North carolina aquariums CASE STUDY
Casting a line to reel in more visitors
THE SITUATION
The NC Aquariums wanted to increase awareness, membership and attendance, particularly during the off-season. Additionally, there was a need to unite the branding and marketing efforts for the three Aquarium locations (Fort Fisher, Roanoke Island and
Pine Knoll Shores) who, at the time, had
grown apart like “independent siblings.”
KEY GOALS
From a tactical perspective, the
NC Aquariums challenged MSA to:
- Develop strategies to grow and make use of an e-marketing database
- Engage new audience segments (especially younger adults)
- Drive website traffic and membership
- Broaden the definition of the NC Aquariums’ experience
OUR APPROACH
MSA dug into a variety of resources to plot the NC Aquariums’ brand positioning and strengthen its ability to compete with the
broad range of other family entertainment activities - especially during the off-season,
or the occasional rainy day at the beach.
From a brand perspective, our research revealed that the NC Aquariums were viewed as a museum-like experience. While their educational bent was appreciated, this perception tended to limit visitor engagement beyond the initial visit. Our research also revealed that the NC Aquariums’ brand had become slightly stale, and needed a fresh and modernized brand personality. We needed to communicate that these were not “your Father’s Aquariums.”
From a brand perspective, our research revealed that the NC Aquariums were viewed as a museum-like experience. While their educational bent was appreciated, this perception tended to limit visitor engagement beyond the initial visit. Our research also revealed that the NC Aquariums’ brand had become slightly stale, and needed a fresh and modernized brand personality. We needed to communicate that these were not “your Father’s Aquariums.”
Emerging from a combination of client input, primary and secondary research, along with our analysis of competitive landscape, MSA developed the following brand platform to guide communications planning:
Brand Positioning
NC Aquariums is a unique blend of education, entertainment and engagement.
Brand Character
“Fun, Cross-Generational, Fascinating, Value”
Brand Promise
NC Aquariums is the entertainment venue everyone of any age can count on for an engaging and memorable, good time.
Brand Positioning
NC Aquariums is a unique blend of education, entertainment and engagement.
Brand Character
“Fun, Cross-Generational, Fascinating, Value”
Brand Promise
NC Aquariums is the entertainment venue everyone of any age can count on for an engaging and memorable, good time.
MEDIA STRATEGY
MSA’s media team designed a communications
plan to generate optimal reach and frequency
among key mass-media targets as well as to achieve the following goals:
- Employ media target groups that make leisure, entertainment and vacation activity decisions
- Tier media to support overall NC Aquariums marketing as well as enhance individual location marketing
- Extend reach through strategic promotional partnerships
- Segment media buy and messaging to address destination/non-destination geography
- Structure buys to reach changing local tourist populations
Based on this plan, we employed print, internet
and outdoor media placements. Planning for outdoor involved special considerations since the NC Aquariums receive low-cost billboards based on availability. As a result, we knew that we would have little or no control over when and where the billboards would be placed. To maximize this unique opportunity, we developed the outdoor messaging with the intent of building a relationship with the viewers. We wanted to encourage them to visit a NC Aquariums sponsored microsite, and in turn, provide a fresh “face” for the Aquariums.
THE CREATIVE SOLUTION
Show Us Your Fish Face - An Interactive and Viral Experience
How do you get a highway passer-by traveling at 65mph to not only remember a website name, but visit the site, pass it along to their friends and family, and keep coming back? You create a relationship that is not only worthwhile and fun for the visitors, but also generates brand awareness and sales.
ShowUsYourFishFace.com, an award-winning microsite, was more than just a landing page and link to the NC Aquariums website. It was a multifaceted, online destination where visitors could become a part of the NC Aquariums family. While there, visitors could:
How do you get a highway passer-by traveling at 65mph to not only remember a website name, but visit the site, pass it along to their friends and family, and keep coming back? You create a relationship that is not only worthwhile and fun for the visitors, but also generates brand awareness and sales.
