The Baltimore “Waterfront Invasion,” a joint, summer-long marketing campaign by Visit Baltimore, the Maryland Science Center, the National Aquarium, and Baltimore’s Waterfront Partnership received two awards, an Award of Distinction from the International Downtown Association and the Industry Partnership Award from Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit.

The Award of Distinction was granted for successfully driving summer visitation to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and partner attractions through shared advertising, public relations, special events, promotions, and social media efforts.

The Industry Partnership Award is one of the eight Marketing awards recognized by MTC. The Marketing Awards recognize MTC members whose marketing programs are creative, thoughtful, and innovative and are the result of successful team efforts to bring visitors and travel revenue to Maryland.

The Waterfront Invasion was the first time the organizations have pooled marketing and public relations resources to create a summer promotion centered around two popular attractions and the Inner Harbor. The partnership allowed each organization to amplify its promotional efforts, both locally and regionally, and maximize individual budgets to offer a complete travel experience for out of town visitors, as well as activities that will appeal to the local community. Joint marketing efforts included television, radio, outdoor, print and online advertising in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania. A dedicated Web site offered special Waterfront Invasion ticketing options, retail and restaurant discounts, hotel packages, and special events information.

By all measures the promotion was a success: attendance numbers at the Maryland Science Center and National Aquarium surpassed projections, business at area hotels had bookings through the “Invasion” packages, and multiple events brought area residents and tourists to the Inner Harbor. Major achievements include:

• The ticket upgrade sales for Chinasaurs at the Maryland Science Center doubled projected numbers.
• Overall summer attendance at the National Aquarium was 13 percent above projections.
• More than 874 room nights booked through Waterfront Invasion packages.
• Waterfront Invasion local and national media coverage reached 23,385,771 people and generated $648,911 in advertising equivalency.
• Campaign Web site “waterfrontinvasion.com” received 54,782 unique visitors and 237,000 page views over four months.
• Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore held over a dozen of new family friendly events on the waterfront.

This first-time marketing partnership helped each organization leverage its marketing dollars and, as a result, generated great buzz for Baltimore summer travel,” said Tom Noonan, president and CEO, Visit Baltimore. “We look forward to creating more promotions that showcase the city and its events throughout the year.”

The “Waterfront Invasion” promotional partnership began Memorial Day weekend when the Maryland Science Center and the National Aquarium opened Chinasaurs: Dinosaur Dynasty and Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out Of Balance respectively – two new exhibits that unleashed prehistoric predators on the Inner Harbor. In addition to the new exhibits themselves, the summer-long promotion also included family-friendly events and activities led by Baltimore’s Waterfront Partnership and eye-catching “invasion” décor elements around the Inner Harbor that reinforced the “invasion” theme.

About Visit Baltimore
Visit Baltimore is the official sales and marketing organization for Baltimore that generates economic benefits for stakeholders through the attraction of convention, group and leisure visitors.

About the Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center in Baltimore is visited by more than 500,000 people each year. Popular exhibits include: Dinosaur Mysteries with full-size dinosaurs and interactive paleontology activities; a day in the life of the human body in Your Body: The Inside Story; and dozens of interactive experiments in Newton’s Alley.  Other attractions include the Kids Room, the five-story St. John Properties IMAX Theater, and the world-famous Davis Planetarium.

About the National Aquarium, Baltimore
The National Aquarium is a world-class aquatic institution dedicated to environmental education and stewardship. Its living collection, at venues in Baltimore and Washington, DC, includes more than 16,000 animals from more than 600 species of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and marine mammals in award-winning, recreated habitats. The National Aquarium’s mission is to provide transforming experiences that inspire people to enjoy, respect and protect the aquatic world.

About Waterfront Partnership
The driving force behind a cleaner, more attractive and more exciting waterfront, the Partnership provides direct services to keep the waterfront clean, safe and friendly.  All summer long Waterfront Partnership Hospitality Guides assisted visitors along the promenade by providing information, directions and taking photos of visitors. Additionally, the Guides assisted in providing a range of free family-friendly activities along the promenade. The Partnership also sponsored free family concerts in West Shore Park, movies and sport activities. Safety Guides ensure a safety presence along the waterfront and the Partnership’s landscaping team keeps the harbor area lush and colorful all year round.

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