PR ELEMENTS:

With no formally established marketing communication channels or budgets, we had to harness the power of word-of-mouth to create an interest in, and following for, the Johannesburg Zoo’s newly established Twitter feed and newly appointed social media spokesanimal.

Mass awareness was key to kickstarting the Johannesburg Zoo’s social media presence and helping to raise interest in their animals, news and events.

THE CHALLENGE:

We were asked to kickstart the Johannesburg Zoo’s social media presence and help raise interest in their animals, news and events.

THE STRATEGY:

The zoo wanted to get people excited about their animals as well as keep zoo news and causes top-of-mind, but had traditionally avoided online channels as they felt they didn’t have the resources to maintain them. They needed a solution that would get the world interested in their animals, news and events and not require mass resources and around-the-clock attention.

THE EXECUTION

WE HIRED A SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER WHO NOT ONLY SHARED ZOO NEWS, BUT PUT THE ZOO IN THE NEWS.

THE WORLD’S FIRST LIVE TWEETING HONEY BADGER

With the help of an innovative use of existing technology we transformed BG, the Johannesburg zoo’s resident honey badger and zoo mascot, into their official social media spokesanimal. By linking motion sensors to a pre-written bank of tweets, BG shares his zoo life with the world. Tracked by his location, the tweets are relevant to what he’s doing at the time.

We prototyped the technology in May and went live with the Twitter feed on June 14 2013.

We created an engaging campaign video that advertised the zoo’s new social media spokesanimal and pushed the public to the Twitter feed. This went live on June 14 2013.

We put a detailed PR pack together, complete with a crafted press release, campaign video and relevant images.

We seeded the idea in the launch week, by sending tailored PR packs (relevant to content and tone) to newsrooms, mircoblogs, blogs and metablogs around the world.

The zoo’s database was steered toward the feed via a witty email campaign.

Humourous posters were put up around the zoo for visitors.

We sustained interest, and stimulated shareability, by implementing a strategic content plan that was; humorous, topical, riffed of popular-culture and tapped into visual culture trends like taking photos of meals and snapping selfies.

OUTPUT/ AWARENESS RESULTS:

For a budget of under $1,000, the campaign generated more than $17 million dollars in earned media globally, delivering an ROI of 1:17 384 and rising. The communication also reached more than 80% of the local South African population and an audience of over 800 million people globally.

ACTION/ BUSINESS IMPACT RESULTS:

As a result, in 2013 zoo visits increased by 4.5% and event attendance by 48%. The zoo was voted Johannesburg’s Top Tourist Attraction and they built a loyal and active social following, increasing their Twitter following by 1,833% in just a few weeks.