Marketing
There's an interesting piece in the local Herald Express about the zoo, which is up for a marketing award. An extract:
'Due to the recession's already negative impact upon visitor numbers there has been limited capital investment at Paignton Zoo. In turn, this has reduced the number of new exhibits which are important and attractive marketing ploys to entice both new and returning visitors. As a result the marketing team was required to improvise with new campaigns and also focus on adding value through alternative means to drive footfall. This criteria inspired a themed calendar of events to ensure there is always something new for visitors to see and do. In 2013 it was gorillas, 2014 was all about Invertebrates and 2015 is 'Year of the Bird'.
It also commissioned, in 2104, extensive visitor research, which revealed that many non-visitors believed that the zoo posed a passive visitor experience and only appealed to children. As a result, the main objective of the marketing efforts for 2015 was to promote Paignton Zoo as a fun, interactive, all-day attraction for all the family. It appointed a new creative agency and established a new marketing campaign for 2015 entitled "Go on, release your inner animal!" taking marketing in a radical new direction with the focus on families having fun, not animals.'
I was interviewed for the visitor research project and felt then, and now, that the views of a regular visitor who is passionate about animals and zoos are not very significant. I'm part of a minority who make their own 'fun' by observing animals, and I'll continue visiting whatever happens. However, it's interesting to get a glimpse of their thinking.
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I have also found a few mentions of the Year of the Bird on Facebook too. But it's hardly banging a big drum!