Central Amusement International
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Background Information
• Name: Luna Park in Coney Island
• Location: Brooklyn, New York
• Estimated attendance 2012: 750,000 riders
• Facility staff size: 35 FT, 15 PT, 500 Seasonal
• Year founded: 2010
• Notable achievements: Survived Hurricane Sandy and opened on time Palm
Sunday 2013; primary area built from the ground up in 100 days in 2010;
every year another park area was developed ground up; revitalized the iconic
Coney Island boardwalk, as well as debuting several new ride concepts
• Number of attractions: 28
• Unique selling point:
Honoring the birthplace of
amusements along with new,
safe, and fun ride technology
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Market Information
• Primary target market: NYC moms, teens, and tourists
• Secondary target market: Long Island and New Jersey
• Competitive Media Market: NYC DMA
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Coney Island During Hurricane Sandy - 10/29/12
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Hurricane Sandy Impact
“Luna Park has been to Hell and back.” - Valerio Ferrari, President of CAI
“I watched the water rise to the top of the front gates on the Coney Island live-cam. Suddenly,
everything went black as Coney Island’s electricity failed. I worried that I wouldn’t have a job the
next day. That next day, someone sent me a pixelated picture of a roller-coaster in the water – it
looked like the Cyclone Roller Coaster. I thought that if it was the Cyclone, I no longer had a job.”
- Tom Basgil, Social Media Coordinator (at the time)
“We closed Nights of Horror early to prepare
the rides for the storm. I knew then that it was
serious, but you can’t imagine how serious it
was until you lived through it. Coney Island
was a third world country – no food, no water,
no electricity.”
– Christian Phillit, Ride Operator
YouTube video of park impact:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9jQCC8Koc4
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Hurricane Sandy Impact, cont.
• All Hands on Deck: From the General Manager to Ride Operators, from Marketing to
Finance, everyone at Luna Park contributed to cleaning up the park. Besides the Coney Island
Clean-Up effort, individual employees also cooked for local soup kitchens and collected
donations.
• Limited Resources: After the storm, many amenities were no longer available. The gas from
our go-karts was rationed to employees and for our fork lift. Generators were brought in to
power the office. We had to bring in our own drinking water. There was no heat and the phone
system was down. Even local cell phone towers were knocked out. Coming into Coney Island
was difficult. Many of our employees were temporarily living with friends and family members.
Carpool laws were in effect, and some employees traveled four hours to get to work. Coney
Island was dangerous - looters raided local businesses, and the police had trouble organizing
the area. Throughout all of this, Luna Park employees remained dedicated to helping the
Coney Island area recover.
• Lost Business: Due to the storm, Luna Park closed their Nights of Horror event a day early.
Luna Park extended its 2012 passes into the 2013 season to accommodate guests with
coupons and passes that were not redeemed.
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Coney Island Clean Up Strategy
• Concept: We survived the storm, we’re here to help, and
we’re committed to opening again.
• Rationale: We’re hurting but you can’t keep a New Yorker
down. We have to stand and support the community that
supports us. Unfathomable hard work and tireless hours
will have us employing and enjoying the historic
amusement area again.
• Target market: Local Coney Island neighborhood, storm
path communities, and our fellow New Yorkers.
• Objectives: Save and support our surrounding community
and after a lot of hard work, start the season on time.
• Execution: next slide…
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Coney Island Clean Up Strategy, cont.
Execution: On Saturday, November 10th
and
th
Sunday, November 11 , Luna Park brought over 300
volunteers to the Coney Island area for a Clean Up
weekend to contribute to Hurricane Sandy relief
efforts. Through social media, email and word-ofmouth, Luna Park was able to bring in volunteers
from as far away as Argentina. As a show of
appreciation to the efforts of all volunteers, Luna Park
gave away one hour of play time in the park (for the
next season) per hour of volunteer efforts. In the end,
700 four-hour ride wristbands were donated.
Volunteers hailed from all 5 boroughs of New York
City, upstate New York, Long Island, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida,
and California. One young volunteer came on
crutches to do whatever she could. Boy Scouts, Girl
Scouts, school and church groups and businesses
sent volunteers.
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Coney Island Clean Up Communications
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A REAL Measure of Coney Island Clean Up Success
In just two days, volunteers and Luna
Park staff accomplished the following:
• Cleared 4 parks and playgrounds
• Served 3 churches
• Overhauled 9 homes
“God bless the team of Luna Park NYC. They came and
removed all the debris from my lawn and my neighbors’
lawns today. I am so grateful for their help, compassion
and kindness. … You've touched my heart deeply when
out of nowhere you came to save the day. We are forever
grateful for your act of kindness.”
- Nereida “Nelly” Rodriguez
• Cleaned 2 streets
• Cleared the boardwalk of sand from the
Parachute Jump to the New York
Aquarium.
Brought, shared and donated:
• Hundreds of dollars
• Clothing
• Food
“Thank you all for helping to clean [Coney Island]. ... I'm
truly grateful for all the work everyone did.”
- Maria Ramos
“Thank you for helping us! We have been blessed by
Heaven’s army - your love has blessed us greatly. I was
thinking to myself what a task we have at hand, then your
angels came to the rescue. … Thank you very … much
for all your help. I could not have done it without you.”
- David and Lucia Rodriguez
• School and cleaning supplies
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Coney Island
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Measured Program Success
• Media placements from October to May:
64 (not including organic coverage)
• Media Company Coverage Inc.: New York Post
CBS Local, New York Magazine
New York Times, New York Daily News
Crain’s New York Business, Associated Press, Yahoo!
News, Huffington Post, NBC News, FOX News, Wall
Street Journal, News 12 Brooklyn, and MSN Travel
• Social Growth:
•
10/1/11 - 1/1/12 had 12.62% growth it total
number of likes.
•
10/1/12 - 1/1/13 had 22.46% growth in total
number of likes
•
The rate of growth on our Facebook page was
77.97% greater in the three months following
Hurricane Sandy than it was the previous year
in the same three months.
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Program Elements – Continued Communication
• Online: Ex) NYC&Co., www.NYCgo.com
• In-person: – Ex) Coney Island USA
Gala, J Brooklyn Social, and Tri-State
Conference
• Print: Ex) Time Out NY &
The Village Voice
• In-park signage
• Website marquee
• Dedicated eMail
• Social Media
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Coney Island’s Future
After the Coney Island Clean-Up, Luna Park directed volunteers to
#ConeyRecovers, an initiative of the then-fledgling Alliance for Coney
Island. As the area chamber of commerce, the Alliance was a loose
coalition of local stakeholders. The storm strengthened the Alliance as
businesses and non-profits banded together to support the community.
The Alliance provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to
local businesses, non-profits and religious organizations. In addition,
the Alliance provided the neighborhood with employment assistance,
vocational training and even special events for area children. Luna Park
continued to support the Alliance with its membership dues and by
providing administrative, public relations, event planning and social
media support.
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