Audubon Nature Institute

In 2023, Audubon Nature Institute prepared to reopen the renovated Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium.

The opportunity: reintroduce a flagship cultural asset into a competitive, seasonal market and convert that moment into sustained attendance and revenue.

Audubon partnered with us to build the system to do it.

Audubon had reach. It lacked structure.

Paid media wasn't aligned to seasonality or audience behavior. Offline channels, including broadcast and out-of-home, were active but largely isolated and did not run consistently throughout the year. Messaging wasn't coordinated across audiences or the visitor journey.

The result: marketing that worked in pieces, but not as a whole. Demand was being generated and not fully captured.

This wasn't a volume problem. It was an architecture problem.

We designed and implemented a full, structured, multi-channel marketing system with defined logic and continuous feedback.

Between Projects led strategy end-to-end: defining the architecture, assembling the creative team, and maintaining accountability to performance throughout.

The system covered:

• Positioning — defining Audubon's role in a crowded market
• Segmentation — mapping distinct audiences by behavior and intent
• Media planning — aligning channels to timing, context, and demand
• Creative direction + production — concept through final placement
• Measurement + optimization — baselines established, iterated continuously

Two objectives anchored the work:

1. Drive sustained demand around reopening
2. Deliver measurable revenue growth across all properties

1. Studies

Before strategy or creative, we study: audience behavior, competitive landscape, performance data, and market dynamics.

For Audubon, this included:

• Paid media alignment to seasonality and audience behavior
• Offline channel performance — broadcast, out-of-home, consistency gaps
• Messaging coordination across audiences and visitor journey stages
• Competitive positioning in a seasonal, tourism-driven market

The finding was clear: marketing was generating demand but not fully capturing it. The pieces were active — they just weren't connected.

2. Blueprint

We started by mapping the market as it actually behaves — contextually. Distinct audiences required distinct strategies: different entry points, different motivations, and different timing.

3. Design / Build

With the architecture in place, we built the campaign platform.

Working with Creative Director Julie Dorman and Countertake, we developed:

"Wonder Here"

A positioning rooted in place.

Audubon isn't interchangeable with other aquariums or zoos. It's specific to New Orleans — its ecology, its culture, its character. The campaign made that specificity the center of gravity.

Execution followed the same logic as the system:

• Channels coordinated, not siloed
• Messaging sequenced across the day and the visit lifecycle
• Creative adapted by the audience and proximity

The result was a unified presence across digital, broadcast, and OOH — each channel reinforcing the others.

4. Optimization

From launch, the system operated as a feedback loop.

• Performance tracked against revenue, ROAS, and attendance
• Budget shifted dynamically across channels and segments
• Creative iterated on real response, not assumptions

The engagement was extended twice over the course of two years. The system kept improving — and kept performing.

Marketing performance is a function of structure.

Consistent execution follows from clear architecture. Relevance follows from real segmentation. Impact compounds when channels work together. And a system that measures itself gets better over time.

When those pieces are in place, the results follow — and hold.