the mobile site

The largest aquarium in the world ... in your pocket

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Our mobile site offers an exciting new outlet for the Aquarium to reach current and potential customers.

Mobile is a unique vehicle for information and entertainment in that it connects people to the Aquarium in a very personal way. Visitors who engage in the WAP experience develop a relationship with the public attraction, which can often seem crowded, commercialized and impersonal. Fans become “Facebook friends” with the staff, are privileged to exclusive content not seen by every visitor, and have the opportunity to experience the aquarium in an exciting new way every time they visit on one of our themed tours. All of this is delivered on what seems like an added appendage to the body of savvy 21st century consumers: their smart phone.

The mobile site is a hub for all things Aquarium: ticketing, directions, trivia, maps, parking, and links to donate, invite a friend, and get connected to the Aquarium through various social media networks.

exlusive content

Get behind the glass

Users can get a free peek behind the scenes of one of Atlanta’s biggest attractions. See the feeding of beluga whales and the Aquarium’s conservation efforts of loggerhead sea turtles.

Our “snack size” videos are perfect for the momentary lulls while waiting in line. They also bring visitors closer to the attractions by providing a deeper understanding. While taking in the massive view of the Tropical Diver exhibit, users can watch clips of the machinery behind the wave machine and see how the Aquarium uses manufactured seawater to grow the millions of tons of coral that make up the exhibit.

Videos aren’t the only bits of content privy to mobile users. Visitors can read interesting facts about the animals, test their knowledge of Aquarium trivia, take a quiz to determine what fish they are most like, and learn more about the facilities at the Aquarium.

tours

The Aquarium like you've never seen before

Our hub offers a new way to look at the exhibits in the Aquarium. Take a tour through the eyes of a conservationist or go on a thrilling journey with the creepiest creatures in the ocean.

The unique tours offer strong incentives for repeat customers. Not only is it a new way to experience their favorite attraction, it makes them feel more connected as they learn information not provided to the average visitor. This also provides a prime opportunity to promote holiday specials and events. In February, the Aquarium could offer a ‘Motion of the Ocean’ tour where visitors can learn about the romantic relationships of ocean characters to get in the mood for Valentines Day.

Inexpensive for both users and producers, these tours are a feasible and fresh way to replenish interest and keep customers coming back.

social networking

Maintaining a lasting relationship

Dive Deeper provides users the opportunity to digitally connect with the Aquarium outside of the facility via a variety of social networks.

Visitors can keep up with the Aquarium on whichever social medium they choose – Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace and RSS feeds – and receive updates, read blog entries and have access to coupons and specials. The Aquarium has nearly 1,000 photos on Flicker, 229 subscribers to its You Tube channel, 3,027 followers on Twitter, 5,347 fans on Facebook, and 766 friends on My Space. At any given moment, the Aquarium can instantly blast promotional information to thousands of people who care enough to link themselves to it on social networks.

Placing access to these social pages was important to our project because it deepens the connection between attraction and user and provides a vital bridge for information to pass back and forth.

QR codes

QR Codes: Cutting edge of research meets cutting edge technology

The Aquarium is known for having leading experts in the field of research and animal care, so it makes sense they would pioneer one of the hottest new technologies.

Quick response (QR) codes are two-dimensional barcodes that allow its contents to be decoded at high speeds and can be read with camera phones. The codes will be posted at the entrance and various attractions in the Aquarium. Users who have downloaded the free software will take a picture of the code with their phone and the link to our hub will automatically pull up on their browser.

Although the tours and links can be accessed on the mobile hub, the QR technology provides an exciting new way to interact with the Aquarium.

our process

Wouldn't it be cool if ...

… we developed a mobile site that increases attendance and return visits to the Georgia Aquarium.

Five New Media Institute students began discussing a potential mobile project for the Georgia Aquarium in mid-January. For two weeks, they discussed what kind of mobile venture would work best to increase attendance and repeat visitors. What do people want to do on their mobile device while at the Aquarium? What do they want to know before they arrive at the facility and after they leave? When they finally had an idea of what they wanted to do, they drew up a navigational map for the mobile media hub they envisioned.

Matt Griffin, Dr Shamp’s assistant, linked the students up with a start-up business he is involved in, Vert Mobile, a premier, full-service mobile marketing & advertising agency based in Atlanta, Georgia. The newly bolstered project became a joint venture between Vert and the New Media Institute. Backed with the expertise of Vert professionals, their project began to really get off the ground.

For the next two weeks, the students perfected the titles of each page. They determined how the site should flow and how much text should be on each page. With the help of Graphics Island, they decided on a color and font scheme for the overall look of the mobile site. A template was designed and perfected.

On February 22, the five students visited the Aquarium along with the Vert team. They met with marketing director Dave Santucci who gave them a better idea of what the Aquarium wanted to see out of this project. Santucci set them up on behind the scenes tours where they had the chance to take notes, film the attractions and take in the average visitor experience.

Upon returning to Athens, the group created short video clips using the footage from the tours. They plugged pictures and text content into the templates and linked all of the pages. They spent the rest of the semester testing the site, editing and perfecting the pages to be user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. The mobile hub was officially up and running as of April 2009, just three months after it the idea was first suggested.