SeaWorldSocial Media Marketing Case Study

conversational topics

Manta Mania• Manta is a new mega attraction

opening at SeaWorld Orlando Memorial Day Weekend

• Combines a roller coaster with an immersive underwater experience

Dolphin Bubbles• New dolphin activity observed at

SeaWorld Orlando

• Dolphins “blow bubbles” and play with them in the water

objectives

Engagement• Encourage people to participate in discussion around SeaWorld

Awareness• Raise overall awareness of SeaWorld within the social media space

• Increase social media share of voice

Demand• Create demand for Manta attraction

Traffic• Drive traffic to SeaWorld.com

• Drive traffic to dolphinbubbles.com

• Drive views of dolphin bubbles video

strategy

Connect with Leading Bloggers• Influencers chosen to experience Manta and SeaWorld

Harness the longtail• Hundreds of smaller bloggers chosen to spread the word

Give something back• A contest provided a way for influencers to give back to their audience

• Provided a path to promote or explore SeaWorld offerings

Leverage multiple platforms• SocialSpark and IZEA platform generated content on blogs, email,

Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, UStream.tv and others

Target consumers internationally

manta mania

program overview

Blogger Tour of Manta Construction Site• 6 Influential bloggers chosen for a trip to Orlando

• Julia Roy (www.juliaroy.com)• Sarah Austin (www.pop17.com)• Alex Schek (www.fayerwayer.com)• Wendy Piersall (www.sparkplugging.com)• Lucretia Pruitt (www.geekmommy.net)• Ted Murphy (www.ted.me)

• Bloggers given exclusive access to the Manta site and SeaWorld

Social Media Contest - “Manta Mania”• Bloggers given the opportunity to give away a trip for 4 to SeaWorld• Blog readers could enter via comment, tweet or blog post

Activation through IZEA Network

manta mania

blog posts

juliaroy.com

“I can't wait to get back in May to ride the Manta! It is being constructed so that- while you are waiting in line for the ride- you are in a vast underwater cave with marine life of all sorts around you. The flying roller coaster itself is supposed to mimic the way a real Manta ray moves underwater.”

- Julia Roy

geekmommy.net

“I say ‘experience’ because it’s waaaay more than just an incredible one-of-a-kind coaster. There’s also the immersive aquarium experience and so much more than I can fit into just one blog post. (Yes, there will be more informational posts coming - I’m like that, remember?) Seriously, it’s not a “ride” it’s an experience. I personally can’t wait to get back there when it’s open.”

- Lucretia Pruitt

sparkplugging.com

“I almost feel bad about how much fun we had on this trip - I don’t really want to rub it in. :) But we got the VIP tour of the park with front of the line ride access, lunch with the Sharks, dolphin petting and feeding (OMG), and center-stage seats for the Shamu Believe show. I normally try to put some kind of ‘constructive criticism’ into my review posts to keep them real. But this trip? Flawless.”

- Wendy Piersall

pop17.com

“I got to pet a dolphin. It was so cute. At one point the dolphin jumped up on the ledge so we would all pet his belly. Sea World is awesome and Florida is the perfect climate so I figured why not fly out for the weekend to check it out. I was more than impressed to say the least. Loved it!”

- Sarah Austin

ted.me

“It was so cool to hear directly from the people that conceptualized and managed this massive project. You could tell that they are genuinely excited to share their creation with the public. I never realized how much goes into building an attraction like this; it makes me appreciate Manta that much more.”

- Ted Murphy

fayerwayer.com

“Hablamos con los ingenieros y diseñadores de esta atracción, que no solamente será una montaña rusa voladora, sino también una experiencia con acuarios llenos de especies marinas especialmente traídas desde América del Sur.”

- Alex Sheck

select blog comments

Our family loves Sea World anyways, Manta just makes it more awesome!

- Patti Scanlon

We've never been to Sea World. I know my kids would have a blast!

- Jaclyn Reynolds

I would love to take my nephews on what would be a dream vacation to Sea World. They don't often get a chance to get away and have fun, so this would be an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

- Samantha LeVan

WOW I can not even express how much my family would appreciate a wonderful trip to SeaWorld!! This would be a dream for my daughter! Absolutely a thrill of a lifetime to ride Manta.

- Michelle

Thrilled you had such an awesome trip. Can't wait to read more posts about it.

