2009 Marketing Excellence Award A P P L I C A T I O N

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1 2009 Marketing Excellence Award A P P L I C A T I O N All applications are due by close of business on May 1, See Submission Guidelines in Section J of Application Guidelines for details. AZA has contracted with WEBCARGO to provide a quick and easy way for you to submit your application: go to for complete instructions. WEBCARGO allows you to send large files via , without the need to reduce their size. There is no need to sign up, nothing to install and nothing to download. All deliveries are encrypted so security is not an issue and WEBCARGO lets you know when your file is received. The upload speed will vary depending on your Internet Service Provider and the size of your file so you may need to be patient. Please contact Chris Altmann at x249 or chris@webcargo.net if you need assistance with the upload. Please contact Barbara Pueschel (bpueschel@aza.org; x231) if you have any questions about the application process. See 2009 Marketing Excellence Award Guidelines for information about completing this application. This is a condensed form that provides questions for the entry form that will be reviewed by the judges. You may use up to a total of five (5) double-spaced pages with 12-point type for your written case below (letters E H). Please address each question below in order as concisely as possible. No graphics should be incorporated in the written case. A. CANDIDATE Campaign Title: Russia's Grizzly Coast B. APPLICANT Institution Name: Minnesota Zoo Address: Zoo Boulevard, Apple Valley, MN Name of Institution Director: Lee Ehmke Signature of Director: C. CAMPAIGN BUDGET Select the appropriate category for your campaign s total value. Under $175,000 $175,000 and over D. CAMPAIGN TIMELINE May 26 - September 30, 2008 MarketingApplication.doc Page 1 of 7

2 E. STRATEGIC CHALLENGE & OBJECTIVES 1. What was your strategic challenge? A recent survey of 301 women, with children within the Mpls/St. Paul DMA shows awareness of the Minnesota Zoo is not a factor, and Mothers associate a wide range of positive attributes with the Zoo. However, survey findings indicate that the Minnesota Zoo may be associated with certain need-states that are important to parents but which do not occur frequently. Going to the Zoo may be a special occasion as opposed to a routine practice. Our strategic challenge was to create an engaging and inviting campaign around the Zoo s new, must-see $24 million exhibit Russia s Grizzly Coast and to pique the curiosity of our target Moms to the point that they will bring their family to the Zoo to see Russia s Grizzly Coast for themselves. 2. What were your marketing and communication goals and objectives? Russia s Grizzly Coast will be the catalyst for increased visibility, attendance and momentum for the Minnesota Zoo, by: Increasing peak season (June, July & August) attendance by 20% to 550,331. Sustaining attendance growth through fall and winter months (Sept.-Dec.) by 5% to 221,469 Increasing household memberships sold by 10% during peak season months (June, July & August) to 11,335 Increasing visitation by men Gaining significant local media coverage, including front page and online coverage of exhibit opening in the Twin Cities major dailies and garner national media attention of the exhibit opening 3. Define your target market. MarketingApplication.doc Page 2 of 7

3 Our primary target market was women with children. This demographic is at the core of our attendance, based on annual visitor surveys conducted by Morey Research, and women are the key decision makers when it comes to family entertainment. Our secondary market was men. The grizzly bears would be a strong attractor for men to visit. F. THE BIG IDEA Develop an integrated campaign that would build talk value for the exhibit in a way that raised curiosity to the point that consumers would say, We need to see this exhibit for ourselves. Since the heroes of the exhibit would be the cute and playful sea otters and the awe-inspiring grizzly bears, we made them the heroes of the ad campaign, with the big idea that you can get as close as humanly possible to grizzly bears and sea otters in their natural habitat. G. STRATEGY & EXECUTION BRINGING YOUR IDEA TO LIFE 1. Media Strategy Media placed had to do double duty on a demographic basis. While the key demographic is women, with children, this exhibit had the potential to be of strong interest to a male demographic, too. Television and out-of-home became the primary media for this buy. Television provided an opportunity to bring the exhibit to life with high reach and an intrusive environment. In addition to morning news, daytime, early fringe and early news all dayparts that skew heaving to women, we added the late news daypart for its ability to significantly expand the overall reach of the buy while continuing to build frequency and reach men (Mpls/St. Paul is one of the strongest markets in the country for late news viewing). A total of 660 TRPs were purchased for the campaign. With out-of-home, we could, at a low cpm, have a daily presence around the entire metro area for months. We utilized a combination of vinyl and digital boards. Online, another visual medium, allowed us to reach our target audience while in their search process. These sites kept the exhibit in a news environment, again, at a low cpm, and created MarketingApplication.doc Page 3 of 7

