Theme Parks Pursue Asian Groups

Holmes Stoner’s proposal sounded about as logical as pouring soy sauce on a burrito.

While there were Cinco de Mayo parties all over Southern California two weekends ago, Universal Studios was hosting an Asian-American festival. Figuring that it wouldn’t attract many Latinos that weekend anyway, it chased after the Asian-American market instead. The man behind the idea, Stoner, is a partner at Los Angeles-based Artesa Media Services, which specializes in placing advertisements for companies that want to reach Asian-Americans and Latinos.

Executives at Universal bought the idea. After all, while Universal puts on nine different Latino events annually, it had never done much to zero in on many of the Southland’s estimated 716,000 Asian-Americans. (That figure is expected to leap to 1.4 million by the year 2000, the Southern California Assn. of Governments estimates.) Universal spent $80,000 to promote the weekend festival, which featured a variety of Asian foods and entertainment. The result: Business during the two-day event was up more than 40% compared to the same weekend a year earlier, when there was no special event.

“That’s a heck of a lot higher then we expected the first time out of the gate,” said Gordon Armstrong, executive vice president of marketing at Universal. As a result, Universal is planning a greater number of Asian-American promotions next year--and may even double the amount it spends to reach the diverse Asian-American community.

Universal has plenty of company. Knott’s Berry Farm executives recently began discussing the addition of a multimillion-dollar Pacific Rim-themed area to the park. And one weekend last November, Disneyland held a Korean Festival that had much larger ambitions than just drawing ethnic Koreans in for the day. The event was filmed by Disney crews with the specific intention of televising a special show on KSCI Channel 18--the Los Angeles station that broadcasts shows in 14 different languages. The Disney special has run during the evening hours that KSCI broadcasts Korean-language shows.

Universal chose to target four specific Asian-American groups--Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Filipino--to attend its festival. It ran newspaper ads in a number of languages and placed them not only in The Times but also in such U.S. publications as the World Journal, a Chinese daily newspaper; the Korea Times, a daily; Kashu Mainichi, a Japanese paper with heavy circulation in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and the Philippine News, a weekly paper.

Why are theme parks suddenly reaching out to the Asian-American community? Basically, they’re looking ahead. By the year 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau projects, the Asian population of California will jump to 16% of all residents, from the current 8%. And with median family incomes of about $23,000--about $3,000 more than the typical American household--there is money to spend. “More then anything else,” said Stuart Zanville, director of public relations at Knott’s Berry Farm, “what makes the Asian community so attractive is its earning power.”

So last summer, when Knott’s brought Korean skating star Jean Yun to its park to star in an ice show, it placed ads--with discount coupons--in three of the area’s largest Korean publications, the Korea Times, the Korean Central Daily and the Korean TV Guide & News. “Thousands and thousands of the coupons were redeemed,” said Zanville. “We never expected anything like it.”

When Disneyland executives draw up their 1987 advertising budget this fall, for the first time they plan to set money aside to advertise in newspapers and on television shows that specifically reach various Asian-American groups. “We can’t ignore it any longer,” said Mark Feary, division manager of marketing at Disneyland. “But the ads won’t just ask them to come out for events like our Korean Festival,” he said. “We want to target them on a day-to-day basis.”

Burger King Putting Account Up for Grabs

Troubled Burger King made it clear Monday that it doesn’t think its also-troubled ad agency, J. Walter Thompson, is serving up the best advertising for fast times. The burger giant said it plans to put its $200-million ad account up for grabs.

Although J. Walter Thompson will compete with eight other agencies to hang on to the business, few industry executives think that Thompson will succeed. At the same time, however, some say that the biggest problem is with Burger King and not its ad firm.

By changing agencies after 11 years, Burger King is “attempting to take the focus off its own troubles,” said John Hollingsworth, a former group vice president of marketing at Burger King, now a consultant in Laguna Hills.

“An ad agency is only as good as its ties with its client,” said Hollingsworth. “Burger King--which had poor ties with Thompson--expected the firm to pull rabbits out of its hat.”

Instead, Thompson produced failed campaigns like “Herb,” the nerdy spokesman who had little consumer appeal, and even the current campaign--”Fast Food For Fast Times”--which experts say has failed to give a clear image to the Miami-based chain, owned by Pillsbury. “Burger King’s image used to be based on the Whopper,” said one advertising executive, “but nobody knows what it is now.”

Burger King--which last week laid off 15% of its corporate staff after two years of flat sales--said it wants to focus on promotional advertising at both regional and national levels. “That is not a strength of J. Walter Thompson,” said a Burger King spokeswoman. “We have to do more than advertise on TV to bring in customers.”

The loss of the Burger King account--Thompson’s second-largest client--is the latest problem for an agency in turmoil. Seeking to put an end to six months of upheaval among its senior executives, Thompson on Monday established an office of the chairman and several management committees.

Until the Burger King announcement, one of J. Walter Thompson’s biggest problems had been that “it wasn’t picking up new business,” said Victoria Butcher, analyst at the New York securities firm Eberstadt Fleming. But now, one of its biggest clients is on the prowl, and there are rumors that others might start looking around. Although Thompson’s largest account, Ford Motor Co., denies it is looking for a new agency, “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they put out some feelers,” Butcher said.

Small Local Agencies Courting Sea World

The odds of a San Diego ad agency landing the Sea World account have long been about as likely as Shamu running a marathon. Most San Diego agencies are small shops and have had little hope of pulling the Sea World business away from the much larger Los Angeles-based DDB Needham West.

Well, Shamu isn’t lacing up yet. But up to six San Diego ad firms are suddenly in the running for Sea World of California’s $4-million account. That’s because Harcourt Brace Jovanovich--which owns the San Diego theme park and five others--recently decided to bust the combined $15-million ad budget into regional pieces.

For its part, Sea World of California says it is looking for an agency that specializes in promotional advertising. “We don’t need to establish an image,” said Ron Yeakley, vice president of marketing. “We need to give people reasons to come to the park.”

The announcement has caused a real commotion at San Diego ad firms. “Lots of agencies would like to get that account, including us,” said Ken Smith, chairman of Kenneth C. Smith & Associates, which, with $25 million in billings is San Diego’s second-largest agency.

But San Diego’s biggest--and best-know--ad agency, Phillips-Ramsey Inc., isn’t even in the running. Why not? One elephant-sized conflict: It handles advertising for the San Diego Zoo.