COMMUNICATIONS
Highland Wildlife Park, only 7 miles from Aviemore #eatsdulldays
AND YOU THOUGHT MURRAYFIELD HAD A FEROCIOUS PACK.
ULL EATS DT FOR U DAYS O FAST BREAK
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highlandwildlifepark.org.uk It’s more fun at the Zoo Registered charity number: SC004064
Central to our communications activity in 2016 was the delivery of RZSS’s largest ever programme of market research, which underpinned seven multi-channel campaigns and helped the Zoo and the Highland Wildlife Park engage with over ten million people. Marketing
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The development and delivery of market research was a key focus for 2016, beginning with a full demographic analysis of visitors, members and event attendees over the last four years. This exercise gave the team tremendous insight into who our visitors are, where they come from and how best to communicate with them. The research also involved mystery shopping at Edinburgh Zoo, an international visitor census, audience segmentation and focus groups with key audiences. A rolling programme of iPadbased visitor surveys was also introduced at both sites, providing direct feedback from visitors regarding their experience and motivations.
Three comprehensive marketing campaigns were delivered for Edinburgh Zoo, with the overarching theme of “It’s more fun at the Zoo”. These campaigns utilised a range of channels known to be popular with our target audiences, from cinema and television to largescale outdoor media, digital and print ads. The centrepiece was the creation of a new television advert, offering a fun, interactive and memorable day out for all the family. The launch of Tiger Tracks was also a key focus, with targeted campaign promotion which utilised stunning HD video footage on large-scale outdoor digital advertising. In October, a unique ticket promotion encouraged families to bring pumpkins with tiger-themed carvings in exchange for a free child ticket. The promotion saw a 23% increase in visitors over the period. At the Highland Wildlife Park, an “Eats Dull Days Out for Breakfast” campaign was developed to run all year round, with a particular focus on growing visitors in the quieter months. Again, the campaign involved multiple elements, including targeted digital, outdoor media, radio and print ads. This was one
of the Park’s most successful campaigns to date, helping deliver our best ever visitor numbers of 136,843. The team ended the year with a “Gifts that give more” Christmas campaign which, whilst operating on a small budget, delivered year-on-year retail sales growth of 18%, online animal adoption growth of 31% and a 21% increase in online membership income.
“In October, a unique ticket promotion encouraged families to bring pumpkins with tiger-themed carvings in exchange for a free child ticket. The promotion saw a 23% increase in visitors over the period.”