Although this may not be the typical idea of a brand, zoos are a great addition to cities. Not only for the way that they help animals that need extra health assistance, but they also increase the value of the city they are in by giving a place for families to visit exotic animals. The Cincinnati Zoo is one of the top zoos in the nation and hosts many popular residents including Fiona the Hippo.
In 1873, the zoological society of Cincinnati was formed, and opened its doors in 1875, making it the second oldest zoo in the United States. It originally housed monkeys, grizzly bears, a circus elephant, over 400 hundred birds and so much more on 65 acres of land. Protecting and propagating endangered animals has been the zoos number one goal since the 1880s with the breeding of sea lions and also trumpeter swans. Now over one hundred years later, the Cincinnati Zoo continues to set the bar high for conserving and housing animals in safe, comfortable environments. They also saved over 1 billion gallons of water from 2006 to 2015, which is enough to provide 10,000 homes with indoor and outdoor water usage.
Since the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical garden is a trendsetter for all other zoos in America, they have to be intentional with the way they market themselves to their audience. Their target market is younger children and their families, so the marketing team must put themselves in the shoes of the kids they serve and think of what a child would want to see. One of their largest yearly campaigns is the “Zoo Babies” advertising, which features all of the newest members of the Cincy Zoo family. In years past, there have been many famous little ones such as Fiona the hippo, who was born prematurely and became America’s sweetheart, up to the most recent baby, Theo the giraffe! This campaign has been known to be “wildly” successful, (pun intended), and continues to draw in thousands of families from the tri-state area and beyond.
Another well-known marketing campaign is the yearly “Festival of Lights”, where the staff decks out the whole zoo in millions of twinkling lights for their visitors to enjoy! This celebration also includes decorating certain animal environments to get into the holiday spirit and hosts special visitors like Santa and his reindeer! Although others across the country hold similar events for the holiday season, the Cincinnati Zoo continues to finish in 1st place for the best Zoo Lights! These special events help the zoo differentiate itself from other family fun activities in the city, and continuously attract those of all ages to visit the beautiful historic site.