ShowUsYourFishFace.com, an award-winning microsite, was more than just a landing page and link to the NC Aquariums website. It was a multifaceted, online destination where visitors could become a part of the NC Aquariums family. While there, visitors could:
- Share their own face and get their own personalized Fish Face ID that could be printed and brought to any NC Aquarium in return for a special prize
- Vote for their favorite fish faces
- Email their favorite fish faces to friends and family
- Browse the fish faces of NC Aquariums’ team members
- Enter contests to win monthly $25 gift baskets provided by the NC Aquariums gift shops
- Win a grand prize including a complimentary family membership, behind-the-scenes tour
SeaMail - E-Marketing for NC Aquariums
As part of the continuing need to strengthen relationships with NC Aquariums’ visitors and encourage repeat visits, MSA developed and launched the NC Aquariums’ first ever email program, SeaMail.
Creating SeaMail as a monthly newsletter to visitors required uniting the three NC Aquariums under one umbrella, while providing equal weight to each of their individual events and happenings. This required a consistent communication and workflow process to organize the content each month.
MSA conducted research, designed the e-mail template and selected the e-marketing platform that best suited the NC Aquariums’ goals and publishing abilities. We also assisted in streamlining the workflow process, training the client team to efficiently publish the content while maintaining consistency and quality.
SeaMail provided its readers monthly updates, reminders and upcoming events for all three of the NC Aquariums. It also allowed for the maintenance of a consistent, email recipient database, efficient management of subscriptions and opt-out requests, as well as real-time reporting on each newsletter including open rates, bounces and forwarding.
“SeaMail” became an instant success and quickly grew the number of its recipients by more than 200%.
As part of the continuing need to strengthen relationships with NC Aquariums’ visitors and encourage repeat visits, MSA developed and launched the NC Aquariums’ first ever email program, SeaMail.
Creating SeaMail as a monthly newsletter to visitors required uniting the three NC Aquariums under one umbrella, while providing equal weight to each of their individual events and happenings. This required a consistent communication and workflow process to organize the content each month.
MSA conducted research, designed the e-mail template and selected the e-marketing platform that best suited the NC Aquariums’ goals and publishing abilities. We also assisted in streamlining the workflow process, training the client team to efficiently publish the content while maintaining consistency and quality.
SeaMail provided its readers monthly updates, reminders and upcoming events for all three of the NC Aquariums. It also allowed for the maintenance of a consistent, email recipient database, efficient management of subscriptions and opt-out requests, as well as real-time reporting on each newsletter including open rates, bounces and forwarding.
“SeaMail” became an instant success and quickly grew the number of its recipients by more than 200%.
THE RESULTS
The “Show Us Your Fish Face” campaign ran from September 2008 through December 2009. During that time, MSA employed Google Analytics to track visitor traffic and activity on the website. Here are a few of the results:
- 449 Fish Faces uploaded
- 30,474 total visitors (15,694 Unique Visitors)
- 430,474 total page views with an average of 14 pages per visit
In comparing website traffic during the 7 months prior to SeaMail (which included monthly winner announcements and participation encouragement) to the 7 months following its launch, we noted the following trends:
- + 38% average increase in traffic to the site
- + 15% decrease in bounce rate, indicating an increased number of visitors clicking past the initial page upon arrival.*
*Note: the prior bounce rate was 21% which was already well below the industry average of 35-40%.
SeaMail E-Newsletter
The newsletter continues to be successful and is finding its way into more inboxes across the country each month. A few highlights of note include:
The newsletter continues to be successful and is finding its way into more inboxes across the country each month. A few highlights of note include:
- A 200% increase in the email database within the first 6 months
- Attendance surpassing expectations for NC Aquarium events following the first edition of SeaMail
- Notable savings in information delivery compared to cost of printed communication
- Increased communication frequency with member audience
- Streamlined communication and workflow processes across all three NC Aquariums
- Publishing capability trained and transitioned in-house within a 4-month period