SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. on Monday revealed details of an aggressive new advertising campaign that takes on critics and highlights the company’s care of killer whales.
SeaWorld will use print, TV and online communication, including a new website called AskSeaWorld.com. The effort “takes more of the claims that have been leveled against us head on,” SeaWorld senior corporate affairs officer Jill Kermes said. The effort is intended to reach people who will hear out SeaWorld’s stance.
Print advertisements will feature SeaWorld veterinarians, researchers and other members of the company’s team of 1,500 animal-care experts. The ads, which will begin appearing Tuesday in publications including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Orlando Sentinel, also will highlight initiatives such as a $10 million donation to study endangered killer whales in the wild.
Television commercials will follow in April. The digital component features AskSeaWorld.com, which Kermes called “a one-stop shop for people who have questions about what we are and what we do.” SeaWorld will also use online videos, including one in which vice president of veterinary services Chris Dold talks about how company vets care for whales.
It won’t be the first time SeaWorld has responded publicly to its foes. The company has fought one public relations crisis after another since an orca named Tilikum killed Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. In 2013, the documentary “Blackfish” suggested the stresses of life in captivity could have caused Tilikum to batter and drown Brancheau. A previous SeaWorld initiative included a website arguing “Blackfish” is misleading. It has been tweeting out a link to that site to people mentioning the movie on social media.
SeaWorld’s latest campaign launches during a crucial time. It is trying to turn around a decline in visitation, revenue and stock value. Last year the company’s stock price dove 33 percent in one day after SeaWorld acknowledged negative publicity had hurt attendance. Chief Executive Officer Jim Atchison stepped down in January. Last week, the company announced attractions veteran Joel Manby as his replacement.
Meanwhile, another round of bad publicity is about to hit. One of the trainers featured in “Blackfish,” John Hargrove, is releasing “Beneath the Surface,” a book critical of SeaWorld and its treatment of orcas, on Tuesday. He will appear on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on Thursday. He spoke Monday on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” along with representatives from SeaWorld.
The timing of SeaWorld’s ad debut had nothing to do with Hargrove’s book release, SeaWorld said. The company also said it did not provide input toward a new website attacking Hargrove; RealJohnHargrove.com is affiliated with Awesome Ocean, a site that has received startup funding from SeaWorld.
In SeaWorld’s first print ad, which addresses killer whale life spans at its parks, the company cites an analysis from the Associated Press saying survival rates for SeaWorld’s orcas born in captivity are about the same as wild killer whales. It also references a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist saying data suggest captive orcas’ life spans are similar to wild ones. SeaWorld critics have questioned the methodology of those analyses.
Also last week, SeaWorld launched a separate “Meet the Animals” ad series featuring wildlife at its parks. The marketing effort announced Monday is focused on repairing SeaWorld’s reputation.
SeaWorld calls out People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the most vocal of its critics, saying the animal-rights group “gets a lot of attention by twisting statistics and falsely attacking us.” PETA sent out 110 press releases about SeaWorld during the past two years and has organized publicity stunts such as sending naked protesters to sit in a bathtub outside a Macy’s.
“We need to be very clear about the statements they make related to us, so we can line up the facts and let the public make up their own minds on the issue,” Kermes said.
PETA director of animal law Jared Goodman called SeaWorld’s latest round of ads “just another desperate attempt to sway the public that has already made up its mind based on the core realities of captivity in SeaWorld.”
Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist with the Animal Welfare Institute, said many who have turned against SeaWorld are not PETA members or supporters, but “the soccer moms who saw Blackfish.”
It is people who feel ambivalent about SeaWorld and are open to hearing the company’s views that SeaWorld hopes to reach, interim Chief Executive Officer David D’Alessandro told analysts recently.
Marketing and branding experts gave the new initiative mixed reviews.
Glenn Omura, a marketing associate professor at Michigan State University, said in an email “fighting an emotional public opinion with facts” is “okay to start, but it needs to launch a marketing campaign based on emotion and family-oriented values (fun and entertainment) if it’s going to recover its place in the market.”
Miami-based branding consultant Eli Portnoy said the campaign basically takes a good approach.
“I think it will work a little bit,” he said. “It’s clearly a defensive posture that isn’t heavy-handed. It’s soft, engaging, educational, real-life feeling. It’s as noncommercial as it can be. I think that’s a good start.”
spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5240
