Georgia Aquarium

What they asked us to do ...

When Bernie Marcus, founder of Home Depot and aquarium benefactor, wanted to give a gift to the city of Atlanta, he decided to create the largest aquarium in the world. Hence, the idea of The Georgia Aquarium was born, a place that is home to 500 species. Our Atlanta office partnered with Marcus to create suspense and garner top-tier media at the grand opening. To generate awareness for the Aquarium’s second year anniversary, they asked us back to create a contest giving participants the unique opportunity to swim with the world’s largest fish.
 

What we did ...

By releasing key information in a timed phased approach leading up to the opening, we generated and sustained a buzz. A well-oiled media relations team hit the ground two days prior to launch with a “The Today Show” exclusive “first look.” Since then, we’ve kept Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al up-to-date on the latest advancements and newest creatures, a strategy that paid off and paved the way for the “Swim with Gentle Giants Contest.” The contest kicked-off the second anniversary celebration of The Georgia Aquarium and gave viewers the chance to win a swim with the aquarium’s most beloved creatures, the whale sharks.
 

Our results ...

More than 130,000 viewers entered the contest and coverage of the winners’ first swim appeared in a four-hour on-site Georgia Aquarium broadcast with Meredith and Al. That’s not all – our results extended far beyond media impressions. The Georgia Aquarium’s Web site received ten times the normal Web traffic for the 24 hours post-broadcast, reservations and group sales increased that week, and the paid whale shark dive program sold-out through the end of 2008.