- Classy Mommy

I would love to go to Sea World. My family has never really been anywhere. We tend to stay really close to home. This would give them something that I never really could. It would be great to see my 10 year old’s face just seeing the dolphins.

- Tracy H

manta engagement

Six Initial blog posts

Spawned an additional 21 organic posts

1635 total comments over all posts

Average of 272 comments per post

twinfluencers

user handle followers* Twittercounter.com Rank*

@chrisbrogan 60172 193

@ jessicaknows 13611 845

@juliaroy 24679 422

@geekmommy 12287 968

@unmarketing 20451 504

@emom 20067 522

@tedmurphy 11418 1054

@classymommy 3163 5178

@hbobier 1782 12052

TotalTotal 167630

Notable Twitter participants in the Manta Campaign

* Twitter Counter data as of April 6, 2009

brand awareness

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Number of Posts Mentioning “SeaWorld” on Twitter

Contest Launch

Manta Tour

Pre-Tour Buzz

tweet reach

529,368Direct Followers

The average tweetreached the timeline

of 253 followers

twitter network

SeaWorld

2,086Tweets

flickr

friendfeed

youtube

dolphin bubbles

program overview

Dolphin bubbles video created by SeaWorld

IZEA created dolphinbubbles.com• Custom blog design and implementation

• Contracted bloggers to create initial site content

Promotion of dolphinbubbles.com• Sponsored conversations

• Display ad units for blog advertising

dolphin bubbles

blog posts

momminitup.com

“Is about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Joshua and I watched it together twice today and it is truly fascinating & fun. I knew dolphins were smart, but to see them creating a toy for themselves to play with and then doing so many different things with it is just incredible.”

- Jenny Rapson

musingsofahousewife.com

“My kids were mesmerized, particularly my 3-year-old. After the rest of us left the room, she stayed behind to watch it again. When she joined us in the kitchen for lunch, she said excitedly, ‘Mom! I’m going to be a dolphin when I grow up!’”

- Jo-Lynne Shane

skimbacolifestyle.com

“I would love to take her to SeaWorld Orlando to see these dolphins - they are the perfect combination of beauty and brain with a attitude of living life to the fullest and having fun.”

- Katja Presnal

pensieve.com

“Are you planning a trip to Florida this summer? Are you planning a trip to Sea World? ARE YOU GOING TO GET TO SEE THESE CREATURES AT PLAY BEFORE I DO??”

- Robin Dance

dolphinbubbles.com

select blog comments

That is crazy! I was on Sea World's website earlier today! We live in Cali and I want to take my son there ASAP!!!

- Meg

That was an awesome video. I hope I will be able to take my kids one day to experience that.

- Melissa

That is so cool! I had no idea - you learn something new everyday and that means dolphins too!

- Jeanette

That is TOO COOL. Just amazing. I also love the way they taught each other how to do it. Awesome.

- Anonymous

We visited Discovery Cove at Sea World and totally LOVED it!!! Dolphins are such incredible animals!!! I can't wait to go back...

- Jenarae

wow! that’s so amazing! I never had seen anything like that before. I had been to parks and aquariums seeing dolphins, but this is my first time seeing them make those bubbles and play with them…it’s a cute thing to see them do it. I wanna see them actually doing it!

- Angel Noah

youtube video

youtube video

2nd Most Viewed

DolphinBubbles.com• 10 posts in first month

• 172 comments

• Average of 17 comments/post

• 90,000 pageviews in first month

Dolphin Bubbles Video• 800,000 views in first month

• 1,282 users ratings

• 632 comments

engagement

select tweets

This is really cool! Thanx, @MarijoJ: Sea World Dolphin Bubbles... http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/

I was here http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/ ..admiring dolphins creating 'smoke-rings' with air bubbles. Put video on fullscreen. Amazing.

Here is a very cute site for kids about dolphins http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/ and Discovery Cove

WOW! Dolphins are AMAZING! Check this out: http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/

google search

metrics

awareness & intent

86.9% of bloggers first heard about the Dolphin Bubbles from SocialSpark.95.5% of bloggers are more likely to go to SeaWorld after writing about it.

Awareness

13%

87%

Intent

5%

96%

Social Media Index (SMI)

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Seaworld

Vitrue SMI Trend Report : SeaWorld

What is SMI?The score measures conversations across Social Networks, Micro-Blogs, Photo Sharing, Video Sharing and General Blog sites.  

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UPLIFT

www.izea.comtwitter @izeainc