Ark Encounter

theme park, museum | brand-awareness campaigns

Part theme park, part museum — the Ark Encounter features a life-size Noah’s Ark — built according to the dimensions God provided to Noah in the Bible. JDA Worldwide partnered with the Ark to reach audiences year-round through paid media campaigns, of which I was the writer.

Early in 2025, my CD and I identified an opportunity to expand Ark Encounter’s marketing efforts, and we collaborated to create a strategic campaign ecosystem. To draw untapped audiences, we needed a fresh approach — which, consequently, led us to use classic disruptive advertising for the series of digital ads (Meta and Google display).

When the campaign launched in September 2025, Ark Encounter maintained strong ticket revenue during a period that usually sees a seasonal drop.

CD: Jonathan Vessely // Designers: Mitchell Acton + Olivia Heinen

Christmas 2024 Campaign

JDA unwrapped a new approach to the Ark’s Christmas 2024 digital campaign, presenting the Ark as a fantastical winter wonderland to inspire guests to visit the annual ChristmasTime experience. The campaign was promoted across Meta, YouTube, Fox, and Google display ads.

CD: Jonathan Vessely // Designer: Mitchell Acton

OOH | Reds stadium promo signage

With a mere 39 miles between The Ark and The Great American Ball Park, there was prime opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of Major League Baseball fans. To catch this unconventional-yet-captive audience, the JDA creative team created a 15-minute stadium-wide digital takeover promoting the Ark. The ads ran during one inning of every Cincinnati Reds home game throughout the 2025 season. Each promo features illuminating facts and trivia about Noah’s Ark and the Bible to inspire baseball fans to discover the attraction for themselves.

CD: Jonathan Vessely // Motion Designer: Mitchell Acton