- Role
- Primary awareness
- Projected impressions
- 28,000–31,000
- Creative direction
- Short-form video showing the volunteer experience
- Call to action
- Explore volunteer opportunities
Academic integrated marketing campaign · MKTG 3150
Georgia Aquarium
Volunteer Campaign
A volunteer recruitment strategy designed to help conservation-minded adults see where they fit and take the next step.
- Educate
- Conserve
- Inspire
Challenge
What problem existed?
The challenge was to make a substantial volunteer commitment feel worthwhile, connect conservation to personal value, and reach the highest-potential audience within a limited budget.
The campaign had to close that gap for Young Digerati adults ages 35–54 in Fulton County.
Audience
Who mattered most?
Four audience segments were compared based on geographic fit, demographic characteristics, digital-media behavior, and fit with the volunteer program.
| Segment | Decision |
|---|---|
| Connected Bohemians | Considered |
| Gray Power | Considered |
| Aspiring A-Listers | Considered |
| Young Digerati | Selected |
Young Digerati stood out for its Fulton County concentration, digital behavior, education level, and environmental orientation.
Insight
What changed the thinking?
The research suggested that conservation messaging could be strengthened by emphasizing community, connection, and personal development.
Research
Manifest needs like education and conservation helped explain the audience's initial interest, but not why they would commit their time to volunteering. McGuire's latent motive framework pointed to affiliation as a stronger motivator. The opportunity offered more than a cause they cared about. It also gave them a way to connect with people who cared about the same things.
Strategy
Volunteering was positioned as a way to support conservation while learning, contributing, and building relationships.
Strategy
What decision was made?
Turn conservation
into participation.
Frame volunteering as a way to contribute, learn, and connect.
Brand promise
Support conservation. Learn through experience. Connect with others.
Campaign
How was the idea expressed?
The campaign organized the volunteer proposition around three connected ideas: learn through the Aquarium, contribute to conservation, and connect with others through shared purpose.
Learn
Through the Aquarium
Contribute
To conservation
Connect
Through shared purpose
Channels
How would the audience be reached?
Instagram carried the largest investment as the primary awareness channel. YouTube and Reddit supported explanation and community reach.
Primary Instagram
YouTube
Reddit
Paid Media
Where the $2,300 went
07 Measurement
How would success be evaluated?
Success would be judged by applications, accepted volunteers, and retention, not impressions alone.
- 01
Awareness
- Impressions
- Landing-page visits
- 02
Engagement
- Volunteer-page engagement
- 03
Conversion
- Started applications
- Completed applications
- Accepted volunteers
- 04
Retention
- Retained volunteers
Reflection
What would be validated next?
Before launch: validate audience reach, update media-cost assumptions, and test conservation-led versus connection-led messaging.
Conservation-led
Marine impact, education, and contribution.
Connection-led
Belonging, shared purpose, and community.
Compare page engagement and completed applications. If launched, use acceptance and retention as longer-term measures.
Strategic Reflection
The project showed how audience research can turn general interest into clearer reasons to volunteer.
Academic proposal, not executed. Media figures are planning estimates, and campaign outcomes were proposed measures rather than observed results.
Created for MKTG 3150: Consumer Behavior, Kennesaw State University. Academic proposal, not affiliated with or executed by the Georgia Aquarium.
Sources (5)Mothersbaugh, Claritas PRIZM, Geopath & more
Where this came from.
- Mothersbaugh, David L., Del I. Hawkins, and Susan Bardi Kleiser. Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy, 15th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2023.
- Claritas PRIZM Premier. Segment profiles referenced: Young Digerati, Connected Bohemians, Gray Power, Aspiring A-Listers. claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments
- "04 Young Digerati: Claritas PRIZM Premier." Geopath, August 6, 2021.
- Donsky, Paul. "Data Dive: Metro Atlanta's Fast-Growing Asian Community." Atlanta Regional Commission, March 29, 2021.
- Pearce, Tommy. "Metro Atlanta Is Home to a Diverse and Growing Asian Community." 33n, Atlanta Regional, March 19, 2021.