Survival by Design of "For Profit" Playgrounds

   Have you ever wondered why crocodiles and cockroaches have been around since prehistoric times and many other species have disappeared? Simply stated, they have stood the test of time because they have a design that works. Crocodiles and cockroaches have survived because they have a design that allows them to adapt to changing environments, defend against predators, and get enough to eat. Similarly, survival for a playground means being able to continually attract and entertain children, maintain public image, and be cost effective to keep in operation.

   For a playground to stand the test of time it too has to be well designed also. Many people assume that designing a playground is just a matter of putting a set of predesigned building blocks such as floors, ramps, and play events together in a way that fits the space. That is no truer than to say that it doesn’t matter how the building blocks of an automobile, or house or entertainment center go together, or what materials go into those building blocks. How Events are arraigned in a playground, what activities they allow, and what those Events are made of have a major impact on the effectiveness of the playground and thus on its profitability and longevity.

   A playground has to do, and do well, the things that allow a playground to survive. Many playgrounds have focused on one or two of the aspects of survival but have not covered all three, with the result being ultimate failure. We all know that there are always used playgrounds available on the market. These are typically playgrounds that had design flaws that made them ineffective at producing revenue. Purchasing a poorly designed playground is a double whammy for the unfortunate owner. Not only was the equipment expensive, it took up space and resources that could have been spent on productive assets.

   Let’s look at the three aspects of playground survival and see what is involved. It is obvious that for a playground to be successful it must attract and entertain children, which in the short run almost all playgrounds do, but short runs don’t keep you in business. Ever notice how you can give a kid a cardboard box and she or he can play with it for hours? Children will play with whatever they have to play with. The goal is to get them to play with what you have to offer more often than any other alternative, and children today have a lot of alternatives. Your playground has to have MORE appeal to children than any of their other entertainment alternatives if you want to have continuing repeat business. The design of your playground must focus on delivering what children really want.

   Many adults are not sure what children want to do; if they were they wouldn’t have assumed that children mostly want to crawl around and wouldn’t have purchased all those plastic tube playgrounds. Careful observation of children’s behavior will reveal that what children really want to do are things like playing games together, climbing, bouncing, exploring, sliding, swinging and using their imaginations to create their own play environment. Children will use whatever they have at their disposal to pursue these activities. The extent to which a playground facilitates a child’s participation in these activities will determine how much that child will enjoy the playground and how often she or he will want to come back. It is a simple issue of customer service. You must give your customer what they want if you expect them to return often.

   Public image is an important factor and one that is commonly misunderstood. Many playgrounds are purchased for their outstanding visual appearance. Buyers want the playground to have the wow factor. They want their customers to look at the playground and be so impressed that they just have to purchase an admission and go play. This is an example of an adult perspective dictating a purchase for children. What is being overlooked here is that if a child has visited your facility and sees that you have a playground, they WILL purchase an admission and go play. From that point on, how many more admissions they purchase will be dictated by how much fun they had, not the visual appearance of the playground. Visual appearance is important but it should not be the primary reason for purchasing a playground.

   The most important aspect of public image is how the parent views the playground. Parents have a great deal of concern for the safety of their children. When they look at your playground they must see a playground that is free of hazards such as exposed metal components in the play area, worn out padding or opportunities for their child to fall a significant distance. Parents must be comfortable in the knowledge that their child is OK. For many parents this means that they must be able to watch their child as they play. A major drawback of the molded plastic or themed playgrounds is that children disappear into the playground and parents lose track of them for long periods of time. This creates stress for the parent, which is exactly the opposite of an entertainment facility’s goal. Being able to remain in visual contact with their child is a very important factor in a parent’s desire to bring their children back to your playground.

   Maintenance and cleanliness are other factors that will affect the profitability of your playground. Soft contained play systems are challenged by two conflicting goals, durability and softness. If a playground supplier wants to stay in business they better produce a product that is easy and cost effective to maintain. Since soft components tend to wear out more quickly than hard ones many suppliers have taken the route of greatly reducing the amount of soft components in their playgrounds, which, unfortunately also reduces the comfort and overall appeal of the playground. The other route, and the one chosen by PlaySmart, is to make sure that the materials used are of high enough quality to last and that components that do wear over time are easy to replace. One of the reasons why hard plastic playgrounds have been popular with adults is the idea that they will not need to replace components as often. Unfortunately this longevity is also enhanced by the fact that children are not returning to play on it as often because hard plastic is not an extremely enjoyable environment. Through superior design and selection of the highest quality of components PlaySmart has achieved a play system that is both soft and durable, (and easy to clean).

  The bottom line for a commercial playground is that it must make profit for those who own it. Whether the playground is a pay for play or free admission it still has the purpose of attracting families to your facility. How well that playground is designed will be the number one factor in determining its performance and thus profitability.