Lincoln Park Zoo
Background of LPZ
● The Lincoln Park Zoo was founded in 1868.
● It is one of only a few free zoos in the United States.
● The zoo was founded after the Lincoln Park Commissioners were given two
swans from Central Park’s Board of Commissioners.
● A few years later the Lincoln Park Commissioners purchased a bear cub from the
Philadelphia Zoo.
● The zoo gained many animals during the Great Depression by taking in animals
that circuses were unable to care for.
● The zoo acquired more animals every couple of years since it began, and
Previous Ad Campaigns
● The zoo’s first major advertising campaign was launched in 1962. The
campaign was started by the Zoological Society to fund the Farm-in-the-zoo.
● Another campaign was launched in 1976 called “To make a great zoo
greater.” This $17 million campaign funded the addition of six new facilities.
● The landmark campaign was launched in 1983 to restore some of the
historic buildings.
● 1993 saw the “Heart of the zoo” campaign.
Adopt an Animal
● Another form of primary funding for the zoo
was established in 1978.
● ADOPT-an-Animal allowed people to know
exactly where their donations were going.
● Instead of donating $500 for maintenance or
Loyal Donors
● The zoo also has many loyal donors. Several buildings
have been funded solely on donations.
● Many of these donors grew up visiting the zoo and feel
very strongly about keeping it running.
● It costs the zoo around $62,000 a day to keep the zoo
free to the public.
● Private donations account for a large amount of the zoo
Competition
● The biggest competition for the Lincoln
Park Zoo is Brookfield Zoo.
● The advantage of the Brookfield Zoo is
that they have more animals spread out through a vast landscape.
● The disadvantage is that admission is $17
Current Target Audience
Katherine is a 30 year old mother of three. She is a middle school teacher and works during the week and has a full time nanny for her children. On the weekends Katherine likes to find family friendly activities for her kids.
SWOT Analysis
Weaknesses:
● Currently, they are targeted
primarily to families with children
● There is not as many
animals as other zoos
Strengths:
● Free admission
● Chicago’s oldest zoo
● There is a strong family
atmosphere
● They are accessible by public
transportation
● Easy commute, 20 min CTA ride
SWOT Continued
Threats:
● Their direct competitor
Brookfield Zoo
● Other free attractions in
Chicago such as museum free days
Opportunities:
● There are not that many forms
of advertising for LPZ
● Not enough awareness of their
events on social media
● Reaching out more through
PEST Analysis
Political: Lobby groups support with the help of aid through federal funding. In recent years, there has been a decline in support by the government through federal appropriations for construction projects.
PEST Analysis Continued
Social: The zoo targets mainly towards families and children. The zoo has potential growth for the upbringing of other crowds in order to generate more revenue.
Brand Analysis
Current Target Audience:
● The Lincoln Park Zoo currently advertises targets specifically towards families
with children.
● The zoo welcomes schools and day camps throughout the year.
● The zoo hosts several family friendly events.
● Our major annual event is the light fest called “ZooLights.” During the holidays
Current Message
Lincoln Park Zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience in the heart of Chicago. We also
Brand Presence
The Lincoln Park Zoo is currently seen as very family friendly. Our advertising for the zoo is seen as wholesome and fun whichTarget Audience
Aaron is a 21 year old, full time, college
student at DePaul. He lives with his girlfriend, Cady, who is also 21. They live in a studio
Brand Re-positioning
●
Ideation: The zoo loses visitors during their college years, because we
target to families with children.
●
Create more events targeted towards college students.
●
Raise an interest with them by hosting more concerts and events that
interest this age group.
●
We have a huge turnout for “Jammin at the Zoo,” but this only
happens once a year.
●
Add celebrity appearances to draw people to the zoo.
●
Currently we have some events for young adults, but we have not
Creative Brief
● Lincoln Park Zoo is currently targeted towards families.
● Presents a problem because we are missing college students ages 18-24.
● Target this group more
● There are events for this age group, but most of our advertising is dedicated towards
family events.
● Objective is to better promote the events that college students would be interested in
through social media.
● We also would like to increase the frequency of some of the more popular events like the
concerts.
● Improve on is our social media presence.
● Set up social media profiles for some of the more popular animals.
● Visitors could “follow” the animals and read funny tweets or statuses. This would also be a
Zestival
● The main stage of the Zestival will be
held in front of the conservatory building.
● This location will be the main stage
because this encourages people to walk through the entire zoo.
● By having the Zestival we can help
bring fun to the zoo for all age groups.
● We will have local bands play at the
Zestival to promote community.
● Throughout the zoo various booths
Communications Strategy
We would like to communicate with our target audience by reaching out to them through social media sites. Our main channels of communication will be Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.We will reach the age group of 18-24 by posting events and new attractions. We will create profiles for certain
Media
● We have chosen to use social media as our
communication channel for connecting with our new target audience of college students.
● We chose to use social media because we believe it is
the most effective way to reach our target audience. ● Many college students do not have cable, so television
would not be a good way to reach these people. ● Most college students have at least one form of social
media that they check rather frequently.
● If we create a more prominent social media presence,
Budget
● Yearly donations: 21 Million
o To fund this campaign we will be using $100,000-$150,000.
● Promotions:
o Commercials on local TV channels
o Billboards going along the expressway
o Signs in the “L” trains and the CTA buses
o Commercials on Pandora radio & local radio