What was your last job interview like?
Did you dance?
Did you sing?
Were you ready to be silly, playful, outgoing, and engaging?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions, chances are you weren’t interviewing with Six Flags. More than 1,000 people showed up for a recent job fair, hoping to be hired as ride attendants, ride operators, and support staff at the theme park. The interview experience wasn’t “business as usual.” Interviewees were given the chance to perform in 60-second showcases, where they had to do something—anything—to entertain.
Julia Filz, the park’s spokeswoman, explained why. “We want people who aren’t shy. In this business, you can’t be shy.”
Finding Your Way To The Top: Six Flag’s Approach
Six Flags is the largest regional theme park operator and second largest amusement park operator in the world. They lag behind Disney, the established industry leader. The recession hit all theme parks and amusement venues particularly hard, and Six Flags entered bankruptcy last May. A recently announced $60 million dollar stock buy back can be taken as one sign that Six Flags intends to step up its efforts to achieve a more dominant market position and greater profitability. The innovative interview style is another.
To be successful, Six Flags cannot echo Disney’s efforts. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it does little if anything to inspire enduring customer loyalty, brand strength, or enduring market share. No vacation destination wants to be known as “This is where you go when you can’t afford the best.”
Instead, Six Flags is busy establishing its own unique, appealing identity in the market. One important differentiator is Six Flag’s decision to market heavily to local residents; Disney, by contrast, markets to people around the world. Exclusive licensing agreements with Warner Brothers and DC allows Six Flag parks to feature Bugs Bunny, Batman, and other popular characters that are outside of the Disney pantheon. These characters walk the park, and serve as the theme for any park’s main attraction: rides.
Finally, the spontaneous, free, spur-of-the-moment entertainment that successful interviewees demonstrated would never fly at Disney, where cast members are supposed to stay on script, no matter what. It may seem a subtle point, but for many of Six Flag’s biggest fans, the interaction with park staffers and crew feels more authentic and less forced than the experience they have at Disney.
Brand Modeling provides the tools and insights that any company, even those facing Disney-sized competition, can use to identify those points of difference where they can forge a distinct, profitable opportunity.
Everyone wants to have fun, but not everyone wants to go to Disney. Six Flags shouldn’t be wasting their time or energy going after the Disney fanatic: there is nothing that they can do that will compete head to head in that arena. The point instead is to go after the legions of people who still want to have a great time in a theme park. Understanding what these customers want, and what they value most, is the key Six Flags needs to ensure this summer will be its best season yet.
And if that means interacting with friendly, engaging people, that means hiring people who will Dance the Dougie on command. It looks like Six Flags is on the right track … good news in the roller coaster business!