SeaWorld
Social Media Marketing Case Study

conversational topics
Manta Mania
• Manta is a new mega attraction
opening at SeaWorld Orlando
Memorial Day Weekend
• Combines a roller coaster with an
immersive underwater experience
Dolphin Bubbles
• New dolphin activity observed at
SeaWorld Orlando
• Dolphins “blow bubbles” and play
with them in the water

objectives
Engagement
• Encourage people to participate in discussion around SeaWorld
Awareness
• Raise overall awareness of SeaWorld within the social media space
• Increase social media share of voice
Demand
• Create demand for Manta attraction
Traffic
• Drive traffic to SeaWorld.com
• Drive traffic to dolphinbubbles.com
• Drive views of dolphin bubbles video

strategy
Connect with Leading Bloggers
• Influencers chosen to experience Manta and SeaWorld
Harness the longtail
• Hundreds of smaller bloggers chosen to spread the word
Give something back
• A contest provided a way for influencers to give back to their audience
• Provided a path to promote or explore SeaWorld offerings
Leverage multiple platforms
• SocialSpark and IZEA platform generated content on blogs, email,
Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, UStream.tv and others
Target consumers internationally

manta mania

program overview
Blogger Tour of Manta Construction Site
• 6 Influential bloggers chosen for a trip to Orlando
• Julia Roy (www.juliaroy.com)
• Sarah Austin (www.pop17.com)
• Alex Schek (www.fayerwayer.com)
• Wendy Piersall (www.sparkplugging.com)
• Lucretia Pruitt (www.geekmommy.net)
• Ted Murphy (www.ted.me)
• Bloggers given exclusive access to the Manta site and SeaWorld
Social Media Contest - “Manta Mania”
• Bloggers given the opportunity to give away a trip for 4 to SeaWorld
• Blog readers could enter via comment, tweet or blog post
Activation through IZEA Network

manta mania
blog posts

juliaroy.com
“I can't wait to get back in May to ride the Manta!
It is being constructed so that- while you are
waiting in line for the ride- you are in a vast
underwater cave with marine life of all sorts
around you.The flying roller coaster itself is
supposed to mimic the way a real Manta ray
moves underwater.”
- Julia Roy

geekmommy.net
“I say ‘experience’ because it’s waaaay more than
just an incredible one-of-a-kind coaster. There’s
also the immersive aquarium experience and so
much more than I can fit into just one blog post.
(Yes, there will be more informational posts
coming - I’m like that, remember?) Seriously, it’s
not a “ride” it’s an experience. I personally can’t
wait to get back there when it’s open.”
- Lucretia Pruitt

sparkplugging.com
“I almost feel bad about how much fun we had on
this trip - I don’t really want to rub it in. :) But we
got the VIP tour of the park with front of the line
ride access, lunch with the Sharks, dolphin petting
and feeding (OMG), and center-stage seats for the
Shamu Believe show. I normally try to put some
kind of ‘constructive criticism’ into my review posts
to keep them real. But this trip? Flawless.”
- Wendy Piersall

pop17.com
“I got to pet a dolphin. It was so cute. At one
point the dolphin jumped up on the ledge so we
would all pet his belly. Sea World is awesome and
Florida is the perfect climate so I figured why not
fly out for the weekend to check it out. I was
more than impressed to say the least. Loved it!”
- Sarah Austin

ted.me
“It was so cool to hear directly from the people
that conceptualized and managed this massive
project.You could tell that they are genuinely
excited to share their creation with the public. I
never realized how much goes into building an
attraction like this; it makes me appreciate
Manta that much more.”
- Ted Murphy

fayerwayer.com
“Hablamos con los ingenieros y diseñadores de
esta atracción, que no solamente será una
montaña rusa voladora, sino también una
experiencia con acuarios llenos de especies
marinas especialmente traídas desde América
del Sur.”
- Alex Sheck

select blog comments
We've never been to Sea World. I know my kids
Our family loves Sea World anyways, Manta
would have a blast!
just makes it more awesome!
- Jaclyn Reynolds
- Patti Scanlon
I would love to take my nephews on what
would be a dream vacation to Sea World. They WOW I can not even express how much my
don't often get a chance to get away and have family would appreciate a wonderful trip to
fun, so this would be an amazing, once-in-a- SeaWorld!! This would be a dream for my
lifetime opportunity. daughter! Absolutely a thrill of a lifetime to
ride Manta.
- Samantha LeVan
- Michelle
I would love to go to Sea World. My family has
never really been anywhere. We tend to stay
really close to home. This would give them
something that I never really could. It would Thrilled you had such an awesome trip. Can't
be great to see my 10 year old’s face just seeing wait to read more posts about it.
the dolphins.
- Classy Mommy
- Tracy H

manta engagement
Six Initial blog posts
Spawned an additional 21 organic posts
1635 total comments over all posts
Average of 272 comments per post

twinfluencers
Notable Twitter participants in the Manta Campaign
user handle followers* Twittercounter.com Rank*
@chrisbrogan 60172 193
@ jessicaknows 13611 845
@juliaroy 24679 422
@geekmommy 12287 968
@unmarketing 20451 504
@emom 20067 522
@tedmurphy 11418 1054
@classymommy 3163 5178
@hbobier 1782 12052
Total 167630
* Twitter Counter data as of April 6, 2009

