Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Grand opening + ribbon Cutting For the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Aquarium & Reptile Conservation Center (ARCC) | 2023

Media relations

As part of its transformational, multi-year Bridge to the Wild initiative, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden — S.C.’s most popular gated attraction and one of the most acclaimed zoos in the nation — saw an opportunity to make the most of the Spring 2023 opening of its new Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Aquarium & Reptile Conservation Center (ARCC). The multi-million-dollar renovation would provide guests with an engaging experience that places Riverbanks’ critical role in wildlife conservation front and center. This was a story that needed to be spread widely and deeply.

Flock and Rally had served as Riverbanks’ advertising agency of record since Fall 2021. The client team took the opportunity to leverage the agency’s experienced PR staff and strong media relationships by expanding the scope of work to include a special project: a turnkey media relations campaign to promote the ARCC grand opening. For the campaign, Flock and Rally aligned the client’s business needs, target audiences and objectives to create tailored messaging and extensive creative assets and content for the media, pitching bespoke story angles and managing behind-the-scenes media tours.

For opening day, the agency collaborated with the client team to execute a high-profile ribbon cutting event featuring remarks by Governor McMaster, The Boyd Foundation and key dignitaries for a packed crowd. Flock and Rally’s comprehensive approach far exceeded campaign objectives, garnering 122 press mentions/clips (including 22 advance media interviews), with an estimated 1.7 million broadcast viewers. In addition to driving awareness of the attraction’s new offering, Flock and Rally was able to drive home strategic messaging about Riverbanks’ commitment to education and conservation — as well as its long-term impact on regional quality of life and economic prosperity — messaging that would be critical to gaining public and private support for the Bridge to the Wild expansion.

In addition to key public and private funding for the Bridge to the Wild expansion advancing successfully in late 2023, the PR campaign was awarded SCPRSA’s “Best in Show” Mercury Award in 2024.