We’ve long wanted to shine a light on some of the great marketing experts in the industry, and we recently had the opportunity to sit down with Michala Svane, CMO of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark. Michala was recently awarded “CMO of the Year” in Denmark, so we’re proud to shine a bit of light on her, and share her thoughts on how to approach marketing in 2020. So here goes…

Please tell us about your job, and the key strategic focus this year…

I’m SVP, Sales & Marketing in Tivoli and am responsible for our BtB and BtC Sales and service as well as our campaigns across all brands. We are also responsible for the development of our digital channels (app, website, SoMe)

People in Copenhagen are spoiled for choices with so many things going on in the city, so our focus is to stay relevant for our guests and keep enchanting them at every visit and across all channels, so they keep coming back. We are also focusing on keeping Tivoli a must-see for tourists that come to Copenhagen.

Tivoli recognizes its position as a leading Danish cultural institution, Our name – the brand – obligates us, and we feel committed to acting responsibly and contributing to society in every way. That is why one of our important strategic focuses is on our environment and sustainability in the area of food, waste, electricity consumption, etc.

So our main focus in Sales & Marketing is growth, profitability, loyalty, guest satisfaction and supporting our focus on sustainability.

2) Looking back over the last 12 months, what has been the key learning for you?

In the last couple of years, Tivoli has transformed from a season-based business to a business that is open all year round. With the Garden being open more than 280 days each year, our more than 10.000 seats in our restaurants, the Nimb and Tivoli Food Hall open all year, and almost 400.000 tickets sold at our two theaters we have something for everyone all year.

In the last 12 months, we have been focusing on our new subscription-based annual card, and we have learnt a lot about how we need to change the way we communicate as a subscription-based business.

I also find that we have found the right balance between our BtB- and BtC-sales and campaigns through a coordinated strategy and focus on profitability.

We also worked with turning big data into smart data, that provide new operable insights that we can use to increase guest satisfaction and loyalty and continue to enchant our guests, live the data and celebrate the journey.

3) And looking ahead, what do you expect to be the biggest change in the next 12 months?

We just launched a new strategy in Tivoli, where we have big ambitions for the future, that I look forward to being part of and to be able to share with our guests.

In Marketing, I expect that we will be able to make even better predictions through our data, which will mean that we can be even more personalized in our communication across our channels.

4) What channels currently work best for you?

Due to the many different guests (tourists, locals, restaurant guests, annual pass holders, the theater we have in Tivoli, and Nimb), we have a lot of different channels that are valuable to us.

Last year we relaunched the Tivoli App to make it easier for our guests to buy tickets, annual passes, etc and skip the line to the ticket booth. When people buy the tickets online, they can go through our self-service entrances and we can apply our resources to create an even better experience in welcoming our guests to the Garden. The Tivoli app also works as a way of enhancing the guest experience inside the Garden, where guests can enjoy a digital map, overview of restaurants and rides and get their personal digital ride photos directly in the app.

We also work with OTAs (online travel agents) so we are able to be present in different markets around the world, where we don’t have any other form of communication.

Our website tivoli.dk and our talented staff remain very important channels for us.

5) What advice would you give other CMOs in the industry, working to sell tickets and build customer loyalty?

Get to know your customers (through data), be relevant in your communication and promotions and respect your customers’ privacy.

Build relations and not just transactions 😊