0
14
28
42
56
70
84
98
112
126
140
Jan 1 2009
Jan 3 2009
Jan 5 2009
Jan 7 2009
Jan 9 2009
Jan 11 2009
Jan 13 2009
Jan 15 2009
Jan 17 2009
Jan 19 2009
Jan 21 2009
Jan 23 2009
Jan 25 2009
Jan 27 2009
Ma
Jan 29 2009
Pre-Tour Buzz
nt
Jan 31 2009
aT
ou
r
Feb 2 2009
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Con
Feb 16 2009
tes
Feb 18 2009
t La
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unc
h
Feb 24 2009
Feb 26 2009
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Mar 2 2009
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Mar 6 2009
brand awareness
Mar 8 2009
Mar 10 2009
Mar 12 2009
Mar 14 2009
Number of Posts Mentioning “SeaWorld” on Twitter
Mar 16 2009

tweet reach
The average tweet
reached the timeline
529,368
of 253 followers
Direct Followers
SeaWorld
2,086
twitter network
Tweets

flickr

friendfeed

youtube

dolphin bubbles

program overview
Dolphin bubbles video created by SeaWorld
IZEA created dolphinbubbles.com
• Custom blog design and implementation
• Contracted bloggers to create initial site content
Promotion of dolphinbubbles.com
• Sponsored conversations
• Display ad units for blog advertising

dolphin bubbles
blog posts

momminitup.com
“Is about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Joshua
and I watched it together twice today and it is
truly fascinating & fun. I knew dolphins were
smart, but to see them creating a toy for
themselves to play with and then doing so many
different things with it is just incredible.”
- Jenny Rapson

musingsofahousewife.com
“My kids were mesmerized, particularly my 3-
year-old. After the rest of us left the room, she
stayed behind to watch it again. When she
joined us in the kitchen for lunch, she said
excitedly,‘Mom! I’m going to be a dolphin when
I grow up!’”
- Jo-Lynne Shane

skimbacolifestyle.com
“I would love to take her to SeaWorld Orlando to
see these dolphins - they are the perfect
combination of beauty and brain with a attitude
of living life to the fullest and having fun.”
- Katja Presnal

pensieve.com
“Are you planning a trip to Florida this summer?
Are you planning a trip to Sea World? ARE YOU
GOING TO GET TO SEE THESE CREATURES AT
PLAY BEFORE I DO??”
- Robin Dance

dolphinbubbles.com

select blog comments
That was an awesome video. I hope I will be
That is crazy! I was on Sea World's website
able to take my kids one day to experience
earlier today! We live in Cali and I want to take
that.
my son there ASAP!!!
- Melissa
- Meg
That is so cool! I had no idea - you learn
something new everyday and that means That is TOO COOL. Just amazing. I also love the
dolphins too! way they taught each other how to do it.
Awesome.
- Jeanette
- Anonymous
wow! that’s so amazing! I never had seen
anything like that before. I had been to parks
and aquariums seeing dolphins, but this is my
We visited Discovery Cove at Sea World and
first time seeing them make those bubbles and
totally LOVED it!!! Dolphins are such incredible
play with them…it’s a cute thing to see them
animals!!! I can't wait to go back...
do it. I wanna see them actually doing it!
- Jenarae
- Angel Noah

youtube video

youtube video
2n
dM
os
tV
iew
ed

engagement
DolphinBubbles.com
10 posts in first month
•
172 comments
•
Average of 17 comments/post
•
90,000 pageviews in first month
•
Dolphin Bubbles Video
• 800,000 views in first month
• 1,282 users ratings
• 632 comments

select tweets
This is really cool! Thanx, @MarijoJ: Sea World Here is a very cute site for kids about dolphins
Dolphin Bubbles... http:// http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/ and
www.dolphinbubbles.com/ Discovery Cove
I was here http://
www.dolphinbubbles.com/ ..admiring WOW! Dolphins are AMAZING! Check this out:
dolphins creating 'smoke-rings' with air http://www.dolphinbubbles.com/
bubbles. Put video on fullscreen. Amazing.

google search

metrics

awareness & intent
86.9% of bloggers first heard about the Dolphin Bubbles from SocialSpark.
95.5% of bloggers are more likely to go to SeaWorld after writing about it.
5%
13%
87% 96%
Awareness Intent

Social Media Index (SMI)
Vitrue SMI Trend Report : SeaWorld
60.0
56.0
34%
52.0 UPLIFT
st
48.0
g Po
t Blo
44.0
Firs
40.0
36.0
32.0 What is SMI?
The score measures
28.0 conversations across Social
Networks, Micro-Blogs, Photo
Sharing,Video Sharing and
24.0 General Blog sites.
20.0
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Seaworld

www.izea.com
twitter @izeainc