Monterey Bay Aquarium Tour
A behind-the-scenes look at the integration between exhibit design and ocean conservation
Event Coordination | Speaker and Volunteer Recruitment | Email Marketing
The Challenge
Silicon Valley-based alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design were long overdue for an event that would jump-start their club again. The growing conversation within design circles on climate change, along with the area’s concentration of conservation-minded people, inspired Christina to reach out to exhibit designers at the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Travis Wood (a RISD alumnus) and Bart Hays.
The Approach
Christina knew that this event had the potential to be an excursion like no other: a platform showing how design can inspire, engage, and inform ocean conservation; a behind-the-scenes peek of in-progress exhibits; a virtual tour of the future exhibits via the design team’s virtual reality headset and 3-D renderings; plus a field trip to the Aquarium. She built an email promotional campaign that utilized striking visuals and targeted outreach.
The Results
Tickets for this event sold out within 2 hours of the marketing launch, and despite that many attendees had to drive hours to attend, there was an extremely low rate of attrition. Christina secured a major subsidy to offset the cost of admission; coordinated volunteers to help with way-finding and check-in; and distributed fun RISD-branded swag as attendee giveaways during the event.
