Case Analysis |

Case Analysis 1: Cincinnati Zoo

Introduction
The conservation of animal and plant life remains at the forefront of sustainability
efforts, and is a mission and core focus of many Zoos around the globe that are responsible
for the lives and well being of animals.
At the Cincinnati Zoo, the main vision is inspiring passion for nature and saving wildlife
for future generations. [Their commitment to conservation is showcased through [their]
global science and wildlife conservation programs, sustainable approach to the management
of our facilities, and dedication to education and public engagement in science and
conservation at [their] exhibits. The Cincinnati Zoo features more than 500 animal and 3,000
plant species, making it one of the largest Zoo collections in the country, and [they] continue
to set the standard for conservation, education and preservation of wild animals and wild
spaces.
Problems with the existing system of the Cincinnati Zoo
Major problem: Cincinnati zoo needs ways to increase attendance, boost membership and
maximize sales because they wanted to reduce its reliance on subsidies even further for it to
continue its pioneering works.
Sub-problems:
Management had limited knowledge and understanding of what was happening in the
Zoo on day-to-day basis.
All 4 income streams had different point-of-scale platforms
For example, the food service business still relied on manual cash registers where
management had to shift through paper receipts.
What did they do:
1.

They compiled a spreadsheet that collected visitors' zip codes to use the data for
geographic and demographic analysis

2.

They replaced the four legacy point of scale systems with a single platform - Galaxy
POS from Gateway Ticketing Systems

3.

It then enlisted IBM and BrightStar Partners to build a centralized data warehouse to
provide real-time analysis and reporting.

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The Challenge
Combine data from 4 revenue streams, admission, membership, retail and foods service.
Improve Reporting capabilities
Improve decision-making
Increase revenue & reduce cost
The four (4) TPS presently used by Cincinnati Ohio with the data that are captured by
each TPS and the decision can be made from those data
TPS

DATA CAPTURED

DECISION MADE

Paper Receipt for Manual

Cost of the food, quantity,

POSSIBLE
Knowing the price or

Cash Register

date etc.

quantity of the product are

correct to provide customer a

Spreadsheet

Visitors Zip Code

proof of billing
Knowing the zip codes of
visitors to come up with
geographic and demographic

Galaxy POS from Gateway

Entrance number, entrance

analysis.
Knowing that visitors are

Ticketing Systems

information, Zoos Loyalty

allowed to enter the zoo on

Rewards, the Zoos system

Zoos entrance, exit,

etc.

attractions, restaurants, and

stores, or use the Zoos
Loyalty Rewards card, the
Zoos system for them to be

Enlisted IBM

Numbers, date, names etc.

happy.
Knowing that company
provide real-time analysis
and reporting.

Solutions that provided for the following stakeholders to achieve the Cincinnati Zoos
objective.

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Visitors
By sharing their experiences to their companion or close friends. They can even invite
people who will go there to experience also what they have experienced. So with this, they
can maximize the attendance of that company, they can help them improve their sales to
maximize their profit.
Problems
1. How to maximize
attendance

Management
Management are the one

Staff members
Staff members are the

who make company's

executor of every strategies

overall strategy to appeal to

that the management will

their customers. They need

make. The appropriate

to come up with a marketing

implementation of the

strategy that will ensure the

overall strategy are in the

Cincinnati Zoo to become a

hands of staff members. The

well known to everyone not

following are things they

only in their location but all

need to do to help

over the world. they should

maximizing the attendance

come up with a good

of visitors coming in

promotional/advertising

cincinnati zoo:

strategy. In luring visitors to

Staff members

come you should have an

should be aware to

idea how to pursue or attack

anything that is in the

them.

zoo and every

Have a television

happenings there

advertisement

(different activities)

showcasing the

for them to perform

beauty of the

well their work. They

Cincinnati Zoo.
Have an online page

should have at least

or public accounts

about the zoo for

where everyone can

them to do their

share it online to

responsibilities

anyone and

better. In achieving

anywhere

those knowledge

enough knowledge

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Make everyone

they may be able to

familiar to your it.

share it to the visitors

Especially your staff

that come in and

who'll work for this

build a good

zoo in order for them

relationship with

to be able to share to

them. The indication

others how awesome

of this is that they

the Zoo is.

will have a positive

(Information

appeal to everyone.

sharing)
They may also plan

Giving trivias or

to produce attractive

will make you

flyers to be

communication to

distributed by the

everyone and may

staff members.

give youthe

simple information

oppurtunity to make
them come again in
the future or you may
be able to make them
share what they learn
in the zoo to their
friends, families and

others.
Staff members may
also promote the Zoo
through social media
using their own
accoun. They may
become a Shill
whom will act as a
loyal visitor or guest
of this zoo and may
give positive
feedbacks. If they

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will be able to share

their own experience
to others not only the
visitors, then it will
be a big help to the

Cincinnati zoo.
Staff members may
also distribute flyers

promoting the zoo.

