Case Study: SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Inc. ‘Blackfish’ Crisis

This case study was a collaborative final project with two classmates in a public relations case studies course. We chose to analyze the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment'Blackfish' Crisis. In 2013, the controversial documentary 'Blackfish' was released. The documentary focuses on the death of former SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau by an orca named Tilikum, who was held captive by SeaWorld. The backlash from the documentary led to a decline in attendance and raised concerns among investors. This case study goes into in-depth analysis of how SeaWorld handled the crisis, and how they could have handled it better.

View a PDF version of the case study analysis here.