How to Promote New Zoo Animals
August 11, 2021
Zoos are incredible cultural institutions. They promote the preservation and conservation of endangered species, provide valuable education to the public, enable scholarship and academia, and enrich the quality of life for their local communities.
One of the most exciting times for a zoo is when it acquires a new animal or gives life to a new animal under its own roof. New animals can generate excitement, provide new learning opportunities, and often attract new visitors.
So how can zoos promote their new animals to increase visitors, memberships, and share their excitement for new animals with the public? Below we’ll get into everything you need to know about how to promote new zoo animals.
New animal events
A great way to showcase your new animals is to hold events for those animals. These events are fun ways to bring people together, and you can promote your events through your website, on social media, and in your local community.
Some fun event ideas might include:
- Musical events inspired by the home of the animal – Did your zoo just receive a new jaguar? Host a Brazilian samba or capoeira event. New giraffe or rhinoceros? Put on a Swahili sound DJ for an afternoon. You can bring in live music and local bands to add to the excitement of the event.
- Food events – In the same way that you might host a music event, you can also promote your new animals through a food event. This is a really great opportunity to team up with local restaurants and businesses to bring foods related to the region that your animal is endemic to.
- Educational events – Do you have a new, exciting animal that people may be unfamiliar with? Take it as a learning opportunity. You can bring in a zoologist or animal trainer familiar with your particular animal to host a speech or training exercise. Another fun idea might be to host a large documentary movie night, and you can even host the documentary as a drive-in movie experience.
- Animal trivia night – People, especially animal lovers who enjoy learning, can be crazy about trivia nights. They’re fun, easy to facilitate, and are great ways to introduce the public to your new animal. Add to the event by selling food and drinks, making it a night your visitors won’t forget.
The above suggestions are just a few kinds of events you can think about hosting, but are a variety of ways to create fun events that can resonate with your visitors and generate excitement around a new zoo animal. Get creative, think local, and look to your team members to create memorable and exciting events.
Merchandise for new animals
Merchandise is another great way to promote a new animal to your zoo. Not only is it fun for visitors to peruse through and buy souvenirs when they’re actually in your zoo, but these are great items to showcase on your website and on social media. You could create a mini gallery or short video overviewing the different types of merchandise related to your new animals.
You might considering selling and showcasing different kinds of :
- Stuffed animals
- T-shirts and sweaters
- Key chains
- Mugs
- Stickers and magnetic items
- Hats and socks
- Water bottles
- And more!
Merchandise is a simple way to market new zoo animals and enliven your gift shop. If you’re going to invest in a bulk of new inventory for a new animal, you should take advantage of the opportunity to market your merchandise through your various channels online and in the local community.
Live stream events
Zoos had to learn how to take their events and educational resources online through the COVID-19 pandemic, and they can use the tools they gained throughout the pandemic to bolster their new zoo animal marketing strategy.
You can:
- Stream events on Facebook, Instagram, and other popular social media platforms. Whether you’re hosting a live event or creating something strictly for the online streaming experience, you should be posting online content to educate and generate excitement around your new animal.
- Live stream the miracle of life through an upcoming animal birth. More than that, you can stream the progression of an animal’s pregnancy so that visitors can follow along as the mother grows, leading up to the big day of the eventual pregnancy.
- Stream training sessions to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how new animals are cared for and taken care of. This is a great educational experience that gives viewers the feeling of exclusivity and the knowledge to pique their interest and make a visit.
- Show your new animal’s journey across their first few months in your zoo. Especially for new baby animals, charting their journey from birth to the first few months of their infancy and adolescence is such a great way to share the incredible growth that animals take in those cherished early moments.
Again, there are a number of ways you can create excitement around your new animals and promote their arrival. The onus is on your marketing team to find fun, educational, and creative ways to highlight your new arrivals and transform your visitors and unknowing observers into lifelong members. And with the above suggestions, you can start promoting new zoo animals online, in your local community, and under your own roof today.
How ACME can help
ACME is a comprehensive ticketing and membership platform that caters to cultural institutions of all kinds, including zoos. ACME works to deliver outstanding in-person and virtual events, allowing you to create a multi-pronged approach to sharing your new zoo animal arrivals with the world.
Whether you’re selling paper admissions or a password to your latest Zoom link, ACME makes it easy and enjoyable for both your visits/members and your team.
Request an ACME demo today to see how we can help with your new animal arrivals and your other ticketing and membership management needs.