From Shutdown to Showstopper: How Smoking Gun Relaunched Nemesis as the Ultimate Thrill Ride
Over two years, Smoking Gun delivered a stand-out campaign to herald the relaunch of one of the UK’s most iconic rollercoasters, Nemesis.
The mission was clear: maintain its legendary status, generate excitement and build anticipation for its relaunch as Nemesis Reborn.
By turning the potential setback of temporarily closing the ride into an opportunity for storytelling, Smoking Gun ensured the ride stayed front of mind for fans while driving brand love and intention to visit Alton Towers Resort.
The award-winning campaign masterfully combined a plethora of tactics to create an enduring buzz, including human-led stories, immersive experiential events, stunning drone footage and headline-grabbing stunts.
Through storytelling, survey data and media-worthy moments, the campaign drove widespread coverage – achieving a total of 1,504 media hits and a combined potential reach of more than 6.97 billion.
Our strategy ensured Nemesis worked hard during its downtime – capturing an unfair share of news, cementing its legacy as the ultimate thrill ride and building anticipation for its return.
The campaign garnered significant industry acclaim, earning 12 prestigious awards, including Best Consumer PR Campaign and Best Integrated Communications Campaign at the PR Moment Awards.
“This is the best relationship we’ve ever had with an agency. We genuinely feel you’re our third arm and care just as much as us about our success.” Alton Towers head of PR
Control the messaging/ speculation around the ride closure and return in a positive way and start the grassroots education of the ride narrative early on with the media.
Launch last chance to ride competition to dial up the drama and create a VIP experience – to change the perception of the ride closure for the consumer from a feeling of loss to an exciting opportunity.
Leverage extraordinary real life stories to generate national and regional media interest for a story which highlights the deep emotional connection Nemesis has for so many people.
Create widespread interest and attention for the closure by bringing media and competition winners on final rides, to showcase the love for the attraction and lead into the narrative for future chapters of the storytelling.
Build suspense for the new ride by bringing widespread interest by giving audiences a ‘first-look’ at a key transformation and engineering milestone.
Build excitement for the new ride by giving audiences their first taste of the compelling storytelling and a preview into the new creative theming of the new ride.
Establish clear understanding and anticipation within our key consumer media targets that Nemesis is returning this year.
Remind core audience that the transformation of Nemesis is continuing by showcasing the latest milestone and engineering development.
Deliver a stand-out stunt that will drive media buzz and produce an unfair share of voice for the launch of Nemesis Reborn.
Purpose of activity: Drive broadcast and consumer media coverage as the final touches are made ahead of the return of Nemesis.
Deliver the ultimate buzz ahead of launch by conveying the scale of the transformation and the thrilling experience Nemesis offers.
Drive widespread awareness and extensive reach in week leading up to launch through broadcast media.
Drive coverage across showbiz verticals with star-studded launch event at the same time as engaging our key contacts across regional, national and travel media.
Challenge the conventional by reframing traditional first riders content – through engaging real-life storytelling that strikes an emotional chord with the general public.
Harness keen media appetite for nostalgia by digging into the archives and establishing the indelible legacy of Nemesis to demonstrate how it is cherished by so many.
Secure national headlines and place Nemesis Reborn front of mind to support May half term bookings.
Drive school summer holiday bookings with irresistible real-life story-telling that saw Alton Towers appoint a 72-year-old grandmother as its first ever Chief Thrillseeker.
Drive key half-term bookings through a purpose-driven collaboration with NHS Blood & Transplant to highlight the vital need for donations during winter.
