Case study · Paid social
Jurassic Journey USA
A 60+ life-size animatronic dinosaur experience at the Waukesha County Expo Center, launched from a standing start. We ran the full paid social campaign and turned an unknown name into a destination, from zero followers to more than a million people reached.
The team that brought China Lights to Milwaukee tried something new.
The challenge
Jurassic Journey USA opened with no audience and no reviews, a brand-new attraction that had to fill an 18-day run (May 8–25) across two states. The operators had proven they could draw a crowd with China Lights. The open question was whether a name nobody had heard of could become a destination families would drive to, in time for the May 8 opening.
The approach
Tease the unseen. Let curiosity sell the ticket.
The creative took its cue, in part, from the original Jurassic Park marketing playbook: show almost nothing, and let anticipation do the work. Rather than open with the full reveal, the campaign launched in early March with a deliberately mysterious teaser series, holding back the dinosaurs to build curiosity ahead of opening day.
Short-form video was the primary reach engine across Facebook and Instagram, with paid media split evenly between Wisconsin and Illinois and additional reach into Iowa and Minnesota. A March 23 media event added a second spike of earned attention. As opening neared, the creative shifted from mystery to specifics: 60+ life-size dinosaurs, ticket links, and event previews.
The outcome
people reached, starting from zero followers.
The breakout
One teaser did the heavy lifting.
A single March 3 post, "Something prehistoric is coming…", outperformed everything, and 97% of engagement came from people who didn't follow the page yet, exactly the new ticket buyers the campaign needed.
Reel views rose +38% during the event window versus the prior period, confirming the short-form-first bet.
Related
This launch drew on our core work in paid media and discoverability. See more in selected work, or start with your AI Mention Report. Visit Jurassic Journey ↗.
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