Take Flight Brand Launch

Much like with Camp Social, Vector & Ink a hand in the design and vision for Take Flight, the newest attraction at the Wilderness Resort and the Dells’ first aerial adventure ride. By including details like an airport security checkpoint, a retro national park sign, and an enormous mural of mountains across the entire lobby wall and ceiling, we could evoke the feeling of embarking on a grand adventure from the moment visitors walk through the door.

With the Grand Opening for Take Flight scheduled for September 2, 2020, we began our social media campaign in July to begin building hype around the latest attraction.

We began with several posts and stories teasing the ride and the space with behind the scenes footage of construction and filming, as well as imagery from a few of the 18 US destinations that passengers would fly over while riding Take Flight.

In the 18 days leading up to opening day, we created a series of 18 giveaways on Facebook and Instagram to promote each of the 18 destinations riders would get to experience. This created a lot of excitement and buzz around the brand with users tagging their friends and following Take Flight to enter. While we did boost a handful of the giveaway posts, several of them performed quite well organically, such as the Yellowstone post shown below which reached over 11,000 people without any ad spend behind it whatsoever.

On September 2, Take Flight opened their doors as scheduled and passengers got to experience the launch film, “Flying Wild” for the first time. Within the first two months, Take Flight received several positive reviews and Facebook recommendations.

“This was so cool and when you go over the falls or any water you get wet too! This ride is amazing. Going back again. It’s like you’re really there.” – Deborah S., Facebook User

“What a way to see how beautiful our country really is, up close to all the special places.” – Pat L., Facebook User

Madison Mom even wrote an article about one family’s Take Flight experience.

“My 6-year-old had a permanent smile (under her mask!) for the entire ride. And as soon as it was over, she begged to do it again.” – Madison Mom

With the end of the Dells’ tourist season approaching (already a quieter one than usual thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic), we started a campaign soon after the grand opening to bring in more locals. We initially called it Locals’ Wednesday, because residents from the surrounding counties could bring their driver’s license or school ID on Wednesdays to experience Take Flight at a reduced price. This eventually evolved into a Monday-Thursday special to give locals more opportunities to take advantage of the special in the off-season.

In October it was announced that a second film would be coming to Take Flight in November for the holiday season: “THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Journey to the North Pole.” The announcement video for the new film reached over 26,000 people organically and was shared 115 times on Facebook.

In November, Take Flight was able to add new footage to their launch film, “Flying Wild.” There were news scenes from local destinations such as Devil’s Lake and Door County, as well as national landmarks like Crater Lake and the Statue of Liberty. With these new additions coming in within a week of the launch of “THE POLAR EXPRESS™,” we began promoting a Take Flight Double Feature – an opportunity to see both new films for a fraction of the cost.

By the end of the six-month campaign, Facebook Likes had more than tripled. Overall, we saw more success on Facebook than we did on Instagram, due to our target audience of parents and families being primarily Facebook users.