Orchid Technology grows innovation and imagination.

Opportunity:

The Little Rock Zoo relies heavily on both memberships and fundraising events to supplement its operating budget. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the zoo temporarily closed and the public events that generate this vital revenue had to be reimagined for the safety of its patrons, staff, and animals. While many other zoos and nonprofit organizations were canceling their cornerstone annual fundraising events, the Little Rock Zoo’s events team used innovation and imagination to create new experiences.

The zoo staff was additionally challenged with the task of creating awareness and convincing the community to embrace these new events in lieu of the traditional ones. It was equally important to carefully build confidence in the community and follow safety protocols while also sustaining the event attendance fees and contributions.

An entirely new experience came to life – Shadows at Sixth. The Little Rock Zoo teamed up with the Downtown Little Rock Partnership (DLRP) to create a pandemic-safe, family friendly event. With set design by The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, CWP Productions, and Night-Skye Studios, an elevated haunted drive-through experience was designed utilizing a parking deck that was getting little use during the pandemic.

Strategy:

A robust campaign of awareness and promotion of the new event was created. Vines/Brookshire designed a hybrid campaign of traditional media.

Results

By the closing night of the three-week event, an astounding 5,703 cars [plus 33 bicycles] totaling 22,756 individuals (estimated at four attendees per car) attended Shadows on Sixth. In contrast, total attendance in 2019 for the Little Rock Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo event was 8,753.

Using Orchid AI and stand-out creativity helped the Little Rock Zoo achieve record numbers despite COVID-19’s challenges.