Category: Marketing

The Woodlands Township
The Woodlands, Texas
Year Awarded: 2023

The mission

The Woodlands Township has a wealth of public aquatics options available. Residents have 14 pools at their disposal, ranging from a small 70,000-gallon pool with simple zero-depth entry ramp and small play structure, to a facility with a 300,000-gallon pool, complete with a 500-foot lazy river and a large waterslide and play structure. Problem was, most residents only knew about one or two facilities, said Marty Mulgrew, who served as aquatics superintendent for The Woodlands Township when it received its Best of Aquatics honor.

“Most people know the ones closest to their neighborhoods, but they don’t know how many options they have,” he said at the time.

The team decided to develop a program that would raise awareness and increase traffic at some of the less-traveled facilities.

Brilliance at work

The team came up with three programs to draw attention.

For the first, they revamped a punch-card-type program, where visitors received a credit for each location they explored. The High Seas Adventure Program was set up like a scavenger hunt: For each location, visitors receive a clue leading them to a particular feature on the grounds. At each destination, they photograph themselves and post the image to social media. Those visiting seven or more pools are deemed “High Seas Adventurers,” while those experiencing all 14 earn the title “Circumnavigator.” Both tiers have their own tee shirt, and each Circumnavigator is entered into a drawing for a free season pass.

The second program, called Pop at the Pool, introduces a touch of urgency. With relatively short notice, The Woodlands announces the event on its social media accounts. At the two-hour event, visitors enjoy the inflatable obstacle course, and season-pass holders get a popsicle. Visitors also enter a drawing. Not only did the program boost its social-media follows, but it gave the city a chance to promote its inflatable obstacle courses, which it rents out as an add-on at parties and events.

Finally, the city conducted a social media campaign highlighting swim teams and classes. Each team has its own frame naming it and a hashtag for The Woodlands aquatics. Swimmers stand in the frame, take a photo and post to social media.

Special highlights

As part of the High Seas Adventure program, participants grant The Woodlands permission to use the photos they post on social media. The city then uses them in their own marketing. For this reason, they choose the most picturesque sites for the scavenger hunt.

Pop at the Pool visitors enter a raffle to win five free visits at any facility. Participants write their names and contact information on their raffle tickets. Those who provide email addresses were automatically signed up for the electronic newsletter. Newsletter subscriber receive more notice for the Pop at the Pool events.

Pop at the Pool takes place at a different facility each time. The team usually schedules them at times that see low attendance. In 2023, Mulgrew reported a 120% increase in traffic during those times, compared with its five-year average.

All the programs required minor set-up and relatively inexpensive supplies, making them easy to fit into budgets.

The latest

Both The High Seas Adventure Program and Pop at the Pool returned in 2024 with good results.

The team refreshed the scavenger hunt with new clues and designed new t-shirts for its High Seas Adventurers and Circumnavigators. “We assumed there would be a lot of returners,” says current Aquatics Supervisor Cynthia Roberts, who played a key role in the programs from the outset.

This year, the program drew 459 individual participants, who accounted for more than 3,000 visits to the facilities.

Pop at the Pool is less of a flash event than before. Now, newsletter subscribers receive notice about the next month’s events. Before, they posted notice to social media 24 hours in advance, but it proved too difficult to coordinate with the department handling social media. “So it wasn’t as much of a flash event, but it still accomplished our goals,” Roberts says.