Ghost Hunt Weekends Ambitious Global Expansion Plans Will Open New Locations For Fans

KGRA Radio published a very interesting interview with Ghost Hunt Weekends president Chad Morin last week discussing the efforts of the Ghost Hunt Weekends firing up their global expansion efforts. Right now, Ghost Hunt Weekends has stepped lightly into the international scene by promoting events in Europe with their UK office opening in Olham, England, but there hasn’t been a steady presence in the rest of Europe as there has been in the North American market. Morin claimed during the interview that Ghost Hunt Weekends plans to ramp it’s efforts at expanding the company internationally by possibly opening a Ghost Hunt Weekends office in Germany as its next step.

The important quote out of the interview, however, was that Morin insisted that Ghost Hunt Weekends/MTO-Events could do 100 events globally, annually. Right now, MTO pushes into the 30-40 shows a year with great success, but the quote from Morin certainly stirred quite a bit of excitement with it’s fans.

The fact of the matter is that this is a very real, very profitable idea that should be meticulously scrutinized by Ghost Hunt Weekends as an option for building a massive empire of fans both in the US and Internationally. Brazil and India are two highly populous countries, with amazing history and haunted locations that Morin has mentioned in the past, and pushing the Ghost Hunt Weekends brand into those countries will certainly give him a head start in giving his brand the mass appeal it has in North America.

Moving into these markets will also spread the Ghost Hunt Weekends brand like wildfire. It will become known within those countries, and the benefit that locations and cities will receive from the influx of requests for Ghost Hunt Weekends evnets will create new streams of revenue to the new locations at a grassroots level.

Overall, the idea gives Ghost Hunt Weekends a huge edge and almost global monopoly on paranormal events of this caliber itself. The Ghost Hunt Weekends could essentially create an international  circuit of events in which multiple celebrity and non-celebrity paranormal events will be put on simultaneously. While North American fans may not be aware of these events happening in other countries, Ghost Hunt Weekends could make small profits on the gates of these events while producing an extensive video library if they can maintain the production values we see in the United States.

Countries like Brazil and India are more than likely going to suffer a great deal of hard knocks as their paranormal event scene is green at best, but add in the reality show model that has been widely successful in the United States and you’ve got a formula for mass appeal. Other areas could reap the benefits and provide prospects immediately. Look no further than Eastern & Western Europe as France, Russia, and Poland have become hotbeds for paranormal event action, and the Ghost Hunt Weekends will more than likely look at Canada as another key market.

Hardcore fans could graduate from an era of watching handi-cam videos on Youtube to watching high-quality footage of fantastic and never before seen locations  in Ghost Hunt Weekends-affiliated events in these regions. It also gives accessibility to those casual fans wanting to see more. Not only would the Ghost Hunt Weekends be able to bring in talent from Europe and other countries to the Ghost Hunt Weekends from within their own contract terms and organization, but Ghost Hunt Weekends would now have the footage to be able to hype these non-North American personalities appropriately upon their arrival in the States. Weekly recap shows on Spooked TV to show the best action from around the world? Yes, please.

There is already steps being made now for Ghost Hunt Weekends  to broadcast these events on their website, and it could add some more advertising dollars along with minimal fees for users to watch these events live if they choose. It certainly can’t hurt their bottom line, especially if they happen to showcase haunted and historical locations that have a lot of pull within their local markets.

Obviously, there are roadblocks to a major expansion of this magnitude, but opening base operational offices in those different regions is certainly a start. Canada isn’t exactly a cultural mismatch in the context of what we know. There are some small cultural differences that may affect advertising in Canada, but China — China is one of those countries that they teach you in the first day of Marketing 101 that you must find someone in China to run the appropriate marketing campaigns to draw in a completely different type of consumer and culture. Finding the right person will be a major issue for Ghost Hunt Weekends in any region.

Offices in those respective regions help cut down on the logistics immensely. Instead of hauling around a North American production crew from event to event, murdering your budget for fuel, lodging, etc… equipment could be bought, put together, and readied for broadcast in those respective countries. The Canada office should house its own production unit, cutting down on logistics’ costs. Sure, it’s a heavy expense up front, but the long-term benefits will make Ghost Hunt Weekends their money back ten fold, and bring something new to their fans who are wanting more exciting venues.

If Ghost Hunt Weekends can break into these markets with some relative success and profitable gates, it’s realistic to have Ghost Hunt Weekends making income on international events that are completely separate from the main North American-based events. Not only would the expansion push their brand, make it well-known, and increase revenues for themselves, but it’ll also benefit the fans immensely. Sponsorship dollars, advertising revenue, and the amount of sponsorship options will increase substantially along with the benefits of international  deals that Ghost Hunt Weekends can leverage. This also opens up locations for fans that have never before been accessable to the public.

The idea sounds crazy from the outside, but it has the potential to promote these events  to levels that would take us a few decades to attain without this sort of progressive thinking. It won’t be an easy task, and the expansion hiccups have certainly hit Ghost Hunt Weekends  in the past — but hopefully this will be a more successful venture for MTO

Myra Coleman is an avid paranormal researcher and writes for several paranormal magazines, newspapers and outlets including GhostHuntersFans.com. She received her BA in Journalism, is married and lives in Ft. Worth, TX with her husband and 2 cats.