How BEM Boosted Nashville Zoo Membership Sales by 320%

Lions and tigers and… new members… oh my! Nashville Zoo is among the ten largest zoos in the country and ranks proudly as one of the top tourist attractions in Tennessee. In fact, this entertaining and educational facility has been named the Best Regional Attraction and Best Day Trip by The Tennessean newspaper.

Zoo memberships include a variety of exciting perks. In addition to free admission and parking, members can enjoy discounts on concessions, merch, facility rentals, learning programs, special events, guest tickets, plus access to over 170 other zoos and aquariums nationwide. Members are the first to hear about new exhibits, animals, and programs and have the opportunity to attend exclusive events. In other words, there’s a TON of value for Nashville members.

Challenge: Despite such robust membership offerings, Nashville Zoo’s efforts to sell more memberships through digital advertising were unsuccessful. While the Zoo saw a healthy conversion of recent guests, they sought to build new membership relationships on the digital playing field. What could be done to attract and convert more prospective members? How could the Zoo reach consumers who had not yet experienced their amazing facility and convince them to buy memberships?

Solution: After they selected BEM as their digital marketing agency, we rolled up our sleeves and got busy! We dug deep into the Nashville Zoo’s membership database and examined the customer journey. We analyzed how members discovered this offering, what they considered before buying, and the tactical steps they took to make a purchase. We also explored current members' interests, demographics, and family dynamics. Lastly, we analyzed the Zoo’s previous digital advertising approach to targeting and messaging to see what worked and didn’t.  

Leveraging our research, considering the sales uptick during the holidays, and recognizing the challenges of convincing individuals to buy a membership without first experiencing the Zoo, we crafted a fresh campaign strategy emphasizing gift certificates. We targeted major life-cycle events (e.g., graduations, birthdays, etc.), relevant interests (e.g., animals, education, outdoor recreation), and lookalike audiences. Once we framed our targets, we strategically curated graphics and messaging to motivate our audience to buy.

Check out these rockstar ads that contributed to this campaign’s success!

Results: BEM’s ads generated over one million impressions in just seven weeks! As proud as we were, we knew that impressions alone weren’t the only metric of success. Our campaign also maintained a minimum 7% conversion rate compared to the industry average of 1-3%. Membership sales revenue and gift certificate sales reflected over a whopping 320% return on Nashville Zoo’s ad spend. BEM also helped the Nashville Zoo grow its member base, providing more opportunities to engage with non-member “day tripper” visitors and achieve incremental sales through membership add-ons. Bottom line: we helped Nashville Zoo capitalize on its potential to attract, engage with, and connect more people with the animal kingdom – up-close and personal. 

Want to achieve this kind of sales success for your attraction? Need expert help to grow your memberships? BEM has the expertise and experience to provide real help, real fast! Let's talk soon about your current and potential marketing approach.