For many aquariums there’s a new battle brewing over who has the biggest fish -- or the biggest pond even -- as featured in a New York Times article which highlights the mounting competition between aquariums. It seems that, ironically, even aquariums are getting caught in a bloody, Red Oceans.
However, as Blue Ocean Strategy shows us, it is not about being best in every -- or even in any one particular criteria -- but rather having the best mix of criteria which leads to unoccupied market space and high growth. For example, instead of placing all its focus on building the next biggest, greatest ride, Disney created its own Blue Ocean marketspace with the FastPass reservation system, which allowed park visitors to bypass long lines and wait times by enabling them to customize their itinerary in advance.
So aquariums take note: Get out of the red, and into the blue ocean!
More from the New York Times article:
ATLANTA — Apparently eight million gallons of water and 80,000 animals were not enough for the Georgia Aquarium, which already claims to be the world’s largest. It did not have dolphins.
On Tuesday, aquarium officials announced plans for a $110 million expansion, increasing itself by 1.5 million gallons, most of which will be used for dolphin windows, dolphin shows and something called “dolphin encounters.”
But the expansion of the popular tourist attraction, which has been open for about two and a half years, will also allow Atlanta to cement its claim to the “world’s largest aquarium” moniker, a valuable bit of marketing braggadocio the Georgia Aquarium snatched from the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago when it opened in November 2005.
[Image via The New York Times.]