Doing a great job, or
doing your
responsibilities right
is a big factor that
visitors may notice
and may give
positive view. You as
a worker, how you
do your job will
reflect the company's

2. Boost membership

What management can do

image.
What a staff can do about in

about this is to have a

boosting the membership of

membership fee with a

this zoo is to support the

reasonable price and every

strategies that management

1-7 years old should have a

will make. Like:

free membership fee. This

Persuading everyone

will make everyone

to have a

especiallythe parents to be a

membership by

member of this zoo. The

mentioning the

membership should have

benefits they can get.

Giving a supporting

atleast 2-3 benefits that

visitors can get. And some

details to

twist like earning points and

everypositive effevt

can be redeem whenever

of being a member.

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they visit the zoo.

In relation to the free

membership fee, 1-7
years old must be
free for any fee for
they are still kids and
what they want is to
have fun seeing
different animals.
This way may give a
positive view to the
parents especially to
those who are less
fortunate than others.
Every kid deserves

to be happy.
Benefits: being a
member to this zoo,
you will have atleast
5-10% discount in
visiting this place for
being a member
means you patronize
the place. This will
attract everyone to

have a membership.
Being a member to
this zoo will also
give points to every
time that a member
will visit, as they
earn points they may
claim or redeem it in
exchange for a

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reward like having a

free snacks to a
specific food outlets
3. Maximize sales

4. Limited knowledge

inside the zoo.

Management must come up

Staff must do their

with a clear financial

responsibilities well to

reviews that the Zoo needed

satisfy their visitors so that

or used in order for them to

they may still come in the

come up with a good

future and make them share

strategy in expanding the

the extraordinary experience

sales they may have

in the Cincinnati Zoo. If they

everyday. If they achieve to

perform well then it will

maximize attendance then

give a positive result

they will have an expanded

especially in the sales of this

sales.
Management should

Zoo.
Staff should also undergo

distribute manuals to their

whatever management want

staff in order for them to

them to. They should have

become familiar in every

monitoring device also like

terms and conditions in the

the number of people inside,

zoo. Management should

going outside, the places

undergo seminars or

which are the people wanted

meetings at least two times

the most to visit and others.

in a month to talk about

everything that is happening
in the Zoo. They may also
have monitoring staff who
report everyday to them
about the details they need
and circulating in the zoo.
Simple information yet
useful.

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Marketing Strategies, the process and the IT to be used to help the Park achieve its
over-all objective which is to increase revenue.
IBM Cognos:
Business Intelligence(BI)
-Databases and information management that solves problems of data redundancy, data
inconsistency, lack of flexibility, lack of data availability and sharing Use non-relational or
cloud-based data management services.
Solution: Replace Legacy point of sale (Paper Receipt) and Implement data warehousing
(Soft Ice cream).
Business Analytics (BA) Products
-Tools and techniques businesses use to analyze and understand data in a meaningful
way. To gain insight into past performance and to drive decision-making and planning. To
involve queries, reports, data mining and OLAP - online analytical processing.
To keep the facility running in a sustainable fashion, we needed to make sure we were
maximizing the resources properly. We came to the conclusion that technology was an
issue and this is when we turned to what some might think of as a non-traditional helping
hand for a Zoo business analytics.
Increase in-park spending by as much as 25% by utilizing 360 degree customer views.
Turn that information into customized offers and perks for visitors that keep them happy
and coming back, and are now able to arm managers with real-time data that allows them
to react to a dynamic and fluid business driven by seasonal weather patterns.
Business analytics also allows to integrate operations. This will help free up the staffs
time so they can focus on the day-to-day operations in a more meaningful way, while
also focusing on the larger picture of ensuring animals continue to receive the best care.

Others:
Let moms know that the zoo is opened every day of the year and that there is always
something to do. Remind them to not think of the zoo as just an occasional destination, but as
someplace they could take their kids any day of the year. We grabbed the attention of moms
through creativity and unique ways like, pole and bus shelter displays and billboards
promoting Everyday Amazing Zoo, just to name a few.

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RESULTS:
The strategy paid off, in the first year of PMGs relationship with the zoo, attendance
surpassed the goal on its way to an astounding 1.2 million patrons for that year.
It was an incredible year for us. PMG proved to be a great partner for the zoo. They were
committed to our goals, flexible and always willing to come to the table with new ideas. We
couldnt have hit our attendance figures without their passion and enthusiasm for the zoo.
Chad Yelton, Director of Marketing Cincinnati Zoo

References
Mission to Protect Wildlife. Retrieved January 2011 from http://asmarterplanet.com/
Lisa H. Cinncinnati Zoo Case. Retrieved February 24,2014 from www.prezi.com/