What’s big and scary, and less extinct than you thought? How about a “real” 12-foot T. rex running loose?
For the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibition, we planned and executed an experiential marketing activation in Montréal that turned heads — even among the costumed fans at Comiccon!
We partnered with Ottawa dinosaur performer Adam Zimmerman to make a splash in the Montréal market and draw visitors to the summer blockbuster in Ottawa. But as with our Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience campaign for Canada Aviation and Space Museum, we combined experiential marketing with a social media and media relations strategy to tell a compelling story that reached far beyond Comiccon:
One of our dinosaurs has escaped the museum! #EscapedTRex going east-> Montreal. If found, please return him to #UltimateDinos
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 7, 2016
#EscapedTRex spotted near Alexandria! This is what he looks like, so if you see him let us know! #UltimateDinos pic.twitter.com/3QusZH2VdR
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 7, 2016
We lost track of our #EscapedTRex again. It must be in #Montreal by now. Our #UltimateDinos recovery team is on its way to bring him home.
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 7, 2016
Reports of #EscapedTRex on #Montreal’s Promenade du Vieux-Port. Don’t approach him unless you see our #UltimateDinos handlers with him.
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
#UltimateDinos handlers closing in on #EscapedTRex in Montreal’s Chinatown. Sightings of tyrannosaurids are rare around here!
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
We got him! #EscapedTRex is in our #UltimateDinos handlers’ care just outside @Palais_Montreal! pic.twitter.com/hrafOQm7nB
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Lineups for @Mtlcomiccon love our #EscapedTRex! Usually the only theropods they see here are pigeons! #UltimateDinos pic.twitter.com/RnzsCjIZ7a
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
We’re bringing our #EscapedTRex back to Ottawa soon, to be with his kind. More dinos than ever! #UltimateDinos pic.twitter.com/29jBmaw1MF
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Thanks @CTVMontreal for helping us bring our #EscapedTRex back to the Museum for #UltimateDinos pic.twitter.com/clvFMLUSCN
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Be careful @metromontreal you’re getting awfully close to our #EscapedTRex! Please help our #UltimateDinos handlers pic.twitter.com/Dxpds66YvR
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Looks like our #EscapedTRex is too busy making new friends @Mtlcomiccon to want to come home! #UltimateDinos pic.twitter.com/Y6BUSDNHAJ
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Want to see more dinosaurs, Montreal? Visit Ottawa now to see #UltimateDinos PLUS our permanent fossil collection!
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
#EscapedTRex is home safe at Museum. Come to #UltimateDinos to see him, along with a world-class fossil collection!
— Museum of Nature (@MuseumofNature) July 8, 2016
Since we were also running our Captain’s Chair experiential for The Starfleet Academy Experience (#StarfleetOTT) at Comiccon, we even managed to facilitate some cross-promo between our two national museum clients:
Our #StarfleetOTT Away Team has encountered something unexpected at @Mtlcomiccon : #EscapedTRex from #UltimateDinos! pic.twitter.com/1QT3I1uAU9
— #AvSpaceMuseum (@avspacemuseum) July 8, 2016
#StarfleetOTT cadets, set phasers to stun! This #EscapedTRex is on the hunt @Mtlcomiccon! pic.twitter.com/iCQutG198B
— #AvSpaceMuseum (@avspacemuseum) July 8, 2016
In several short activations on Comiccon’s opening day, our #EsacapedTRex interacted with hundreds of people, with our activators distributing 750 discount coupons for Ultimate Dinosaurs to interested fans. The rule-of-thumb for experiential interactions is that each person directly engaged tells an average of 17 others if they have a positive experience, giving a word-of-mouth reach well into the thousands.
As a result of the two-day organic campaign on Twitter, the #EscapedTRex hashtag achieved 1.4 million potential impressions, as well as earned media coverage in Metro Montréal and CTV Montréal.
Did you see our #EscapedTRex at Montréal Comiccon? Tweet us at @AcartComm!