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Case Histories

Perfect Storm of PR Efforts Drives Attendance to Science Storms

Situation

In March 2010, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago unveiled its newest exhibit, Science Storms, amid great anticipation. At 24,000-square-feet and a cost of $38 million, the permanent exhibit was the largest and most expensive in the Museum’s history. Five years in the making, Science Storms was part of MSI’s ambitious $205 capital campaign to transform the 77-year-old museum to stay relevant to a new generation of sophisticated visitors and inspire the public to learn about science. The exhibit also was the first physical expression of the Museum’s new brand, which showcases fun, enriching and interactive experiences while reaffirming its commitment to science education.

Public relations has played a significant role in boosting attendance and generating awareness for the Museum’s exhibits, and this was no exception. With an entire wing of the 14-acre Museum dedicated to celebrating the pure science behind some of nature’s most powerful phenomena, PCI knew guests would become entranced with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a 40-foot tornado, experience a high-voltage lightning storm up close from a giant Tesla coil, and trigger a 20-foot avalanche to examine the beauty of granular dynamics. The Museum also needed to capitalize on the exhibit to help demonstrate its new brand as a dynamic and interactive “wow” experience.

Action

Months of planning went into the strategies used to generate buzz and positive media coverage of the exhibit:

  • Six months prior to opening, PCI worked with the designers and scientists to identify the most impressive aspects of the exhibit, which contained hundreds of interactive elements. By concentrating on these specific interactive components – tornadoes, lightning, fire, tsunamis, sunlight, avalanches and atoms in motion – PCI showcased the exhibit through easily-understood topical sections and took advantage of the most eye-popping visuals.
  • Three months before the debut, PCI identified media contacts in the meteorology and science fields and began building relationships and generating interest in the exhibit.
  • A month before opening, PCI established a relationship with Tom Skilling, a nationally prominent meteorologist who broadcasts nightly on superstation WGN-TV, a Chicago-based station that broadcasts across the country, and who pens a daily weather column for the Chicago Tribune. Skilling was given a private tour of the exhibit that allowed him to stand inside a 40-foot tornado, re-create a 30-foot tsunami and interact with the weather elements he covers every day. Skilling’s rave review and raw excitement was captured in his subsequent coverage.

  • Major media were invited to preview the exhibit the week before opening. The scientists, engineers and designers responsible for the exhibit were on-hand to provide tours and interviews. Each received messages and media training to ensure they called out the six key aspects, as well as attributes of the Museum’s new brand. With 17 media outlets from across the region attending, the tour turned out to be one of the most successful previews the Museum has experienced.
  • The Museum celebrated the exhibit’s opening with free general admission, driving attendance and buzz. The high-energy unveiling event included a dramatic reveal as the curtain hiding the two-story exhibit entrance was literally sucked into thin air.
  • An opening night premiere party was attended by notable Chicago residents, media, influential bloggers and friends of the Museum. Guests spent nearly four hours exploring the exhibit and, more importantly, helped spread the word to friends, family and colleagues. 

To capitalize on holiday travel during the subsequent Memorial Day weekend, PCI secured regional radio interviews in every market within driving distance of the Museum, offering family general admission tickets for listener giveaways.

Results

During the first nine months of the exhibit’s debut, PCI and the Museum’s PR team secured 704 national, regional and local stories, reaching an estimated 275 million people. Notable coverage included:

  • live broadcast reports by ABC’s “Good Morning America” meteorologist Sam Champion;
  • an after-hours tour segment by Ellen DeGeneres that aired on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Ellen’s TBS comedy special;
  • a feature on The Weather Channel’s “Weather Center”;
  • inclusion in a USA Today “LIFE” story on “Hot exhibits mak[ing] science accessible, and lots of fun;”
  • blanket and repeated coverage by Chicago print and broadcast media; and 
  • extensive online posts, including FastCompany.com, Crain’s Chicago Business online and others.

The exhibit became the No. 1 Museum attraction and maintained a high level of buzz throughout its opening year with Time Out Chicago calling it “one of 2010’s best” and the Chicago Tribune highlighting the “very cool” exhibit as “a hit with the public.” In highlighting the exhibit’s larger-than-life, hands-on learning opportunities, this coverage supported the Museum’s new brand position as engaging, transformative and relevant to new audiences. The efforts have resulted in expanded brand awareness and strong attendance for the Museum as it seeks to reintroduce itself and inspire the next generation of science leaders.