PacSci "Be Curious" Campaign and Brand Activation

How we helped a Seattle icon introduce its refreshed brand to the community and elevate its powerful mission.

Photo by Melissa Chabot on Unsplash

Seattle, WA

Nonprofit

Focus: B2C, Internal

CONTEXT

With new leadership and an infusion of entrepreneurial energy, Seattle's iconic Pacific Science Center was ready to tell its story in a fresh, bold way. They had invested in an updated brand strategy and visual identity, but their agency had closed and they needed help launching the new brand concept.

Vitamin C worked closely with PacSci's leadership and creative team to develop an extensible, evergreen brand campaign, and to activate the revitalized brand across a number of high-profile touchpoints including signage, cafe and concessions naming, events naming, and membership program design.

VITAMIN C SERVICES

Brand Strategy

• Competitive analysis

• Comprehensive brand audit

• Translation of overarching updated brand strategy into brand campaign strategy

• High-level messaging maps

• Brand voice and tone development

• "Be Curious" campaign guidelines

Brand Activation

• Overall creative and content direction for large-format ads, print, social media, website, monthly themes, and other formats

• Development of short, medium, and long "Be Curious" campaign content

• Café/concessions and event naming

• Membership program development and naming

• Ongoing guidance for brand activation and overall communications

• Website content development

MOMENT OF CLARITY

Curiosity was central to PacSci's mission, and we explored a number of takes on it, from playful "Curiosity Rules" to an open-ended "What happens when...?" format. One campaign concept, "Stay Curious," particularly resonated with the team for its active language and concise expression, which we knew would work particularly well on "quick read" formats like bus wraps and billboards. PacSci's CEO suggested a wording tweak to draw in new visitors, and "Be Curious" was born.

Anatomy of a brand campaign: Articulating clear guiding principles for the PacSci creative team

Capturing key brand points and encouraging repeat visits with the idea of something new to see each week

The campaign had to extend flexibly across a wide range of audiences and experiences.

We structured the campaign so it would work well across different formats and monthly themes.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

When we explored names for PacSci's newly revamped cafe, snack cart, and bar area, we turned to the mission for inspiration. The core idea of "igniting curiosity" evolved into the Fuel Up Café and Spark Cart. "Fuel Up" also incorporated a cue for visitors to come upstairs to find the cafe on the 2nd floor, a somewhat out-of-the-way location. We continued the theme with Gravity Bar, a new lounge area where visitors could enjoy local beer, wine, and cider near the entrance of the Boeing IMAX theater, on the very lowest level.

CONTENT CLIP

Updated brand-driven membership messaging

COLLABORATORS

PacSci internal design team

Elemental Advertising and Marketing Consultants

HAPPY CLIENT

"Grateful to have you as a partner. Thank you for all the amazing work you've done for us!" Eleanor Bradley, Chief Commercial Officer

"I'm excited about this! The emotional/experiential feel of the [Be Curious] text overall is just what I might have hoped for." Sarah Moore, Living Exhibits Manager

#B2C #brandstrategy #messaging #brandvoice #brandstorytelling #brandactivation #PacSci #BeCurious