Zoos are havens from the stressors of the world, bringing visitors closer to the wild side of nature. Where else can you feel at one with the energetic impishness of a monkey? Aquariums offer the same sort of respite from daily life. Wandering the concourse of an aquarium, your visitors find themselves lost in the mesmerizing allure of a smack of jellyfish.
But how to communicate these wondrous experiences in your zoo or aquarium marketing and advertising? How to get across the thrill of being subjected to the lion’s imperious gaze? The tactile sensation of handling a starfish?
Here are nine examples of zoo and aquarium advertising and marketing that your own venue can use as inspiration.
1. Create buzz about a specific exhibit or experience
Unlike museums, where specific and temporary exhibits are often the main draw for visitors, a lot of people tend to think of zoos and aquariums as “evergreen” – a good place to visit anytime. But on the flip side, they also don’t expect the exhibits at zoos and aquariums to change much. This can detract from a sense of urgency around getting there – and around repeat visits.
As a marketer, it’s your job to bring that sense of urgency back by highlighting what’s new, fresh, and exciting. If you have a new resident coming in or introduce a new animal encounter, share the news on your marketing channels.
As one example, the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans received the 2020 Excellence in Marketing Award for the campaign “Audubon Zoo Lions: The Roar Returns.” The big news was a brand new, state-of-the-art lion habitat. The zoo’s marketing campaign reached across channels and leaned into creative partnerships with cause-oriented organizations such as the Louisiana SPCA and Disney’s Protect the Pride campaign.
Ultimately, this campaign reached more than 3 million people and generated a publicity value of nearly $10M, according to a press release by the zoo.
2. Draw attention to a renovation
Occasionally, your zoo or aquarium might have even bigger news, such as a renovation or an entire new building. Europe’s largest aquarium, the Italian Acquario Di Genova, was established in 1992 on Genoa, Italy’s Old Harbour. Several years later, a showstopping addition was brought in.
Architect Renzo Piano’s seven-story, 94-meter-long Cetaceans Pavilion, constructed from concrete with a series of open-air tanks and viewing decks, allows visitors to view whales, dolphins, and porpoises from either above or alongside the creatures in the water.
The addition was constructed in a dry dock in La Spezia, pulled by tugboat through the harbor, and assembled in the Voltri Shipyard. This marine spectacle was a high-profile public event that both the museum and the architectural firm showcased.
Your museum or aquarium probably won’t have a colossal event like this happen every day, every year, or even every decade – but when it does, make the most of the occasion by sharing it liberally on every marketing channel you’ve got. If you’re working with a partner such as an architecture firm or a designer, combine forces to spread the word.
3. Be the biggest and best at something
There doesn’t have to be an exciting event or entire overhaul coming down the pipe to flaunt your special attributes. What’s unique about your zoo or aquarium every day? What really sets you apart?
The Tiergarten Schönbrunn of Vienna has continuously operated since 1752 – making it the oldest zoo in the world. Originally created as the imperial menagerie of Schönbrunn Palace, it’s a beautiful and quirky zoo where you can visit such unique species as oriental small-clawed otters and arctic wolves.
The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo not only houses the world’s largest suspended aquarium – which you can glimpse while walking through the Dubai Mall – it also has the world’s biggest collection of sand sharks. When you’re the best, or have the most, or are the biggest or most attention-grabbing, marketing is easy.
4. Balance access to wild animals with promoting conservation
Most zoos and aquariums have two critical missions. One is to expose the public to a wide variety of species and habitats in a convenient, beautiful environment. The second is to further conservation efforts and awareness in order to better protect our earth’s ecosystems and fauna.
While it’s easy to promote the first mission, zoos and aquariums that offer transparency and outreach around their conservation efforts often get even more attention. Zoos and aquariums play a critical role in funding and running conservation programs that truly matter to people. Your conservation efforts are just as newsworthy as your “main attractions.”
Among other conservation efforts, Zoo Atlanta contributes to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) with the birth of new animals. The goal of the SSP is to help maintain healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining animal populations in North American zoos.
The New England Aquarium
The New England Aquarium has a popular blog that regularly features conservation-minded posts about things such as World Ocean Day, Penguin Awareness Day, and more. Written in a friendly, engaging tone, the blog draws in readers (and visitors) by introducing some of the characters that live at the aquarium, like the inseparable penguin sisters Pikkewynne and Apollo.
Prague Zoo
Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic is home to well over a hundred threatened species and has a prominent captive breeding program. The conservation efforts here extend beyond animals in captivity to activities aimed at helping species survive in the wild, extending the conservation mission of Prague Zoo far outside the urban walls of the attraction.
Akron Zoo
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the US recognized Akron Zoo in Ohio for its Wild Asia exhibit in 2022. The exhibit won an Excellence in Marketing Award for its efforts to spread the word about a brand new Wild Asia exhibit that includes Sumatran tigers, red pandas, and white-cheeked gibbons. What’s so special about these particular species? They’re all in danger of going extinct in the wild.
5. Introduce the world to your residents through online channels
Today’s marketing efforts go way beyond simple advertising and social media posts to more involved efforts such as video channels and podcasts. These types of marketing channels take a little more devotion, and perhaps some expertise, but hire the right help and your YouTube channel might be the next hot show, or your podcast the next viral audio sensation.
