• Home

The Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary

Unlike many commercial tourist zoos, The Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary exists primarily for the welfare of animals that man has in some way displaced or caused injury. As such, the Austin Zoo reflects the environmental sensibilities of the Greater Austin Area, and so the zoo experience was created, in essence, as a fundraiser to help cover the costs of care and feeding of these animals.

Until recently, the existence of the Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary was not widely known, but the massive growth in the Central Texas Area in the last ten years has increased the animal population at the zoo and in turn, increased the need for wide scale public support and funding.

Objectives:
In 2008, Steel was asked to:

• Increase local awareness of The Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary.
• Increase yearly visitors to the zoo.

Approach:
Steel chose to focus efforts on giving the Zoo a more cohesive brand image stressing the differences from larger zoos…the hill country experience, the fact that the animals are not bred there and not perfect, and its pleasant and quaint family atmosphere. Specifically, we:

1. Developed new brand archetype, logo, tagline and look and feel
2. Developed key messages and precise targeting
3. Designed, wrote, and developed a new website
4. Performed ongoing media relations with local news outlets regarding new animals and events
5. Secured regular morning news appearances for head zoo keeper and featured animal
6. Planned a yearly fundraiser appealing to local businesses and “friends” of Austin Zoo for donations

click to enlarge

Results:
After one year of engagement with Steel, The Austin Zoo & Animal Sanctuary experienced a 80% increase in Spring Break visitor levels over the same time last year.