Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
If this hasn't already been posted, it should be of interest:
http://www.toronto.ca/budget2011/pdf/cap11_an_zoo.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/budget2011/pdf/cap11_an_zoo.pdf
Toronto Zoo 2011-2020 Capital Program
- Thread starter Zooplantman
- Start date
In a year when many North American zoos saw increases in attendance Toronto Zoo suffered a whopping 12% decrease. There were 150,000 fewer visitors in 2010 in comparison to the year before, but still over 1.3 million in total:
Zoo suffers huge drop in attendance - thestar.com
Zoo suffers huge drop in attendance - thestar.com
I hate to sound like a broken record, but if the zoo doesn't try to generate buzz about what's happening at the zoo, I don't know how it expects to do well and attract visitors.
I just don't understand why I have to be a member of ZooChat to find out about babies, new animals and other exciting things happening at the zoo. I regularly check the zoo's website, including the press section, cute alert and the slideshow - and it's rare to see anything new and even rarer to hear something about new babies, new animals and new exhibits.
Where's the news about a rhino baby on the way, the lemurs coming, the penguins coming, the gorilla exhibit being complete ... there was never an announcement on the website that last year's cheetah cubs were on display ... why not? Why is it so hard to boast about the zoo's breeding and acquisition successes but it's easy to post on the website about Ontario recognizing a Canadian-Korean humanitarian, the marmot predicting an early spring and the zoo's partnership with local farmers ... how do those things bring people to the zoo? Being able to buy local produce at the zoo doesn't get me to the zoo ... being able to watch the baby snow leopards play and getting the chance to see a baby rhino gets me to the zoo!
Why does the member newsletter not share this information too? Why are sections devoted to reminding members that their membership is not transferrable and the zoo is smoke free except in designated areas - how does this generate buzz and excitement?
The zoo does wonderful things and has so much to offer. It's time the zoo starts trying to find ways to communicate that to the public.
I just don't understand why I have to be a member of ZooChat to find out about babies, new animals and other exciting things happening at the zoo. I regularly check the zoo's website, including the press section, cute alert and the slideshow - and it's rare to see anything new and even rarer to hear something about new babies, new animals and new exhibits.
Where's the news about a rhino baby on the way, the lemurs coming, the penguins coming, the gorilla exhibit being complete ... there was never an announcement on the website that last year's cheetah cubs were on display ... why not? Why is it so hard to boast about the zoo's breeding and acquisition successes but it's easy to post on the website about Ontario recognizing a Canadian-Korean humanitarian, the marmot predicting an early spring and the zoo's partnership with local farmers ... how do those things bring people to the zoo? Being able to buy local produce at the zoo doesn't get me to the zoo ... being able to watch the baby snow leopards play and getting the chance to see a baby rhino gets me to the zoo!
Why does the member newsletter not share this information too? Why are sections devoted to reminding members that their membership is not transferrable and the zoo is smoke free except in designated areas - how does this generate buzz and excitement?
The zoo does wonderful things and has so much to offer. It's time the zoo starts trying to find ways to communicate that to the public.
Although I do agree with many of your points, some are a bit on the iffy side. I agree completely about publicizing the births of babies at the zoo. I believe the rhino baby will not be publizied until a few months after its birth as it would be the mothers first time and I am sure the keepers do not want to take any chances. The marmot bringing an early spring was posted on the zoos website, so I do not know what you mean by that...
You also have to understand that the zoo does not market during the winter months as the cost of doing so would be too expensive. They do advertise in the spring a bit and the majority is done in the summer.
The zoo will take births and use them to advantage during the summer months to bring in more people. I however think they should post the majority of animal births on the zoo website. There is signs up telling people at the zoo that lemurs are coming and how the new exhibits are a "preview" and not the grand opening. Therefore some animals are not on display in the pavilion. There is also a sign at the zoo saying that we will have penguins. The zoo is not going to put money into things that are not open yet hence why not a lot of advertisements are seen for these new animals.
The member newsletter is a newsletter, not the collections magazine. The newsletter provides people with the news at the zoo such as events and coupons and such. The Collections magazine tells people about births and arrivals, and some articles that the zoo is working on and other things among those.
You also have to understand that the zoo does not market during the winter months as the cost of doing so would be too expensive. They do advertise in the spring a bit and the majority is done in the summer.
