The Florida Aquarium purchased some billboard space in a very high traffic area on (I-275) in Tampa, where they were guaranteed approximately 800,000 impressions per month. We wanted to take advantage of this great placement by creating a billboard that people literally could not miss.

To best take advantage of this terrific placement, we came up with a really “big” idea. We had a humongous 3-dimensional inflatable prop (of an Eel) custom made for the Florida Aquarium. This larger than life Eel was a whopping 35 feet long by 17 feet tall, complete with its tail wrapping around the board. The imposing, highly realistic looking eel definitely stood out in this high traffic, often heavily backed up area. We even played off the traffic congestion by acknowledging that “traffic flows a lot smoother at the Aquarium.”

This billboard quickly grabs commuters’ attention and has been the talk of the town. In the first month that it was up, the Florida Aquarium saw a big bump in attendance and they’ve also had nice gains in all their social media platforms, which may be in part due to the buzz created by this 3-D billboard. What’s more, by using this newer, more affordable inflatable technology to create the 3-D props, the Aquarium saved nearly $16,000 over what it would have cost to install a fiberglass sculpture.