Dive Brief:
- SeaWorld launched a new ad campaign this week to help combat the negative attention, and declining attendance, after the critical documentary "Blackfish" stirred up controversy.
- The ad campaign focuses on SeaWorld's more positive efforts to care for animals in captivity and in the wild.
- So far, the park has released a campaign on YouTube as well as in print, placing ads in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. A television campaign is coming this spring.
Dive Insight:
SeaWorld has a lot of mess to clean up after the destruction created by "Blackfish," which showed the events leading up to a killer whale drowning its trainer in the SeaWorld Orlando park in 2010. Last year, the park's revenue decreased by 3% from 2013, and its chief executive resigned.
If approached correctly, the marketing campaign could turn around the park's image, but it likely won't happen overnight.