Lack of Marketing Knowledge
Mariner Financial paid $75 million for the Sydney Opera House Car Park on a 35-year lease from the State Government but lacked the marketing expertise to improve revenue.
The situation -
Mariner Financial bought the Sydney Opera House Car Park for $75 million on a 35-year lease from the State Government. They lacked the marketing expertise to improve revenue and wanted a second opinion about the marketing recommendations of an international car park management specialist. They approached Solutions Marketing.
How Solutions Marketing helped -
Phase one:
- Analysed and segmented the customer base
- Targeted the low hanging fruit (existing regular users of nearby car parks, such as early bird parkers)
- Focused on an awareness building campaign
- Promoted the new management of the car park on radio for two weeks as “the best kept secret in town where parking is yours for a song”, supported with a target area leaflet distribution campaign
- Dropped the price by $5 per day for the promotional period, before reverting to the optimum profit producing price ($2 less than the original price). This was achieved via small increments and constant measurement.
Phase two:
- Built a list of the nearest 1000 businesses with the specific person responsible for parking
- Sent a personally addressed letter and leaflet offering permanent parking
The results -
Bottom line revenue increased by $1.5 million in 12 months.
Phase one:
- Early bird parkers increased five-fold initially, reverting to the optimal four-fold per day at $2 less than the original price. The campaign paid for itself within the initial six-week promotional period.
Phase two:
- More than 5 % of those mailed rang the 1800 number for further information. Target sales achieved.