Making a viral marketing campaign work for a museum

1. February 25, 2019
Dinosaurs, Polar Bears and Einsteins
Run Amok in the Capital
Making a viral campaign work
MuseumNext
Marketing Summit
LINE Hotel, Los Angeles, California

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@johnswettenham

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The
Canadian
Museum
of Nature

4. Central, but off Confederation Blvd.
4
Parliament
National Gallery
Canadian Museum
of History

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6. Awareness
Needed After
Opening
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Average attendance by month
Summer
Exhibits
Open
Need
Awareness
to Secure
Summer

7. Double
Dinos:
Summer
2016
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10. Agency
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Partner

11. T-Rex Tuesdays
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13. CBC Ottawa – Facebook video
750K views, 2.8 K comments, 8406 shares
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14. Dino Yoga
https://www.facebook.com/CBCOttawa/videos/vb.260926308211/10153812816903212/?type=2&theater
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16. Ultimate Dinos meet Starfleet for the Ultimate Trek – YouTube
English video (446 views) & French video (69 views)
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Nothing is perfect

17. Another one that didn’t work…
Comicon Montreal
• Who’s dino is that?
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18. Marketing Magazine
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20. Agency
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https://www.facebook.com/TheOttawaCitizen/videos/10155009177893918/ 8.5 k views

26. http://www.metronew
s.ca/news/ottawa/201
7/07/12/photos-of-
polar-bears-in-
downtown-ottawa-
.html?cq_ck=149988
1413228
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http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1165829

28. Yoga Bears
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Views: 57K
https://www.facebook.com/CBCOtta
wa/videos/10154938567458212/?hc
_ref=ARSok_W5zfO5bv7RuIAaBFL_
nkVU75yQTqgmxz7qDwD4y6StoNz
ANBQPeLP5vX8y9OU&pnref=story
Views: 130K
https://www.facebook.com/CBCOtt
awa/videos/10154939167648212/

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32. Agency
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33. Brain vs. Brawn
Instant Einsteins
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vs. Dinosaurs

34. Day Before Live
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35. Options
1. Go ahead anyway
2. Rain check… wait and see
3. Change concept – pivot & lose Einstein
4. Cancel entirely – call the whole thing off
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36. Decision…
1. Go ahead anyway
2. Rain check… wait and see
3. Change concept – pivot & lose Einstein
4. Cancel entirely – call the whole thing off
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“Brainiacs” instead!

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41. Results…
• Almost no pick-up on social media of actual
street activations
• Some media pick-up, but little earned media
• La Presse, Montreal’s largest daily
• Created video was strong
• Individual challenges between Brainiacs and Dinos
• Shorter sequences spread over longer period
• 500K views
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42. What did we learn?
Don’t fear the “raincheck”
• Validation more important than timing
Be careful of diluting the concept
• Not resonant:
• Einstein says “Brainiac”
• But “Brainiac” is not readily identifiable as anything
• A stretch too far: Star Trek meets Ultimate Dinosaurs
Push concept onto range of media
• Social, earned social, earned traditional, pushed social
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43. Summer 2019
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44. THANK YOU
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@johnswettenham