Exploring the 3-in-1 Campaign Identifying Whales, Contributing to Research Efforts and Promoting Tourism

No matter where you are in the world, you’d be hard-pressed to find a person who’d refute the claim that whales are some of the most remarkable creatures on the planet. There’s something so majestic – so appealing – about these gargantuan mammals that it’s no wonder each year, people travel from around the globe with the hopes of glimpsing them in their natural habitat.

For locations like Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador, this is good business, of course, but it’s also competing with multiple other spots across the country for its share of the tourist attention. So, to cement the province as the choice to beat, Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, in partnership with creative agency Target, decided to officially turn whale-driven visits into a deeper act… with scientific benefits, to boot.

Specifically, the two launched ‘Hello Humpback’, a web platform inviting those who see these specific whales to upload a picture of their flukes (tails), which actually serve as unique identifiers, akin to fingerprints. Using image recognition technology, this original offering scans the markings, cross-referencing a global database and utilising a custom generative AI model to create personalised biographies for each, based on the decades of real-world sighting data. On top of this, each new photo is stored, contributing to the data pool marine biologists use to monitor these creatures, which in turn allows for story updates when a whale is seen once again.

In short, Target managed to bundle scientific value and emotional resonance into a single campaign for travel, which is exactly why, to learn more, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down for a chat with its creative director, TJ Arch.

LBB> Creating a tool that simultaneously identifies humpbacks, contributes to research efforts and promotes provincial tourism is amazing! From whom did the idea for this come from, and what made it an endeavour you wanted to undertake?

TJ> In a brainstorming session more than three years ago, someone brought up the fact that the tails of humpbacks were unique identifiers. This was at a time when QR codes had really made their comeback. So, at some point, we realised the markings on their tails are vaguely reminiscent of QR code patterns, and that’s really what got us started.

I’m a scuba diver and generally just fascinated by anything in the sea. So, beyond the fact that I thought this could be incredibly powerful for our client, the province, and the scientific community, I was genuinely interested to learn more about humpbacks.

LBB> Specifically, how does ‘Hello Humpback’ fit into Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism’s broader marketing plans for the year, and what made this the right next phase of your collaborative marketing efforts?

TJ> The intention is that ‘Hello Humpback’ is an evergreen project. So, it’s less about fitting into the specific 2025 campaign, and more about making sure it fits within our overall brand, which it does, perfectly.

We always aim to present Newfoundland and Labrador as a destination that offers rich, authentic experiences. ‘Hello Humpback’ elevates the whale-watching experience, creating deeper (no pun intended) connections. It’s a collision of two core elements of our brand – our spectacular wildlife and our legendary storytelling. And strategically, it makes a lot of sense. Recent research showed that 46% of Canadians list whale watching as an important factor in choosing a travel destination.

LBB> Of course, creating a tool like this wouldn’t be an easy task. At what point did you even know this was feasible, and what was the planning process like?

TJ> Well, when we started on the journey more than three years ago, we found that it actually wasn’t feasible. At that point, identifying whales by their tails was still a manual process – literally a human just comparing photos. It was far too time-consuming to do it at scale. But, it was an idea we kept on the wall. It’s one we couldn’t let go of.

Eventually, when AI tools started to emerge, we realised that not only was it far more doable, but generative AI was going to allow for layering on the important storytelling component in real time.

LBB> From here, how did you build the tool? How does the science and technology behind it work?

TJ> We have two incredible in-house resources in Tim Carew and Sarah Stone. They were the developers responsible for making ‘Hello Humpback’ a reality, and also key creative contributors throughout.

We must also share credit here with our partners at Happywhale. When a traveller uploads a photo to our site, it ‘talks’ to the Happywhale database where matches are identified. If there is a positive match, Happywhale returns a raw data set (sighting dates and locations) and occasionally some notes about the whale. Those notes might include mentioning that one of the sightings was with a calf by its side. I even saw it mention one time that the whale in question had been in a fight with a pod of killer whales.

With that data, we used the OpenAI Assistants platform to create a custom generative AI storyteller that we’ve dubbed ‘Moby Bic’. This is a bit like using ChatGPT, but we’ve trained it on our brand voice and whale stories that we wrote as models. All of this happens in seconds, and the end result is a compelling narrative story that outlines the life journey of the whale you’ve spotted.

‘Hello Humpback’ also gives travellers the chance to ‘follow’ their whale. The site pings the Happywhale database daily to look for new sighting data. So, if your whale shows up in Iceland next month, the Azores this winter, or back in Newfoundland and Labrador again next summer, you’ll get an email that its story has been updated.

LBB> The fact that it can identify and cross-reference whales via just their tail is remarkable. What sort of characteristics does it look at, and how does it draw everything together to write a story?

TJ> When we first learned about this, we were under the impression that it was the white and black pattern on the tail. That’s somewhat true. But, the outline of the tail is actually critically important in the identification process. The pattern can change over time, and of course, some whale tails can get scarred or damaged through their life, but the outline of the tail remains the same. The combination proves useful to ID whales even over decades!

LBB> What challenges did you face during this project, and how did you overcome them?

TJ> Anytime you do something truly new, you’re going to face a lot of challenges, because there’s no playbook on how to do it. But, on ‘Hello Humpback’, the whole team was so invested in the outcome that nothing felt insurmountable or too dispiriting.

There were lots of technical challenges, but it’s also the ‘simple’ things that can trip you up… like coming up with thousands of first names for whales. You start with lists of baby names, but you’d be surprised how fast you run out.

LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?

TJ> I learned a lot about humpbacks. I learned a lot about AI. But more importantly, I learned more about my team.

From the creative team, to the studio, to the accounts team, everyone stepped up and remained fully committed to this project from day one. And I can’t say enough about Tim and Sarah, and their role in making ‘Hello Humpback’ happen. They’re even more brilliant than I already suspected!

LBB> Since launch, how have people responded? Are marine biologists actually taking advantage of the tool’s capabilities?

TJ> Marine biologists already had the capability to work directly with Happywhale to log their sighting data. So, the real benefit to them will happen over time as ‘Hello Humpback’ turns travellers to the province into citizen scientists, and the data set on North Atlantic humpbacks gets bigger and bigger.

Whale season is just getting started and will really ramp up in June and July. Our boat tour operators around the province have been big supporters. They’re excited to share ‘Hello Humpback’ with their customers and let them engage with the whales in a whole new way.

LBB> Finally, have you yourself had a chance to test the app out based on real whale sightings? What has the experience been like?

TJ> Yes! The very first test of the beta site was with a photo from a team member. We were all excited to learn that the whale he spotted was named Ryan, who has a really interesting story. She’s one of the very few whales we’ve come across that travels back and forth between Newfoundland and Labrador and Iceland. You can see her tail below – try it out for yourself on HelloHumpback.ca!