Georgia Aquarium: New fish every 90 days

Downtown Atlanta attraction wants to pump up ‘wow factor’
Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 21 Aug 08;

In an effort to increase attendance, the Georgia Aquarium will add a “wow factor” fish to its waters every quarter, interim Chief Executive Officer Mike Leven says.

“We need to ensure that every 90 days or so we have new things coming to the aquarium,” Leven said, flipping through a stack of possible candidates such as barracuda, tiger sharks and colorful yellowfin tuna. “You have to constantly upgrade and bring in new and interesting animals. They are a critical component to our growth.”

But Jeff Swanagan, the former head of the aquarium, is not convinced such a quick turnaround is possible. He said fish can be quarantined for as much as 45 days depending on species or size. If there’s a problem, quarantine can last even longer, he said.

“That will be virtually impossible to do,” Swanagan, now executive director of Ohio’s Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, said of Leven’s plan. “But if there is a place that can do it, it’s the Georgia Aquarium.”

Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, agreed. He said he was not aware of any aquarium with the kind of timeline Leven is suggesting, but he said the Georgia Aquarium has the expertise to pull it off.

Leven said his aggressive plan to introduce new “charismatic” fish every quarter is a sea change from the course the world’s largest fish tank has been charting. With the exception of a handful of smaller species and the four whale sharks that replaced Ralph and Norton, who died last year, the aquarium’s inhabitants have mostly been the same since the tank’s opening in November 2005.

Leven said that inertia may have stopped some visitors — especially locals, who are the bread and butter of the attraction — from coming back a second and third time, which is crucial to the aquarium’s bottom line. While the slumping economy has contributed to the attendance drop, he said he believes the aquarium has not given visitors enough reasons to come back.

“No business can exist on creating new customers all the time,” he said. “It’s a very expensive and difficult process.”

Plus, aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said, giving visitors more reasons to come back increases the possibility of turning frequent visitors into annual pass holders.

“People are much more likely to join if it is a changing, dynamic institution rather than a static institution,” Santucci said.

While attendance is down, Santucci was quick to point out that the aquarium is not foundering. Attendance this year is projected to be about 2.2 million visitors, handily one of the most visited fish tanks in the country.

Leven, who made his name in the hospitality industry as the head of hotel brands Days Inn and later Holiday Inn, took over as the leader of the aquarium in June after Swanagan stepped down.

Since then, Leven has accepted the resignations of two top aquarium officials and reshuffled other positions. Last week, he announced the traveling Titanic exhibit, which was in Atlanta in 2006 — would come to the aquarium beginning Aug. 22.

Northwestern University branding expert Tim Calkins said attractions have to keep interest up to stay on the radar.

“The challenge for any organization today is to stay relevant,” he said. “When an institution is brand-new, a whole lot of people will come in to see it. That’s easy. But what happens when they’ve all visited?”

This may have been a question that aquarium founder Bernie Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot, wanted answered, too. He asked Leven, who at the time ran Marcus’ private foundation, to look at the aquarium and its direction.

In May, Leven said he reported to Marcus that the aquarium needed to be run more like a business, including naming a new CEO, though he would have left Swanagan as chief operating officer and president.

Putting new fish on display every 90 days has its risks, Leven said. In addition to finding the fish and quarantining them for 30 to 45 days to monitor their health, the aquarium also would have to find specimens that can either survive predators or don’t eat the tank’s inhabitants.

The cost of bringing in new fish depends on the size and variety, Santucci said. Most of the money — anywhere from pennies to hundreds or thousands of dollars — is spent on transportation and labor.

Sky Lantz-Wagner, who operates Dove 6, an Atlanta-based whale shark tourism business in Cancun, Mexico, said he doesn’t think a new fish every 90 days is the answer to strengthening attendance. Introducing new fish rapidly can be intrusive to the attraction’s eco-system.

Plus, he said, how do you top a whale shark?

“It sounds a little gimmicky to me,” he said. “It’s not the circus, it’s an aquarium.”

Aquarium shake-up is about boosting visits
Interim CEO cites slowdown in repeat business
Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5 Aug 08;

The recent staff shake-up at the Georgia Aquarium — which saw the resignations of some of the attraction's top officials and the promotions of others — is part of an overall strategy to boost visitation, says interim Chief Executive Officer Mike Leven.

After three years as one of Atlanta's top attractions, the world's largest fish tank — which opened with 3.6 million visitors in November 2005 — has seen a 37 percent decline in attendance this year, Leven said Tuesday.

And while the mortgage meltdown and high gas prices have played a role — many attraction nationwide have seen attendance fall — Leven said he thinks a bigger reason is a slowdown in repeat business.

"I can't take the risk of that trend going to 1.9 million or 1.8 million," he said. "You've got to change the basic strategy of how you're working.

With a goal of boosting annual visitation to 3 million by 2011, Leven is instituting changes that include beefing up sales in the states surrounding Georgia and altering the regulations to make it easier to use the facility's banquet areas.

Leven, interim director since former Executive Director Jeff Swanagan announced his resignation in May to head up the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, said he also will dramatically increase the number of new animals on exhibit.

"We want people to come back to the aquarium," said Leven, who expects attendance to jump when dolphins are added during the aquarium's five-year anniversary in November 2010. "It's not that crowded, except on Saturdays."

Not all those leaving bought into his vision, he said.

Last Thursday, Ray Davis, senior vice president of zoological operations, and Tim Binder, director of animal husbandry who reported to Davis, both resigned.

"These guys made very significant contributions to the aquarium, but they have decided to move on," aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said.

Mike Hurst, vice president of plant engineering and operations, lost his job because the reorganization made it redundant, said Santucci.

Santucci said the aquarium "will be actively searching for replacements" for Davis and Binder.

Tim Mullican will act as the supervisor of husbandry until the positions are filled, Santucci said.

The aquarium employs about 240 full-time workers, 250 part-timers and 1,100 volunteers.

Because of the aquarium's success out of the gate — officials were expecting only about 2 million visitors the first year — Leven said some in management were not adapting to change quick enough.

"The organization was not prepared to make changes for the downturn in attendance," he said. "We did so well the first year that people didn't react with urgency because they didn't have the time.

"If the senior leadership doesn't buy into that strategy, you have to change," he said.

On Monday, Leven notified aquarium staff of a series of promotions.

Anthony Godfrey was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer; Carey Rountree became senior vice president, sales and marketing; Deb Parsons became vice president, human resources & cultural development; and Santucci became vice president, marketing & communications.

The aquarium has received criticism for its push to attract visitors, especially its recently introduced program that lets tourists swim with its whale sharks. Some say it has become more of an entertainment venue than learning center.

Leven said the facility is committed to research and education, two of its key missions. But it has to pay the bills.

"You have to be financially viable," he said. "Entertainment is purely a strategy to pay for it."

Other promotions include: Meghann Gibbons as director of public relations; Ashley Payne, manager of e-communications and new media; Michaelanne Dye, specialist of e-communications and new media; Will Ramsey, vice president of sales.

Also: John Walker, senior manager group sales; Kristie Cobb, vice president, development & membership; Karen Deaton, vice president, advertising, exhibits & creative services; and John Chapman, director, facilities maintenance.