Situation

The children’s hands-on science museum resided in historic, but not well-trafficked Fair Park for decades until moving to its new, state-of-the-art, Thom Mayne-designed building near bustling downtown Dallas. Driving awareness of and interest in hands-on STEM-based learning at the museum has been the focus as a means for generating ticket sales.

Solution

Before moving to its new location, SparkFarm was first tasked with the challenge of sustaining interest in the museum’s original Fair Park venue. The location and reduced attention to programs and exhibitions made this a challenge. While mining for story angles, we stumbled upon a fossil discovery in progress by museum paleontologists and a local patron who identified a bird fossil that reset the North American fossil record. Local media came in droves to the press conference we planned. The Associated Press picked up the story and distributed it across Texas, which led to coverage in Forbes.com and daily newspapers across the U.S. The coverage lasted for two weeks, totaling nearly 2 million impressions and $45,000 in media value.

To support the museum in its new location near downtown, we negotiated a paid mass media blitz spanning local magazines, newspapers, radio, and out-of-home media including airports, malls, and cinema. With the initial push now in the rearview, ongoing media planning and buying is centered on driving awareness and ticket sales during the opening of new exhibits.

Results

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