Putting Thorpe Park fans in the action

Background

Thorpe Park turned to Big to drive awareness, create and sustain excitement, stimulate conver­sation and generate bookings for Thorpe Park’s latest white-​​knuckle experience. So we strapped ourselves in and off we went.

Idea

We discovered that there is a large group of roller­coaster enthu­siasts that already chat and speculate about the details of new rides – with names, themes and ride-​​types being hot topics. Speaking to these people directly, we created an initial buzz by conjuring up a background story in the style of a movie trailer on the Thorpe Park Facebook page, teasing the audience with a glimpse of what to expect.

Through a staged approach we launched a microsite fusing social media technology, Google Maps and Street View to create a fully immersive and person­alised digital experience, trans­porting the apocalypse to people’s homes.

Visitors to the site are encouraged to share THE SWARM with their friends for a chance to win a place on one of the first public rides. Exclusive ride footage and conspiracy theories will also be ‘leaked’ to a dedicated Facebook page, keeping audiences engaged in the build up to the launch of the ride in Spring 2012.

It’d be great to show you more edge-​​of-​​the-​​seat work we’ve done for Thorpe Park in person. So if you’d like a coffee and informal chat, please contact our Head of Sales and Marketing (he doesn’t bite):
jonathan.​jesson@​bigcommunications.​co.​uk.