88/ 100
HotTier 2Enriched
Mystic Aquarium
A nonprofit, ticketed aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut focused on animal care, conservation, education and research.
Research snapshot2026-08-2114 cited sources · 6/6 modules complete Open PDF Report
Owned annual guestsNearly 750KLive undated page; checked 2026-08-21 · First-party audience scale; reporting year not stated
FY2024 program-service revenue$24.67MFY2024 · Filed earned-revenue signal
Instagram followers266,3382026-08-21 · Point-in-time visible audience
Capital improvements$14.0MReported 2026 · Investment completed during outgoing CEO tenure
Visual evidence profile
What supports the opportunity
Source composition and verified operating momentum at a glance.
Evidence mix14 cited sources
Six-segment module readiness strip
Verified growth trendTotal revenue
Total revenue was essentially flat in FY2023 then fell 2.3% in FY2024, ending 2.4% below FY2022.
Visual intelligence map
Research coverage
Each branch maps directly to a required module in the plugin’s canonical report schema.
Why this lead fits CTM
Large owned visitor scale, ticketed and group-sale paths, active campaign content, a named marketing leader and current expansion evidence support high fit; leadership transition and commercial unknowns prevent a stronger score.
Fit reasons
Mystic Aquarium is an accredited, visitor-facing aquarium in a CTM-relevant Northeast tourism market.
The organization reports substantial owned guest volume and has clear general, group and education ticket actions.
Current capital improvements, future-expansion real estate and the July 2026 Nunavik arrival create campaign-ready reasons to visit.
Jennifer Sherman is publicly listed as Vice President of Marketing, providing a named initial buyer route.
Risks and unknowns
A national CEO search is underway, with the outgoing CEO expected to depart after successor installation near the end of 2026.
AZA accreditation is listed through September 2026 and the organization says reaccreditation is upcoming; status should be refreshed before outreach.
FY2024 total revenue fell 2.3% from FY2023 and expenses slightly exceeded revenue, so discretionary media budget must not be assumed.
Evidence modules
Lead intelligence structure
Each module uses a view tailored to its canonical evidence type—reports, momentum, channels, leaders, roles, or demand.
01Analyzed reportsThe official report hub, FY2022-FY2024 filing series and 2026 leadership/capital announcement establish legal identity, financial scale, revenue mix, operating pressure and a funded expansion agenda; marketing spend and current attendance trend remain undisclosed.Complete
Reported Performance5 verified metrics
FY2024 revenue$31.82MFY2024 · Filed total revenue
FY2024 expenses$32.04MFY2024 · Filed total expenses
FY2024 net assets$46.93MFY2024 · Filed ending net assets
FY2024 program-service revenue$24.67MFY2024 · 77.5% of total revenue
Capital improvements$14.0MReported April 2026 · Institution-reported cumulative investment under outgoing CEO
Reviewed Reports3 records
Annual-report index and public financial documents · 2022-2024Mystic Aquarium 2024 Annual Report and financial document hub
The official About page lists the 2024 annual report, audited financial statements and a 2023 public-disclosure document, while also identifying current leadership.
IRS nonprofit filings · FY2022-FY2024Sea Research Foundation Form 990 series
Digitized IRS filing data covering revenue, program-service revenue, expenses, assets and named officers.
Strategic leadership announcement · 2023-2026CEO transition and capital-positioning announcement
The official announcement explains the CEO transition and describes capital investments, adjacent-building acquisition and future expansion positioning.
The official page publishes a 2024 annual report and links audited and public-disclosure financial documents.
The same page states Mystic Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and identifies Sea Research Foundation activities across education, research, exhibitry and conservation.
Mission delivery combines guest-facing exhibitry with conservation, education and research.
Additional Evidence10 items
Additional Signals
The interactive annual report could not be used as a claim-level evidence source in this run; no contents were inferred from its listing.
Revenue was $32.60M in FY2022, $32.56M in FY2023 and $31.82M in FY2024.
Program-service revenue rose from $23.17M in FY2022 to $23.61M in FY2023 and $24.67M in FY2024.
FY2024 expenses of $32.04M exceeded revenue by $223,030, while net assets remained $46.93M.
The filing does not isolate marketing, visitor-acquisition or distribution spend.
The Board launched a national CEO search; Susette Tibus expects to depart after successor installation near the end of 2026.
The organization reports $14M invested in capital improvements and purchase of an adjacent building for future expansion.
Leadership framed the investment as strengthening the campus and positioning the institution for future growth.
The announcement does not state the timing, scope or funding plan for future expansion beyond the adjacent-building purchase.
Research Boundaries
No public source separated paid-media spend, ticket-source attribution or return on visitor-acquisition investment.
02Growth signalsGrowth is strategically active but financially mixed: program-service revenue rose 6.5% across FY2022-FY2024, while total revenue drifted down and FY2024 ran a small deficit; $14M of capital improvements, future-expansion space and a new beluga arrival create near-term campaign triggers.Complete
The organization reports $14M of capital improvements and an adjacent building acquired for future expansion.
Nunavik, a 16-year-old male beluga, arrived July 15, 2026 in a planned transfer that the aquarium is actively communicating across owned channels.
The current ADP board includes a Reservations & Group Sales Specialist, an explicit earned-revenue and group-visit signal.
Use the Nunavik narrative or another approved current experience as the creative anchor for a short corridor pilot, subject to welfare-appropriate messaging and campaign timing.
Additional Evidence4 items
Additional Signals
Start with a bounded test because total revenue is soft and leadership is in transition despite stronger program-service revenue.
