The brief
Over the years, Chicagoans formed the perception that Navy Pier is a tourist destination (Bubba Gump’s anyone?). This culminated at a time when pandemic impacted visitation and people were just beginning to travel again.
Armed with new audience research, Navy Pier chose us as their brand agency to help to shift the perception that they are more than just a Ferris Wheel. The goal? Create an overarching platform to build awareness, drive visitation, and become more sophisticated in targeting. We aimed to show that while Navy Pier has something for everyone, not everything is for everyone. It has that one (or many things) you’re into.
The concept
Our “Made for” campaign subverts locals’ and travelers’ expectations of the Navy Pier experience by speaking to their interests and the unexpected, iconic activities only at the Pier. “Made for” is Navy Pier’s declaration of providing a personalized, unique experience that’s made for everyone. While Navy Pier serves epic views from the Wheel—it’s much more than that. It’s dancing to free live music on the weekend with your kids. It’s cocktail hour with friends on the largest rooftop bar at Offshore. It’s date night that ends with spectacular views of fireworks.
The campaign is bold and flexible, bringing fun energy and a playful POV to bust existing perceptions and reinvigorate the brand.
The results
We took a truly integrated approach, leveraging a mix of TV, radio, OOH, and paid media to showcase the true Navy Pier experience, with an emphasis on Spanish language marketing. Our campaign has had a wide reach with over 100M impressions served across 3 months and over 1M new website users discovering events and things to do at the Pier. Some other fun results:
85% ROAS (over 90 days reporting period)
8% increase in visitation YoY
5% lift in “consideration” for exposed audiences (brand lift study)
Click-through rates 25%-50% higher than industry benchmarks across digital channels
