A key campaign objective was to find a tone of voice and aesthetic that would appeal to both children and adults alike. One of the major obstacles the zoo had previously faced was beating the perception among adults that the zoo hadn’t changed since the last time they had visited, or that if they had seen the zoo once, they had seen it all already. Our campaign therefore had to not only spark the imagination of a younger audience, but reignite our adult audience’s willingness to explore too, triggering a desire to see familiar animals in a completely new way.

Our executions were intended to mimic the feeling of closeness our audiences would experience upon visiting the Asia Precinct for the first time. The eye-catching posters drew on colours and themes from the precinct itself, and were designed to engage children, drawing them in to explore the illustrations’ detail. The posters sparked their imaginations about the sun bears and tigers and gave them a sense of how close they could now get to the animals. We also wanted executions that would appeal both as the outdoor component of the campaign and as giveaway posters.

As a result of the campaign, Wellington Zoo saw a 35% increase in visitation over the school holidays compared to the previous year. The zoo also received much positive public feedback about the posters, with demand for the giveaway posters exceeding supply within the campaign period. They even received reports of people ripping the street posters down to take home for themselves.