by Judith Rubin
We met over noodles at Sapphire Pan Asian restaurant in the Central West End of St. Louis, and we talked about some of the greatest achievements of Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC). As corporate VP, entertainment and corporate VP, brand management, respectively, Saint Louisans David and Linda Smith (right) were front and center for many of those achievements – including the rebranding of SeaWorld Parks and the creation of Discovery Cove.
Somewhere along the way they married each other. Declining to follow BEC when it relocated to Orlando, the Smiths resigned in October 2008 and created their own company, Smithink, to offer strategic planning, creative development and brand development services. Smithink was immediately hired by BEC to conceive and executive produce Worlds of Discovery Dubai, a Busch-branded project that would comprise four parks and a shopping and retail environment to be built on the crown of Palm Jebel Ali.
The repackaging of SeaWorld following BEC's purchase of the parks in 1989 was definitive. Discovery led to discovery, (and eventually to Discovery). SeaWorld's staff and management were devoted to the parks and the customers, but “we needed to hear from the people who weren't coming and who had stopped coming,” notes Linda. They learned through focus groups about the “teen veto” - the teenager in the family who needed a compelling reason to come to SeaWorld and without it had the potential to keep the others away. Respect for the power of the teen veto culminated in Sea World's first ride installation, Journey to Atlantis.
Additional wisdom gained from the focus groups led to formulating the “SeaWorld Adventure Parks” identity – something that designer Elaine Swanger, another BEC alumna, describes
as being “about how you felt, rather than the highest or biggest or fastest, and about up-close animal encounters.” Some six years into the rebranding process, BEC rolled out the first national ad campaign for SeaWorld, which sparked huge jumps in attendance.
Where SeaWorld was about “getting the guest into the water with the whale without putting the guest into the water with the whale,” as Linda puts it, Discovery Cove was literally about putting the guest into the water – with the dolphin. David calls it “the non-theme park theme park that broke the mold. We turned the theme park model upside down, creating a property that is high price and low volume instead of the reverse,” adds David, noting that Discovery Cove “paid for itself in two years and contributes quite nicely to BEC's bottom line today.” Even post-911 and in today's economic downturn, attendance remained surprisingly steady, according to the Smiths. The park is a favorite destination of British tourists who promote it vigorously by word of mouth, according to Linda.
As Smithink, the Smiths were tasked with creating the next generation of Busch parks in Dubai, jointly for BEC and sponsor Nakheel. They put their teambuilding acumen to work forming a group that included brand strategists, gamers, Mideast cultural experts, and even a buyer from Target. “We needed to have a shared vision between Nakheel and BEC established up front,” explained Linda. Nakheel's project managers were eager to begin design work but “we held them off for 10-12 weeks,” she says. The prep work paid off. “When we did start drawing,” reports Linda, “it went fast and there was no reworking.”
The primary question, according to David, was, “How do all the Busch brands fit together, and how do we bundle them into a collective brand?” And “Worlds of Discovery” was the answer. He described the design as a microcosm of all the Busch parks in a cohesive environment that extended to the shopping and dining area: “We gave a lot of thought to the backstory for each park.” Says Linda, “It was designed to appeal to all five senses and the heart.”
At this point our story comes to an abrupt halt because due to the global credit crisis, following some 10 months of intensive concept development, the project is officially on hold. Adding further uncertainty to the future of Worlds of Discovery is the status of BEC and the Busch parks, which are expected to be sold off by European giant InBev, which acquired Busch Corporation several months ago.
In the meantime, Smithink and the Smiths are looking for their next adventure. Locally, David is currently board chairman of Cultural Festivals, Inc, producers of the St. Louis Art Fair, the St. Louis Jazz Festival, and the Big Read Book Festival. David and Linda Smith's characteristic appetite for new challenges and commitment to excellence continues in full force. “If you don't delight and entertain, you have no business being there,” remarks David, “but you should also seek to invigorate.”
More from Judith Rubin here
See also:
Amusement Parks: Busch Corp.’s Themed Entertainment Legacy in St. Louis
Shamu’s World of Mystery and Beauty : SeaWorld
Amusement Parks: Former Disney Exec Greg Emmer Shares Insights with Chad Emerson
Amusement Parks: How Universal Orlando Resort Turned Mardi Gras into both Revenue Enhancer and Guest favourite
Themed Entertainment: A UK family with three children visits Orlando
Amusement Parks: Writing about Orlando's Major Attractions
Images, copyright Seaworld: left -Dazzling, acrobatic sea creatures leap from pole-to-pole at the all-new show "A'Lure, The Call of the Ocean.
top - Animal trainer Amber Cavett offers a piece of sustainable salmon for Shamu at SeaWorld Orlando.