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CASE STUDIES
UNVEILING A DINOSAUR
Case Study
The following case study
represents a project that Pat Kremer and Carolyn Jacobs worked on during
their employment at a Chicago natural history museum.
HOW A T. REX BECAME A CHICAGO
ICON
“The city identified with the
Sears Tower and Michael Jordan has another big, imposing icon to share with
the world. And make no bones about it, the latest spectacle is the baddest
of them all…a 67 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex names Sue.” –
Associated Press
SITUATION
Following the purchase of
the T. rex for $8.3 million at the Sotheby’s auction in 1997,
The
museum’s public relations team spent the next 2 ½ years creating interest
and awareness of the world’s largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus
rex, in preparation for the dinosaur’s May 17, 2000 unveiling. The
task was to make the dinosaur's unveiling a phenomenally successful media event,
paving the way for her iconic status as a record-breaking tourist
attraction and international symbol of Chicago.
SOLUTION
Good Morning World: In
the pre-dawn hours of May 17, 2000, major media from around the globe
crowded into the museum’s cavernous main hall. The most respected
minds in science mingled with the CEOs of international corporations while
crowds of schoolchildren gathered in front of the imposing white curtain
that concealed the lady of the hour from her eager fans. The
dinosaur had been waiting 67 million years for this moment – her first
public appearance had to be perfect. Her debut was a media event on
par with a blockbuster movie premiere or a space shuttle launch. In
attendance were 250 members of the media, including reporters, photographers
and technical crews representing all major wire services, all national TV
morning shows, all major TV and radio networks, and newspapers and magazines
from Paris to Tokyo, New York to Seattle.
Ready for Her Close-up:
It was difficult to convince museum management and corporate sponsors that
the inconvenience of an early morning event would pay off. We explained
that it was critical in order to capture the early morning news shows (Good
Morning America,
The Today Show,
The
Early Show and others) and secure live coverage that
result in a buzz that would be heard and viewed on TV stations around the
world. Although many had reservations and doubts initially, they trusted
Pat Kremer and agreed to her plan. Now she and her department had to
deliver. The PR team studied camera angles and had risers built to
exacting specifications; the museum’s electrical system was beefed up to
handle the extra load of TV lights; the museum arranged for television
trucks to park so that signals could be sent via satellite. The PR team
also aggressively pitched to print media sending reporters and editors “Countdown Calendars” containing daily facts about the famous T. rex –
the last date on the calendar was May 17. The unveiling took place on a
Wednesday, the museum’s free admission day, allowing over 8,000 curious
visitors to simply walk in the door and experience what national journalists
were already terming “Sue-mania.” The dinosaur’s image was selected as one
of Time Magazine’s pictures of the year.
RESULTS
The
strategy was simple and it worked: set a clear goal, pitch aggressively
and stage an exhibition opening so spectacular it could only be classified
as a national media event. The rewards were immense, both for the
museum and the
City of Chicago. The media frenzy that started that day
lasted the remainder of the year, making the dinosaur a household name and helped the
museum’s attendance soar 60 percent over the previous year, to 2.4 million –
its highest since the 1933 World’s Fair. We recorded a 129% increase in
attendance over the previous year and 110% increase in attendance
projections for the launch period. Admission income during the exhibit
timeframe was up 171% over income for the same period the year prior and 86%
higher than projected for the launch. PR efforts generated more than 193
million impressions in print (including
People,
USA Today,
National
Geographic,
TV Guide
and
Newsweek)
and electronic coverage from
journalists around the world, including CNN international, chronicled the unveiling. Due to the success of the PR campaign, then-President Bill
Clinton came to visit the dinosaur, making headline news worldwide and cementing her
status as a figure on par with the world’s greatest historical and
entertaining attractions.
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