The Vancouver Aquarium wants to remind locals about the wonders of its animals in a new outdoor and online brand campaign by Taxi Vancouver.
Instead of showing whales, dolphins and other large mammals usually associated with the attraction, the ads feature lesser-known species such as lion fish, piranhas, jellyfish and the weird and quirky garden eel.
The campaign ads running on buses and billboards show a miniaturized family in the tank alongside the animals. The tagline is “Imagine yourself in our world.”
“There are over 70,000 species at the Aquarium and it’s the diversity of aquatic life and the coral and the other plant life and everything else that makes it equally exciting and enjoyable,” said Joanne Turner, marketing consultant for the Aquarium. “It’s an amazing connection that you can’t get in an art gallery or museum.”
Because two-thirds of all visitors are local, the Aquarium changes major exhibits and displays four times a year.
“The strategy for this year was to ensure that local residents always have a new reason to come,” said Turner.
Matt Bielby, associate CD at Taxi, adds that as well as traditional media, the campaign includes a street component with installations of giant garden eels. A Facebook contest encouraged people to upload their friends, family and own faces onto the animals in the ads.
The Vancouver Aquarium has an overall annual marketing budget of roughly $1 million.
