due to
various inside offering
• Most beneficial weather tends to
be partially cloudy with sunshine
2. Green initiatives - £600,000 • Benefit for Folly Farm as they are
biomass project (Ebsworth, 2019) able to successfully optimise
their residual heat usage for
biomass – Could be a
hinderance for the holiday park
as it might be harder to manage
waste heat from hundreds of
different guest accommodations,
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thus reducing the parks overall

efficiency for biomass
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8.6. Year 1, 2 and 3 Quarterly Goals
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95
8.7. Participant Information Sheet
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97
8.8. Participant Consent Form
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9.0. References
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Folly Farm Marketing Plan

‘Creating awareness for the opening of a Holiday Park and

Dafydd Rhys Bevan

Ethics Number: 2019D191

Cardiff Metropolitan University

BA (Hons) Business and Management Studies with Marketing

Word Count: 6,541

3.1.1. Caravan Pitches…………………………………………………….11

6.1. Year 1 Gantt Chart……………………………………………………………35

Table 1 – Caravan Pitches

Figure 1 – Stakeholder Mapping

Folly Farm is a tourist attraction located in Begelly, Pembrokeshire (Folly Farm,

2.0. Situational Analysis

The organisation further outlined the social aspect of customer expectations.

Furthermore, the organisation employs green incentives such as their biomass

Micro-environmental analyses are used when identifying organisations that directly

2.2.2. Customer segments

However, Mintel (2019) is reporting that Zoo attendance is deteriorating. Young

2.2.3. Market competitiveness

2.2.4. Competitor analysis

2.2.5. Stakeholder mapping

(Figure 1 – Stakeholder mapping)

An internal analysis is used to evaluate and understand the capabilities of the

2.3.1. Mission Statement and Brand Values

2.3.2. Organisational structure

The organisation pursues a democratic leadership model where responsibility is

(Figure 2- Organisational Structure) (Folly Farm, 2019)

2.3.3. Staff Competencies

2.3.4. Value Chain Analysis

(Figure 3 – Organisational Financials) (Companies House, 2019)

2.4. SWOT Analysis

A comprehensive list of the identified Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and

(Figure 4 – SWOT Analysis) (Baines et al, 2017)

3.1. Occupancy Rates

(Table 1 – Caravan Pitches)

3.1. Occupancy Rates

3.2. Return on Holiday Park Investment (10m)

(Table 3 – ROI Holiday Park)

3.3. Technological Engagement

3.3.1. Re-Launch App (Downloads)

(Table 4 – Re-Launch App)

3.3.2. Method of Booking

(Table 5 – Method of Booking)

As shown in appendix 1, the organisation outlined their annual footfall to be around

3.4.1. Footfall Increase

(Table 6 – Footfall increase)

3.4.2. Return Visit - Park

(Table 7 – Park Return Visit)

3.4.3. Return Visit – Holiday Park

(Table 8 – Holiday Park Return Visit)

3.4.4. Bundled Offerings

3.4.4. Bundled Offerings

(Table 9 – Bundled Offerings)

4.1.1. Parents with children aged 0-9

4.1.2. Teenagers/Social Teens

Names: Sioned, Ben, Anwen and Tomos

(Figure 6 – Teenagers/Social Teens Persona) (Common Sense Media, 2020)

is due to many taking to smartphones and tablets as a form of consumption (Ofcom,

Names: Madge and Keith

(Figure 7 – Grandparents Persona) (SmaartHouse, 2020)

Segmentation is a low-cost strategy that involves more research than capital

This plan will employ campaigns consisting of two targeting strategies,

Parents and Teenagers will be targeted using undifferentiated strategies based on

Interview interrupted by staff member requiring respondent’s attention