FY2024 expenses exceeded revenue by $223,030, so investment activity does not prove discretionary media budget.
The incoming CEO may reset priorities or sponsorship/marketing approval routes.
Research Boundaries
Capital and animal-arrival announcements do not publish incremental attendance, conversion or campaign return.
03Social activityThe verified Instagram account has a large visible audience and active animal-led storytelling; nine recent grid items were sampled and a current reel showed meaningful visible engagement, though a defensible cross-channel 30-day median was not available.Complete
Additional Evidence1 items
Research Boundaries
Only Instagram was sampled deeply; exact post dates were not exposed for every grid item and one post-level engagement sample is not a channel median.
04C-suite activityThe official leadership page provides a clear marketing and guest-experience route, but the CEO transition is material: Susette Tibus remains through successor installation while the Board conducts a national search expected to conclude near year-end 2026.Complete
Vice President of MarketingJennifer Sherman
Anchor the discussion in current visitor goals and confirm authority, timing, budget and measurement before proposing inventory.
Vice President, Guest ExperienceC. Rodney Daniels
Anchor the discussion in current visitor goals and confirm authority, timing, budget and measurement before proposing inventory.
President and CEOSusette Tibus
Anchor the discussion in current visitor goals and confirm authority, timing, budget and measurement before proposing inventory.
Decision PathPublic buying signals
Susette Tibus announced on April 24, 2026 that she will leave day-to-day leadership after the next CEO is installed; the Board launched a national search and expected installation near year-end.
Public role centers on storytelling that drives awareness and revenue.
Likely initial buyer for audience, creative, media timing and measurement.
Additional Evidence5 items
Additional Signals
Public role covers guest services, membership sales, retail, food and beverage partnerships and VIP programming.
Likely operational co-sponsor for visitor journey, onsite experience and group/partner integration.
Outgoing CEO is overseeing the transition, AZA reaccreditation and successor installation.
Executive sponsor only if needed; not the preferred initial buyer during transition.
Research Boundaries
The official leadership page still lists Tibus as CEO but does not identify an interim or selected successor; refresh the route immediately before outreach.
05Hiring activityThe official ADP board displayed five current openings: three life-support/animal-care roles, one AV role and one Reservations & Group Sales Specialist. The mix points to operational capacity plus a direct group-sales need, not broad marketing expansion.Complete
5Visible RolesPublic openings connected to this lead
Animal operations · Mystic, ConnecticutSenior Technician - Life Support Systems
Operational capacity signal supporting visitor readiness and animal care.
Animal care · Mystic, ConnecticutSenior Trainer Belugas
Operational capacity signal supporting visitor readiness and animal care.
Visitor technology · Mystic, ConnecticutAV Technician II
Operational capacity signal supporting visitor readiness and animal care.
Sales and reservations · Mystic, ConnecticutReservations & Group Sales Specialist
Direct group-sales and reservations capacity signal.
Animal operations · Mystic, ConnecticutLife Support Systems Technician
Operational capacity signal supporting visitor readiness and animal care.
Three of five openings relate to life support or beluga care, aligning with animal-care capacity and the Nunavik arrival.
The Reservations & Group Sales Specialist role creates a specific commercial signal around group-visit demand and conversion.
Additional Evidence1 items
Research Boundaries
Relative posting-age labels are point-in-time ADP observations and should be refreshed within 14 days of outreach.
06Visitor activityMystic Aquarium reports nearly 750,000 annual guests and two-to-three-hour average visits on a live first-party sponsorship page. Connecticut's 72.2 million 2025 visitors and $12.3B traveler spending are government market context only, not aquarium footfall.Complete
Demand & DistributionOwned metrics remain distinct from market proxies
Annual guestsNearly 750KUndated live page; checked 2026-08-21 · Owned first-party scale claim
Average guest visit2-3 hoursUndated live page; checked 2026-08-21 · Owned dwell-time claim shown as stated range
Connecticut visitors72.2M2025 · Government market context - not aquarium footfall
Traveler-supported business sales$12.3B2025 · Government market context - not aquarium revenue
The aquarium currently advertises daily hours and year-round visit/ticket surfaces, while events and animal-arrival narratives provide time-specific campaign hooks.
No current owned visitor-origin breakdown was found; statewide tourism scale cannot identify Mystic Aquarium's feeder markets.
The group-booking path offers automatic discounts for groups of 10 or more and requires advance reservation and payment.
CTM reaches visitors through hotels, visitor centers, airports, attractions and travel corridors; exact Connecticut inventory must be confirmed before proposing placements.
Additional Evidence3 items
Additional Signals
A corridor test could route guests to campaign-specific ticket or group-booking landing paths using market-specific QR codes.
Research Boundaries
The nearly 750K annual-guest and dwell-time claims are live first-party statements but the page does not state the reporting year or method.
The Connecticut values are market context and must never be presented as owned attendance or aquarium revenue.
A short, measurable visitor-discovery pilot can test whether high-intent regional travelers respond to current Mystic Aquarium programming, provided customer suppression, leadership ownership and Connecticut inventory are confirmed.
Recommended solution
Evaluate route-specific brochure distribution using one current approved experience and a dedicated QR/UTM ticket path; add digital only where live inventory is confirmed.
Pilot hypothesis
Contextual visibility in hotels, visitor centers and other high-traffic visitor environments may add qualified ticket discovery beyond existing social reach.
Measurement plan
Assign unique QR/UTM variants by corridor and creative; measure scans, qualified sessions, ticket-starts and completed ticket/group actions where analytics permit.
Compare distribution and replenishment records with matched landing activity; do not infer attendance from brochure pickup alone.