11.9.12 /

CACTUS AND DENVER ZOO LAUNCH TOYOTA ELEPHANT PASSAGE

The Toyota Elephant Passage at Denver Zoo is a new $50 million, 10-acre conservation center. This immersive experience features the beauty, culture and animals of Asia in an exhibit unlike any other. For the launch, Cactus wanted to capture the grandeur and sense of discovery found within the exhibit.

Working with illustrator Kori Heinzen, we created three signature scenes that borrowed from traditional Asian art with a modern and fun interpretation. We wanted to give viewers a sense of what they would find at the exhibit, while maintaining a bit of playful mystery and intrigue. As part of the campaign, we created two massive wallscapes in downtown Denver, alluding to the sheer scale of the exhibit. Other tactics included mall displays and table tops at high-traffic shopping centers, :60 radio, :30 TV, rich-media banners and a Facebook app that matched users with their animal personality. Street teams engaged visitors at other events and festivals in the Front Range throughout the summer and early fall.

RESULTS

The campaign generated 50+ million impressions in the first 60 days, with awareness driving significant incremental ticket sales. Integration doubled Facebook fans in two months, adding more than 38,000 connections, and rich media drove over 3 million interactions. The street team reached 645,000 people at 9 events. And attendance, like the majestic Asian elephant, has been huge.