Ep 35: Josh Cole is CMO for Sky Zone Trampoline Park, Which Has Established a National Brand Presence Through a Series of Highly Efficient Partnership Marketing Programs
As a company that generates income from ups and downs, Sky Zone, like its competitors, wasn’t expecting 2020 to unfold in the way that it did. In March 2020, the trampoline park chain was forced to close its doors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, Sky Zone has been opening its doors slowly and safely. Today we speak with Sky Zone CMO, Josh Cole, about why the chain is feeling so confident about its reopening and why they remain in a strong position as the pandemic gently eases. To kick things off, Josh shares Sky Zone’s origin story before diving into the chain’s revenue streams. More on this topic, Josh talks about how Sky Zone’s end-goal is to convert daily users into monthly subscribers. We find out why Sky Zone doesn’t push membership marketing, but rather continues to advertise its trusty 90-minute jump before moving customers through their over-the-counter upsell process. Josh continues by sharing Sky Zone’s crafty and creative marketing strategies, like high-level branding, and offline attribution. Perhaps most uniquely, Sky Zone has leveraged its unique assets to keep it a household name by featuring in celebrity Instagram posts and AAA Hollywood films. Later in the show, we talk to Josh about how Sky Zone affords its franchisees relevant marketing opportunities that serve their local presence and the Sky Zone brand as a whole. He touches on automated campaigns, listing offerings, and Google Analytics to name a few. To conclude the show, Josh shares his advice to young marketers on his team. For this and much, much more, be sure to join us today!
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing today’s guest, Sky Zone CMO, Josh Cole.
Hear about Sky Zone’s origin story.
Josh describes what Sky Zone did to become a household name.
Josh talks about fictitious Sky Zone marketing headlines and their deeper meanings.
How Sky Zone has been gradually and responsibly opening their doors.
Josh shares how their revenue stream has evolved.
How Sky Zone’s marketing has been adjusted to push for more memberships.
We ask Josh how Sky Zone is building their brand awareness.
Josh reveals why it is important to pay attention to high-level marketing.
Find out how Sky Zone ensures its franchisees receive the best marketing possible.
Examples of how Sky Zone is optimizing its national exposure.
Ways Sky Zone leverage their assets in place of a large marketing budget.
How Sky Zone corporate supports their franchisees.
Josh talks about how Sky Zone is using social media platforms like TikTok.
The importance of creating experiential customer journeys.
How internet reviews are being managed at Sky Zone.
Some of the advice Josh is giving junior marketers on his team.
Tweetables:
“It went gangbusters because no such thing existed in the world. The original concept was wall-to-wall trampolines but also the walls themselves are trampolines. It just took off because it was such a novel idea.” — Josh Cole [0:07:27]
“We think of ourselves as a place where you get stress relief. When you are jumping on a trampoline and you’re midflight and about to land, you’re not thinking about your homework or your boss. It puts you in the moment.” — Josh Cole [0:12:52]
“We are doing everything we can to get memberships even further ingrained in the culture of what we are selling and how our guests think about us.” — Josh Cole [0:18:33]
“The way I look at it is this: The franchisee doesn’t want to put money into national branding. So it is our responsibility as a franchisor to use some of the national ad fund and other assets of the company to drive their brand.” — Josh Cole [0:25:09]
“If a guest has a bad experience with a team member, it can negate the experience of that experience attraction. Because the human interaction is more powerful than anything else.” — Josh Cole [0:51:43]