A marketing campaign to highlight the birth of six Asian small-clawed otters at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher was given national recognition.
“Whole Lotta Otta” is one of the 28 projects recognized in September during the Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sponsor Spotlight
The aquarium earned the Excellence in Marketing Award for a campaign with a budget under $175,000.
“Whole Lotta Otta” tells the story of parents Leia and Quincy welcoming two litters of three pups in less than a year as well as work of the aquarium to save this vulnerable species.
These otters are native to Southeast Asia, southern India, southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. The aquarium is working to save them through the AZA Species Survival Plan Program.
The marketing campaign featured the otters on static and digital billboards, buses, shuttles, social media posts and digital ads to raise awareness about the otters at the aquarium and share their story of survival.
“We were thrilled to bring home the AZA top honors marketing award as the Aquarium team has embraced the conservation focus and engaged the community in the individual action they can take to save this species. The excitement over having two births in less than a year gave us the idea for Whole Lotta Otta and the opportunity to shine a light on how critical it is that the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is saving species through our work with the AZA,” said Deyanira Romo Rossell, communications manager at the aquarium.