WHAT WE DID

  • 3-year event plan for Polar Plunge
  • Licensing negotiation with 3 theme parks
  • Marketing strategy for 5 events
  • Corporate sponsorship planning
  • Social media kits for athletes + influencers
  • Product + print collateral sourcing

HIGHLIGHT REEL

  • 104 total campaign assets delivered
  • 199% fundraising increase in JAX
  • 150% fundraising increase in Tampa
  • 6-week project execution of all marketing + brand assets
  • 1:6 ratio of total marketing spend to funds raised

SHOW ME THE WORK

THE ORGANIZATION

Special Olympics International (SOI) hardly needs an introduction. For over 50 years, they’ve provided year-round athletic training and competition to more than 5,400,000 athletes across the globe—fostering inclusion, bravery, and the joy of competition and sport. But, what most people don’t know is that they also offer critical health screenings and services to screen for issues before they become critical.

Special Olympics Florida (SOFL) serves over 54,000 of those athletes from Tallahassee to Miami, extending SOI’s mission all across the sunshine state.

THE PARTNERSHIP

When Resonator first launched, Special Olympics Florida reached out and asked if we would transform one of their statewide fundraising events into keystone events: Polar Plunge. How do you have a polar plunge in Florida? Precisely the problem we set out to solve by turning it into a fun, tongue-in-cheek event styled on 1980’s Daytona Beach vibes. All complete with chilled wave pools at theme parks we could plunge right into.

Build an event, not an activity.

Building off the success of rebranding Special Olympics Virginia’s Polar Plunge event led by two of our team members, we knew we could turn SOFL’s Polar Plunge into a million dollar cornerstone event within three years. In year one, we got to work building a three-year event plan that scales from three locations to five, as well as a full event rebrand and marketing execution for all the Plunge events.

The key was to negotiate our vision with the theme parks to help them understand how we can turn the Plunge into a full day of activities, dancing, costume contests, eating and drinking, and of course, plunging.

Elevate the brand + get the word out. 

Our other hurdle was to educate the public about the newly transformed Plunge. We knew part of our success would rely on pulling in corporate sponsors and focusing on re-engaging teams, so we pivoted the database information, identified key target demographics, and built custom pathways for them to learn and come along for the ride.   

Hundreds of Polar Plunge participants waving to the camera dressed up in their costumes and holding pool floats before they get ready to plunge

A SAMPLE OF OUR WORK

Here are a few of our favorite assets we created for the campaign. The real gold is in the three-year event and marketing plans that scale as the organization scales, but take a peek. And head over to Special Olympics Florida to support the amazing work SOFL is doing for more than 53,000 athletes across Florida.

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