4 added value opportunities through blasts and contests. Over 1 million impressions were purchased for the online campaign. Radio was used to build on the plan s overall frequency. Female-formatted stations helped to reach busy moms on the go. A total of 450 TRPs were purchased. Print - newspaper and lifestyle publications - were used to focus the message during the weekend and summer recreation planning process. Low cost street marketing initiatives were utilized to reach potential visitors in public settings. Communication Checklist: Check all that apply and insert gross expenditures (minimum of 3 channels): $ $152,958 (cash), $18,000 (bonus) TV Spots $ $78,359 (cash), $123,193 (trade) Radio Spots $ $24,300 Print (trade/professional, newspaper, consumer magazine) $ $19,970 Interactive (online ads, website, viral video, social networking sites, podcasts, gaming, mobile phone) $ $112,825 (cash), $45,000 (bonus) Out of Home (airport, transit, billboard, banners, kiosks) $ $20,000 (bonus) Retail Experience (Point of purchase, in-store signage, video, entertainment or merchandising, sales promotion) $ $1,500 Guerrilla (street teams, buzz marketing, sampling) $ Direct (mail, ) $ $3,500 Public Relations $ $171,000 (bonus) Other: Explore Minnesota Tourism partnership 2. Creative Strategy & Execution Visually presenting Russia s Grizzly Coast was critical. Traditional and non-traditional tactics were employed, centered on the heroes of the campaign grizzly bears and sea otters and the upclose experience. A strong PR campaign complemented the marketing efforts, creating summerlong buzz. A partnership with the state tourism department Explore Minnesota Tourism (EMT) provided for increased exposure to the traveling public in the upper Midwest, utilizing EMT s various media vehicles, from direct mail to online and radio. EMT was given sponsorship recognition in the Zoo s print and radio advertising. Broadcast: Television (two :30 spots); radio (four spots, :30s & :60s). Television and radio complemented each other with theming and music. Radio station promotions included live broadcasts from Russia s Grizzly Coast to a Breakfast with the Bears loyal listener club event MarketingApplication.doc Page 4 of 7

5 with popular morning show talent. Zoo Director/CEO Lee Ehmke visited with radio station morning shows to hype the exhibit. Out-of-Home: Grizzly bear vinyl billboards with extensions and digital boards were strategically placed throughout the metro area. Digital boards rotated on a weekly basis. Online: Flash-driven banner ads were placed on local news sites (TV and newspaper). Using local media sites, we were able to creatively market one-on-one, extending a more direct invitation to the potential visitor. The online creative invited users to tickle and otter and make a grizzly bear growl. Non-traditional: The Zoo partnered with The Wine Market retailer and sold signature bottles of grizzly bear and sea otter wine prior to the opening of the exhibit. A portion of the sale of each bottle of wine was donated to the Minnesota Zoo Foundation to support conservation efforts. The Zoo partnered with Minneapolis Macy s to engage transient traffic by owning a high-traffic display window for a month with a grizzly bear display, sea otter TV spot rotated on their instore jumbo screen and grizzly bears took over the store s elevator bank. At all Macy s stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul DMA, grizzly bear and sea otter posters were displayed. Street Marketing: Simple, but effective, executions of grizzly bear backpacks hanging in trees and sea otter water bags at community events and water parks, helped to extend reach and continue the summer-long buzz. PR: With 20 months of construction, Russia s Grizzly Coast was on the media radar long before the exhibit opened, which allowed the Zoo s public and media relations department to continuously update the media with construction time lapse, 3D animation, major accomplishments, animal updates, hard hat tours, online blogs, a 100 day count down to the exhibit opening, an on-line press room and special media preview. Zoo Director/CEO Lee Ehmke s visionary leadership was part of the Russia s Grizzly Coast pitch. H. RESULTS MarketingApplication.doc Page 5 of 7

6 Increase peak season attendance and sustain off season attendance: Russia s Grizzly Coast opened on June 7, The Zoo posted its second best June in its 30 year history. June attendance exceeded goal by 45%. Peak season attendance, June August totaled 660,728 a 20% increase over goal and a 40% increase over In June 2008, the Zoo recorded its highest admission and parking revenue for any month of June in the Zoo s 30 year history. September December (off-season) attendance totaled 221,469 a 5% increase over goal and a 10% increase over 2007 (based on gate receipts). Annual guest survey, conducted by Morey Research, shows an increase of men visiting to 32% - an increase of 7% over Increase peak season membership sales: Peak season months (June August), membership sales totaled 14,954 exceeding our goal by 31%, and the Zoo posted record June household membership sales of 6,125. Through December 31, 2008, membership sales were ahead of goal by 19% (based on membership dept. receipts). Gain significant and national media coverage: Both major daily newspapers posted front page spreads and online slide shows of the exhibit opening. Local broadcast stations packaged stories on the new exhibit. National media outlets USA Today and Times Square New York featured the exhibit opening. Lee Ehmke was the cover feature in the March 2009 issue of IAAPA s FunWorld magazine featuring Russia s Grizzly Coast. The Zoo recognized 67 broadcast hits from pre-opening to post-opening, with a publicity value of $215,949 and 4,770,668 audience impressions, based on Cision media reports for Mpls/St. Paul DMA. Fifty-two newspaper clips were recorded within the Mpls/St. Paul DMA by Burrell s clipping service for the same time period. Recognition: Minnesota Monthly and Mpls/St. Paul Magazine recognized the Minnesota Zoo and Russia s Grizzly Coast in their Best of issues. The Minnesota Zoo was awarded five Brass Ring Awards by the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) for its marketing and PR efforts with the opening of Russia s Grizzly Coast. MarketingApplication.doc Page 6 of 7