The zoo will take births and use them to advantage during the summer months to bring in more people. I however think they should post the majority of animal births on the zoo website. There is signs up telling people at the zoo that lemurs are coming and how the new exhibits are a "preview" and not the grand opening. Therefore some animals are not on display in the pavilion. There is also a sign at the zoo saying that we will have penguins. The zoo is not going to put money into things that are not open yet hence why not a lot of advertisements are seen for these new animals.
The member newsletter is a newsletter, not the collections magazine. The newsletter provides people with the news at the zoo such as events and coupons and such. The Collections magazine tells people about births and arrivals, and some articles that the zoo is working on and other things among those.
Quartz, I think you misunderstood a little.
Advertising on the website is something the zoo already does all year round. There's no reason, that I can think of, for why the information I talked about is not on the website. The website is a tool to attract visitors to the zoo. Posting signs at the zoo about the lemurs for example is great, but that only tells people who have already chosen to come to the zoo, it doesn't help attract people to the zoo.
You're right the marmot information is on the website. What I was saying was I don't understand why that information made it to the website and the penguin exhibit coming for example did not. The marmot predicting an early spring does not bring people to the zoo. A new exhibit, like the penguins, will bring people to the zoo.
I was not suggesting that the zoo should "advertise" outside the website and collections magazine. I appreciate that there are limited resources and so my comments were in relation to improving what they already do.
I referred to the collections magazine as a newsletter because I couldn't remember the name of the magazine. So I'm not sure what the "newsletter" actually is. My point about the magazine is, why tell members in every single issue about the membership and smoking rules and not tell us about new exhibits etc? Shouldn't the purpose of the magazine be to get members excited about what's happening at the zoo, instead of reminding us about rules? Sure, sometimes the magazine has the information I'm talking about - but not all that time and certainly not all the information.
To a certain extent I understand what you said about the keepers' concerns about births. But if the keepers share this information when you're at the zoo, which they do, why can't it be put on the website? Maybe they don't announce pregnancies for first time mothers, but what about experienced mothers like our giraffes and cheetahs? Why not announce when they are pregnant?
Anyway, my point is simply that the zoo needs to learn to use its resources to celebrate its successes! Whoever is deciding what to post on the website should stop and think whether what they are posting will attract visitors. If it doesn't, then they should be asking what can they post that will.
Advertising on the website is something the zoo already does all year round. There's no reason, that I can think of, for why the information I talked about is not on the website. The website is a tool to attract visitors to the zoo. Posting signs at the zoo about the lemurs for example is great, but that only tells people who have already chosen to come to the zoo, it doesn't help attract people to the zoo.
You're right the marmot information is on the website. What I was saying was I don't understand why that information made it to the website and the penguin exhibit coming for example did not. The marmot predicting an early spring does not bring people to the zoo. A new exhibit, like the penguins, will bring people to the zoo.
I was not suggesting that the zoo should "advertise" outside the website and collections magazine. I appreciate that there are limited resources and so my comments were in relation to improving what they already do.
I referred to the collections magazine as a newsletter because I couldn't remember the name of the magazine. So I'm not sure what the "newsletter" actually is. My point about the magazine is, why tell members in every single issue about the membership and smoking rules and not tell us about new exhibits etc? Shouldn't the purpose of the magazine be to get members excited about what's happening at the zoo, instead of reminding us about rules? Sure, sometimes the magazine has the information I'm talking about - but not all that time and certainly not all the information.
To a certain extent I understand what you said about the keepers' concerns about births. But if the keepers share this information when you're at the zoo, which they do, why can't it be put on the website? Maybe they don't announce pregnancies for first time mothers, but what about experienced mothers like our giraffes and cheetahs? Why not announce when they are pregnant?
Anyway, my point is simply that the zoo needs to learn to use its resources to celebrate its successes! Whoever is deciding what to post on the website should stop and think whether what they are posting will attract visitors. If it doesn't, then they should be asking what can they post that will.
Meaghan Edwards
Well-Known Member
I'll second your thoughts, kknudsen. The Toronto Zoo does a great job at what they do but they could do with more of a push. I'd love to see more meat in the Collection magazine, too. I don't mind hearing about the events and whatnot but I like to hear more about the actual animals.