think the unimaginable
It’s one thing to dream big. It’s quite another to turn those dreams into reality. Especially when you’re the one charged with leading the team to make that happen, all in a place where sand slips through the hourglass at an accelerated speed. Welcome to “Dubai time.”
In 2008, Smithink was awarded the role of executive producers of Worlds of Discovery Dubai, a multi-year, multi-billion dollar project whose successes are a credit to our years of experience in assembling and leading a diverse and talented team, making confident decisions, and knowing how to close the distance between dreams and reality.
What are you dreaming of?
think boldly
It’s one thing to launch a new campaign. It’s quite another to know when it’s time to relaunch a major, mature brand, and confidently lead a team through the bold steps that will follow. We united a multi-disciplinary team to undertake one of the most ambitious moves in SeaWorld’s history—to differentiate the brand by creating an experience that went beyond a theme park, beyond a zoo or aquarium, and instead, purposefully defined an entirely new space.
Through world-class rides, guests would experience interpretations of the force and power of the sea. Through unique, up-close encounters with magnificent sea life, a wondrous human-animal connection would be celebrated.
By thinking boldly, the SeaWorld brand was revitalized, resulting in a significantly stronger
brand image, an increase in attendance, and stronger financial performance.
Where could your brand use bold thinking?
think innovation
Wandering through an outdoor market in Granada, a burst of light and color stopped us in our tracks. A beautiful collection of hand-made works of art was inviting us to challenge what we think of as lamps.
Sometimes looking at something without naming it is the first step in freeing the imagination. And with freedom comes opportunities, and space to redefine. To challenge conventional thinking. To help companies push past limitations. To innovate.
That’s where Smithink thinks differently.
What are you thinking of?
think forward
In any industry, some are content with maintaining the status quo. Others believe that decisive action can change the world—and not just their own. The visionary team at the Indianapolis Zoo is committed to changing the role of zoos and in so doing, significantly changing people’s attitudes and their actions in conserving wildlife and wild places.
When faced with creating a new vision for the zoo and an actionable roadmap to get there, the Indianapolis Zoo reached out to Smithink to lead the development and implementation of their strategic plan. With years of experience in changing the landscape of how humans and animals interact combined with a practical business perspective, Smithink guided the Zoo’s key stakeholders through the creation of an impactful 10-year strategic plan—one which will help them realize their vision for changing the world we share.
What is your vision for the world?
think differently
When people think of themed entertainment, they often think biggest, fastest, newest. When we put our heads together to create and launch a new, high-end destination park in Orlando, we challenged ourselves to create an entirely different experience. And with that, the “-est” mold cracked.
Discovery Cove was positioned as an exclusive destination limited to only 1000 guests, with a high staff-to-guest ratio, pristine beaches with room to spread out, dolphin swims in a peaceful lagoon, and experiences that connected with guests on an emotional level. A daringly different model for Orlando, but a strategy that paid off, with projections exceeding all expectations.
By engaging all five senses in a way that connected with the hearts and minds of our guests, we were able to deliver a truly compelling, one-of-a-kind guest experience...one that effectively differentiated the best from the “-est.”
How could you differentiate your guest experience?
think purposefully
As brands grow and extend into new areas, choosing the right name can seem intuitive. Yet without careful, strategic thinking, a wrong name can rapidly undermine a brand’s equity, and set a series of mistakes into motion. Faced with the fortunate yet equally risky luxury of two powerful brand names – Nickelodeon and its well-known “Nick” name – Nickelodeon Recreation partnered with Smithink for strategic guidance in creating a nomenclature strategy as their brand grows.
While known as an edgy, irreverent brand that stands for “breaking some rules,” Nickelodeon also recognized the need for a disciplined structure and strategic guidelines to lace its attractions and experiences together. The nomenclature strategy we developed will serve as a guide to provide equal clarity to both Nickelodeon Recreation’s audience and its licensing partners, while reinforcing the strong equity of the brand. Even for Nick, having a few rules is cool.
What purposeful thinking can help you extend your brand?
think expression
An icon can be one of a brand’s most valuable assets, representing a powerful expression of its attributes. Recognized internationally since the 1970s, Shamu was just such an icon for SeaWorld—and the world’s only performing killer whale. So when movies and other parks began introducing their own whale performances, the question became how to keep this legendary icon pre-eminent and viable.
We led the revitalization of Shamu as an icon, establishing and implementing innovative, consistent communication standards for SeaWorld’s most valuable asset. At the same time, we also led an extensive, multi-million dollar revitalization of Shamu’s performance, and created the most successful show in the park’s history, Believe. These two powerful forms of expression resulted in one powerfully reinvigorated icon.
Today more than ever, Shamu represents the kind of unique connection to the power, the mystery and the wonder of the sea and sea life found only at SeaWorld.
Is your brand expressing itself as powerfully as it could be?
think possibility
What some see as an improbable vision, others recognize as an endless sea of possibility. When Smithink was asked to assemble and lead a team charged with bringing four domestic brands to life at the crown of the Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai, we knew that for a vision this big to become real, we had to root it in reality.
We challenged our team to think of how, in a world of soaring glass and steel structures, we could create human-scale experiences. We challenged ourselves to stand apart from Western-based theme parks and enrich these new properties with storylines and themes that would transcend cultures. We then crafted a high concept and narrative that would become the organizing principle for what would be built, so that from the moment the first sketches were rendered, the vision was clear.
What improbable vision could we help you realize?
