Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Driving membership growth with research-backed strategy.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) is more than a museum — it’s a vibrant, immersive campus that captures the soul of the Chesapeake Bay. Located in the historic town of St. Michaels, Maryland, CBMM spans 18 waterfront acres and brings maritime history to life through exhibitions, hands-on programs, festivals, and an active shipyard. As both cultural steward and community connector, CBMM is dedicated to preserving the Bay’s heritage while welcoming new generations into its ongoing story.
The Problem
A stagnant membership base despite a compelling story
Despite its compelling offerings and strong brand equity, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s membership had plateaued, hovering around 5,000 annual members. Ambitious growth goals — doubling membership and visitorship within five years — called for a bold strategic reset. The museum’s storytelling strength, led by a small but passionate internal team, wasn’t translating into member growth or digital engagement. Limited resources, inconsistent messaging, and a reliance on email marketing were holding back CBMM’s full potential.
The Approach
Visionary strategy from an expert team
With a strong internal team of marketers and development professionals, CBMM turned to Big Sea for our strategic guidance through Vision, which included a deep research phase, development of a strategy and 3-5 years of executional guidance, as well as suggested visual and design elements for the campaigns.
The Strategy
From perks to purpose: make membership a movement
Through our audience research and competitive analysis, we recognized a gap in how CBMM was presenting their membership program versus what their prospective members wanted from them. Thus, we repositioned CBMM’s membership not as a transaction, but as a personal investment in the Chesapeake’s legacy. The new brand platform, “Become a Part of the Chesapeake Story,” framed membership as immersive, emotional, and meaningful — inviting supporters to step into an unfolding narrative of community, preservation, and discovery.
We tackled the problem from all angles: reimagining the membership experience, improving marketing channels, and empowering internal staff to implement smart, scalable tactics. The strategy was grounded in Big Sea’s Ripple of Purpose framework — designed to align storytelling with strategic conversion goals.
The Results
Membership reimagined, messaging refined — momentum reignited
Big Sea delivered a research-driven, multi-faceted membership marketing strategy centered on emotional resonance, audience segmentation, and channel optimization. We didn’t just deliver a plan — we gave CBMM the tools to carry it forward with confidence.
Crafted a unifying campaign narrative across digital, on-site, and paid channels
- Deliverable: Complete messaging platform rooted in community, connection, and legacy
- Segmented audience personas (e.g., Cultural Supporter, Curious Family, Mariner, Proud Resident), each with targeted media habits, motivations, and messaging strategies
Optimized membership web experience for conversion
- UX recommendations, homepage CTAs, simplified navigation, and emotionally-driven copy for member recruitment
- Influencer, ambassador, and loyalty program playbooks to activate CBMM’s most passionate advocates
Campaign creative executions
- Evergreen membership activations to implement across campus
- Seasonal local and regional creative campaigns to use in paid digital, print, and direct mail
- Social media storylines and pillars to implement
Campaign roadmap for content, paid media, and on-campus engagement
- 12-month content calendar, paid media structure via Feathr
- Social media enhancements (reels, hashtag campaigns, video storytelling)
A scalable strategy built for impact
Our deliverables and strategy laid the groundwork for:
- Expanded reach to new target personas, particularly regional families and cultural travelers
- Improved conversion potential through strategic website updates and storytelling-driven CTAs
- Strengthened brand identity through consistent, emotionally resonant messaging
- Increased internal confidence and clarity with turnkey tools for CBMM’s lean marketing team
