Owner and operator of premium leisure and entertainment assets, Macquarie Leisure Trust Group (ASX:MLE), has opened its assets to third-party brands for advertising and promotional opportunities.

The Group, which owns iconic brands such as Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, AMF Bowling, d’Albora Marinas and Goodlife Health Clubs, collectively attracts more than five million consumers annually from catchments throughout Australia and the world. The Group’s assets offer fertile ground for brands to connect and engage with leisure and fitness consumers as well as holidaymakers.

Jemma Elder, group marketing manager for Macquarie Leisure Operations Ltd, said the Group could deliver the full spectrum of audiences to advertisers from ‘mass to niche’.

“Advertisers have the ability to target all of the Group’s consumers as well as the opportunity to segment their buy based on geographic locations, individual assets and/or their associated demographics and frequency of usage. This in turn provides advertisers flexibility, so as to minimise budget wastage,” she said.

Ms Elder believes that with clutter-free environments, longer ‘dwell times’ and arguably a more relaxed and receptive consumer, marketers using Macquarie Leisure assets are able to better engage with their audiences.

“Macquarie Leisure’s assets have limited advertising inventory providing the potential for greater impact for any single product. Further, as audiences are engaged in fitness and/or entertainment activities, they are more likely to be in a receptive frame of mind delivering a greater cut through of the advertised message, especially if it has relevance to that activity.

“A great challenge for today’s marketers is to engage consumers long enough to impact and engage them with a memorable message. Within every Macquarie Leisure asset there are a multitude of touch points where large numbers of consumers spend relatively long periods of time; queuing for rides and attractions, working out, bowling. The Macquarie Leisure advertising platforms are specifically placed to intercept and engage consumers during these ‘dwell times’, and in some cases they have become a welcome distraction.”

The majority of the new Macquarie Leisure advertising platforms incorporate wireless digital technology that gives advertisers the ability to precisely schedule message delivery, including specific timing on a daily and weekly basis, also allowing rapid creative changes at a reduced cost.

Macquarie Leisure has also commissioned the production of three magazines, specially customised for the leisure and fitness customer base. These custom magazines provide a further opportunity for advertisers to promote themselves to Macquarie Leisure’s customer base. Recent evidence from the UK demonstrates that customers spend an average of 20 minutes reading their custom magazine. This is the equivalent of 50, 30 second TV commercials (APA UK 2007).