Agency H5 has worked with Great Wolf Lodge, North America’s largest brand of indoor water parks, since 2017 when it helped launch the brand’s 17th property in Gurnee, Illinois. Since then, our team has helped drive national and regional awareness for Great Wolf Lodge’s unique brand of family fun. When the brand faced widespread closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, H5 strategized ways for the brand to create relevant connections with its customers and communities.

Agency H5 took a news bureau approach to keeping communities aware of resort closures and re-openings as different local and state-wide mandates impacted resort accessibility. A key part of the communication surrounded the brand’s Paw Pledge, an all-new system of safety protocols. The team also engaged content partners to develop relevant at-home content for families to keep the brand top-of-mind, identified relevant opportunities for promotional POPs, and sparked interest for new packages designed for families seeking more private experiences or ways to get away while managing e-learning and work from home schedules.

These efforts drove a record-setting 1.5 billion earned media impressions for the brand and drove measurable room night sales, helping the resorts quickly fill properties at reduced capacity limits once able to reopen.