Chicago Zoological Society

1. Understanding Two Diverse
Audiences
Chicago Zoological Society
Jo-Elle Mogerman
Christopher Panek

2. Chicago Zoological Society
• People = Conservation currency
• Operates Brookfield Zoo
• 2M+ guests annually
• 100K+ member households

3. Selected Audiences
• Two audiences
– Latino
– African-Americans
• Why?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Members who Reside in
Cook County
Non-Members who
Reside in Cook County
CZS Staff
Cook County Population
(2009)
Caucasian
Non-Caucasian
2010

4. Process
• Literature review
• Focus Groups
– Leisure time decision making
– Product offering/messages
• Recommendations on how to
– Increase membership
– Increase gate

5. Key Findings
• Key pieces of information for
decision making is hard to
decipher
– What to expect from the
experience
– Admission price options
– Hours of operation
– How to get here
• Upon explanation membership
is appealing

6. Key Findings
Latinos-Acculturation
• 1st
Generation
– Zoo experienced as adult
– ↑Language barrier
– Use word of mouth & local
information sources
• 2nd
Generation & Beyond
– More likely to do what they
did as children
– ↓Language barrier
– Varied media
African-Americans-Cultural lens
• Respect
• Representation
• Varied media

7. Key Findings
Leisure Values
• Fun
• Active
• Educational
• Family

8. Actions and Results
• Diversifying images in advertising and
membership pieces
• Testing different direct mail
membership lists
• Testing different marketing strategies
Latino Member Households
3.00%
5.00%
7.00%
2006 2007 2008 2009

9. Actions and Results
Non-Member Visits
9.0%
10.0%
11.0%
12.0%
13.0%
14.0%
15.0%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
AA
Latino
Member Visits
3.0%
5.0%
7.0%
9.0%
11.0%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
AA
Latino

10. Next Steps
• Develop messaging that is inclusive of
African-American leisure values
– Advertising
– Membership
• Examine membership offerings and
presentation
• Examining our gate presentation
• Considering quantitative research

11. Questions?