ZSL - Going to the Zoo. Understanding membership and increasing revenue for the ZSL.

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Background

ZSL (The Zoological Society of London) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It consists principally of two of the most popular attractions in the UK - London and Whipsnade Zoos - and has a number of projects around the world.

Challenge

Our task was threefold:

To undertake profiling to give a greater in-depth understanding of the member, Patron and visitor bases.

Then, to provide geographical analysis of member and Patron distribution around each zoo, especially in relation to competitor sites.

Finally, to integrate all of this information into actionable, meaningful insights and a strategic communications plan.

To do this, we had to carry out:

Data hygiene - a comprehensive audit and cleaning of all data sets
Profiling - create socio-demographic profiles of each Zoo's membership and visitors
Geographical analysis - including Google Earth, highlighting areas for retention and acquisition activity
Strategic planning - who to contact, where and with what message

Solution

Firstly, we cleaned all customer and visitor data to ensure that it was fit for purpose.

Next, we created a full profile for each customer group for both zoos and a series of maps to identify member and visitor penetration. By combining this information, we provided ZSL with a flexible, easy-to-use message matrix, identifying the right message and offer according to a combination of postcode, membership penetration, Cameo group and proximity to each zoo.

Using all of this information, we also identified current members most likely to be interested in becoming a Patron.

Results

ZSL targeted lapsed members with a direct mail campaign encouraging them to rejoin. This included a special reduced membership rate to attract lapsed members.

So far, a substantial number of lapsed members have rejoined, creating a significant increase in revenue for ZSL. The message matrix is forming the basis of a new member acquisition campaign.

" Without undertaking valuable research into our existing customer base we would just be using a 'hit and hope' strategy. The work that we commissioned Cogent to undertake allowed us to really target our campaigns and ensure we achieved the maximum ROI from our activity. This is important for any organisation but for a charity with conservation at it's heart it's important that all our marketing activity is as effective as possible as it saves us money and reduces any wastage." James Wren, Head of CRM & Membership of ZSL.