The San Diego Zoo, thought of by many as one of the best zoos in the world, does a great job with its YouTube channel, which regularly posts videos about okapi calf births and the debut of the red river hog piglets. Enjoy the sample video above of a Galapagos tortoise eating a watermelon. More than 21M other people already have!
Aquarium of the Pacific
Aquarium of the Pacific’s “Aquacast” features a variety of scientists and guest speakers covering important issues facing our ocean and planet. Blending entertainment with scientific credibility, this podcast shares stories on such fascinating oceanic topics as “Galápagos Wonders” and “Vanishing Vaquitas.”
By the way, Tiqets has partnered with a number of zoos and aquariums around the world to offer virtual experiences attracting thousands of online viewers. These viewers have frequently shared their enthusiasm about visiting in person. A little online buzz goes a long way!
6. Create a campaign no one has seen before
A lot of zoos and aquariums know that to reach a wider audience, they have to do social media, and do it well. But some take digital marketing campaigns to the next level.
In 2017, ARTIS Zoo teamed up with the Amsterdam design and advertising agency Part of a Bigger Plan to produce the visual feast of a marketing campaign called ARTIS LIVES. A zoo and botanical garden in Amsterdam. ARTIS goes by the maxim “Nature is the teacher of art and science,” and the zoo’s advertising campaign includes a film of less than two minutes that leaves a lasting impression.
The campaign didn’t stop at a single video. The luscious artwork the video-makers produced was used on social media as well as in “real life,” to dress up digital bus stops around the city of Amsterdam and even the buses themselves.
Being wildly creative with your zoo and aquarium marketing campaigns requires ingenuity and a spirit of innovation. When sourcing “blue sky ideas” like the one ARTIS set in motion, a creative agency can be your best ally. They often have the resources, talent, time, and energy to go way beyond the creative limitations of your small team.
The expense of hiring an outside agency is often well worth it when it comes to promoting your zoo or aquarium in a new light or to a new audience. As Part of a Bigger Plan reported after the launch of the campaign, “it increased both awareness and ticket sales way beyond our expectations.”
7. Invite your fans to post pictures and videos
User-generated content – marketing content created and shared on social media by your fans and followers – is one of the most powerful (and inexpensive) kinds of zoo marketing out there. When your social media fans post about your zoo or aquarium, tag you, and share with their own fans, there’s an automatic connection created between those people and your business, widening your marketing reach in an instant.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums announced its first-ever visitor photo contest in the summer of 2021. Visitors to any of the association’s accredited zoos and aquariums can enter. For those 241 venues around the world, this contest is a prime opportunity to get their zoo or aquarium more exposure and hype.
If your zoo is one of them – or if you’re involved in or launching another such photo contest – use your social media platforms, your email marketing efforts, and your own website to invite visitors to post their own photos. Use your venue’s most popular hashtags, or create one specific to this campaign.
User-generated content can also be as simple as posting signs near the exit encouraging people to post pictures and videos and tag your social media channels. A lot of zoos and aquariums provide picture-worthy backgrounds or frames to encourage this practice.
8. Take advantage of accolades
It should go without saying that any time your venue is recognized for its achievements, you shout it from the rooftops. But this type of zoo marketing might feel out of your hands to some extent. Sure, you can submit a press release any time you get an award or are mentioned in the media, but how to get those mentions in the first place?
Knowing what awards and accolades are being bestowed in your industry is worth the effort. You can then do the legwork to be recognized and rewarded for things like your exhibit design and conservation efforts.
Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, for instance, keeps a running tab of rewards and recognition on its website, and it’s an impressive list, spanning several decades. The zoo has won awards for its exhibitry, wildlife conservation efforts, education, environmental sustainability, and even its marketing.
And incidentally, Tiqets awards the best museums and attractions annually in a variety of categories including our Remarkable Venue Awards and Best Museums and Attractions Award. Winners of Tiqets awards are invited to add badges to their websites.
Positive visitor reviews, or social proof, are also an effective way to share valuable and believable endorsements to audiences of future visitors. Encouraging happy customers to post reviews should be a proactive aspect of your zoo marketing efforts.
9. Be the go-to family friendly outdoor activity in your area
Zoos and aquariums are a perennially popular choice for family adventures, and one thing parents care a lot about is safety. This was especially true during the pandemic, but it’s always been true. Zoos and aquariums that do a good job assuring families that their venue is safe in every way have an edge over those that neglect this message in their marketing.
The Bronx Zoo, one of the most popular zoos in the US, took advantage of a slowdown in ticket sales during the pandemic to adjust to a timed-ticketing model to keep visitors spaced out. Right after pandemic shutdowns eased, Jim Breheny, General Director for Zoos and Aquariums, posted a friendly “welcome back” video on the zoo’s website. It’s a well-produced and highly reassuring message for visitors excited (and maybe a little nervous) about stepping out in public again. The Bronx Zoo returned with a bang.
Regardless of what public-health concerns or societal crisis is currently in the headlines, it’s your zoo or aquarium’s job to reassure potential visitors they’re making the right choice by visiting you. Keep your website and other marketing materials up to date with sanitary and safety policies, and – perhaps above all else – always take the feedback your visitors have for you so you can improve what you offer over time
