BrandVerge Delivers Strategic New Media Strategy for COSI
Challenge
At the start of Q1 2025, the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) faced the challenge of maintaining high audience engagement and brand awareness after a strong previous quarter. With a focus on holiday messaging in December, the goal was to increase reach while managing costs efficiently and sustaining strong engagement from the COSI audience. BrandVerge aimed to balance the continuation of digital awareness efforts with a strategic reduction in higher-cost placements, ensuring that key messaging reached potential visitors during a critical time for holiday planning. COSI needed a media strategy that would not only keep the audience informed, but also drive increased site traffic and bolster brand recall throughout the holiday season.
Solution
The Q1 2025 media plan extended through December with a primary focus on increasing reach within the COSI audience while effectively communicating holiday messaging. After the high-impact placements in November promoting their T-Rex exhibit, the goal was to normalize frequency in December while optimizing for cost efficiency and maintaining strong audience engagement. The plan saw reduced spend in December, which resulted in a more efficient eCPM and a slight increase in reach, thanks to a strategic pullback from higher-cost placements like homepage takeovers.
Print spend was adjusted, with budget weight shifted to November to align with CityScene’s combined November/December issue, ensuring that key messaging was delivered ahead of the December shelf life. Despite lower spend, targeted digital media prospecting drove increased reach and solidified campaign effectiveness, as seen in a significant rise in Organic Search and Direct traffic. Consumers actively sought out COSI-related information and returned directly to the site, demonstrating strong brand recall and continued interest driven by the campaign.
Results
As a result of the Q1 2025 media plan, COSI exceeded its planned attendance numbers in December, achieving a 2.5% surplus despite a significantly aggressive target, which was 16% higher than November’s actual attendance and 55% above the original goal. While the November campaign had a larger surplus (40%), the December performance remained strong, particularly in General Pop attendance, which exceeded expectations and kept COSI on track for a positive Q2 2025 outlook. Despite soft Member attendance, Gift Memberships outperformed, contributing to COSI’s overall success. Digital efforts led to a 13% increase in Active Users and an 9% jump in New Users compared to November, with robust engagement reflected in a 23% rise in Return Users and a 25% increase in Website Events. These achievements demonstrate strong user loyalty and improved ticketing processes, signaling heightened customer intent.
Sinclair’s 30% decrease in spend post-T-Rex announcement led to a 59% more efficient eCPM, while Spectrum’s increased spend captured more prime holiday co-viewing moments, yielding strong eCPM efficiency. iHeart Media and Local IQ scaled back media placements, but still saw increased eCPM efficiency and engagement. Despite a decrease in spend for some partners, COSI’s media strategy remained highly effective with overall user engagement and conversions showing positive signs as the campaign moved into 2025. Overall, COSI’s Q1 2025 media strategy successfully drove increased engagement, strong brand recall, and a solid foundation for continued growth, positioning the organization for even greater success in the upcoming quarters.