7 I. (Judging information not applicable to application) J. CHECKLIST OF SAMPLES Broadcast: Television: Two :30 commercials on mpg file Radio: Two :30 and two :60 commercials on mp3 file Print ad/direct Mail: Two print ads on master pdf One direct mailer on master pdf Out-of-home: One extended billboard photo on master pdf One digital billboard photo on master pdf Two samples of Airport posters on master pdf Online: Two online banner ads on master pdf YouTube screen grab Non-traditional/Street Marketing: Wine bottles photo on master pdf Macy s storefront window on master pdf Macy s elevators 3 photos on master pdf Macy s posters photo on master pdf Backpack photo on master pdf Water bag photo on master pdf Press: Media postcard on master pdf Online pressroom screen grab on master pdf Media preview invite on master pdf Sample press releases (4) on master pdf Print articles (7) on master pdf Two broadcast news stories, 3D animation and YouTube bear ballet on mpg file K. IMAGE one digital image that illustrates the program to be used during the Awards Ceremony. J. SUBMITTER The SUBMITTER is that person responsible for the contents of the entry. Failure to provide an electronic signature on the designated line will constitute an incomplete application. Name: Title: Director of Marketing Signature: Date: April 30, address: bill.vonbank@state.mn.us K. NEWS RELEASE FORM Submit the News Release Form (available at with the application and also the form as a WORD document to Barbara Pueschel: bpueschel@aza.org L. WINNER S RELEASE: HELP YOUR FELLOW MEMBERS! If yours is the winning application, would you be willing to have it posted on the AZA website? Yes No MarketingApplication.doc Page 7 of 7

8 Association of Zoos and Aquariums Honors and Awards Program News Release Form This form must be submitted with each award application. AZA will create a news release for each award winner. Please complete this form and in the summary portion, write a paragraph describing your program, including details such as new techniques or technologies employed, cost of construction (for exhibit award applications), and a description of any species of animal involved. Also, please submit the name, phone number and address of a media contact for the award. Copies of the release will be shared with the institution for approval. It would be helpful to request that the Public Relations Department at your institution complete this form. Institution Name: Minnesota Zoo Award Category: 2009 Marketing Excellence Award Program or Exhibit Title: Russia s Grizzly Coast Media Contact: Kelly Lessard, public relations manager Phone Number: Address: kelly.lessard@state.mn.us Public Relations Department Head: Bill Von Bank, director of sales & marketing Quote from the institution s Director: "Russia's Grizzly Coast" represents the most significant reinvestment in the Zoo since we opened in 1978, said Minnesota Zoo Director/CEO Lee Ehmke. It was critical that this major economic and institutional commitment be supported by a strategic initiative to maximize the impact of the new exhibit. The Integrated Marketing plan for Russia's Grizzly Coast succeeded even beyond our high expectations, with extraordinary attendance and revenue growth and very high levels of guest satisfaction and awareness. We are honored to be recognized by our professional peers for the success of our efforts." Any collaborative partners: Explore Minnesota Tourism Construction/Consultation Company (Exhibit Award applicants): Summary (to be utilized in developing press release): Russia s Grizzly Coast is the Minnesota Zoo s largest exhibit initiative since the Zoo s opening in The $24 million exhibit features state-of-theart technology that creates an authentically immersive experience, one reflective of the Russian Far East region with grizzly bears, sea otters, Amur leopards and wild boars. The opening of Russia s Grizzly Coast was a significant initiative within the Zoo s five-year plan in support of the overall initiative of becoming one of America s top 10 zoos. Russia s Grizzly Coast is the catalyst for increased visibility, attendance and momentum for the Minnesota Zoo. Make two (2) copies of this form. Submit one with the application, and simultaneously the form as a WORD document to Steve Feldman at sfeldman@aza.org.

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