Zoo Atlanta Rare Care An animal sponsorship program through Zoo Atlanta Public Relations Campaign Plan

Zoo Atlanta offers an ongoing program called Rare Care, an animal sponsorship program established in 2004. An individual or group selects an animal to sponsor through Rare Care and all of the funds go towards Zoo Atlanta’s animal conservation efforts and education programs at the zoo and abroad. The zoo has many different species available for sponsorship and the sponsorship levels range in price.

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  Zoo Atlanta, located in Grant Park in downtown Atlanta, is one of the 10 oldest zoos in continuous operation in the United States founded in 1889.
  
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  Zoo Atlanta is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
  
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  All funds go to environmental conservation efforts and education programs at Zoo Atlanta and abroad.
  
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  Zoo Atlanta is an ideal attraction for families visiting near or far, school groups, daycares, community organizations such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4H, etc.
  

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  Many people don’t enjoy visiting zoos due to the captive housing of wild animals.
  
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  Rare Care is a program that depends on monetary funds, which is not always possible due to economic hardships.
  
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  Rare Care is not a well-known program, Zoo Atlanta does minimal advertising.
  

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  All of Rare Care’s sponsorship levels are partially tax-deductible.
  
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  When you sponsor an animal through Rare Care you receive special gifts, benefits, and discounts from Zoo Atlanta.
  

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  The World Wildlife Fund has a similar adopt a species program and is recognized on a global scale.
  
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  Animal rights activist organizations are against the captive housing of wild animals and wish that the public would not support zoos.
  

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  To raise awareness about Zoo Atlanta’s environmental conservation efforts and education programs at the zoo and abroad.
  
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  To raise awareness about the increased probability of extinction for some of Zoo Atlanta’s most popular inhabitants and Zoo Atlanta’s participation in the AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP). SSP are collective management programs for breeding captive populations of endangered animals.
  
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  To increase donor activity by selecting different sponsorship levels (monetary value) of specific animals at the zoo.
  

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  People who have memberships to Zoo Atlanta.
  
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  Families with children, who enjoy visiting Zoo Atlanta.
  
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    Gifts for a child for their birthday or holiday.
    
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  Individuals who actively support Zoo Atlanta and their efforts.
  
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  Daycares and school groups.
  
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  Community organizations; Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4H, etc.
  
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  Corporations needing organizations to invest time and money into.
  

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  Send zoo keepers throughout metro Atlanta and other parts of north Georgia and share environmental progress stories and statics about Zoo Atlanta’s efforts in conservation.
  
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  Congratulate members and sponsors who are actively involved in Zoo Atlanta’s conservation efforts; such as supporting the Rare Care program which helps fund the Species Survival Plan (SSP), along with many other programs the zoo offers.
  
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  Use the holiday season to recommend that sponsorship levels make great and unique gifts, and will help increase charitable giving by donors and hopefully new donors to help sponsor specific animals at the zoo.
  

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  Arrange TV appearances by zoo keepers on Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta and 11Alive Atlanta & Company, to educate the viewers on Zoo Atlanta’s efforts in conservation. Bring animals to the sets from the zoo that are available for sponsorship and that are in danger of extinction on all levels. And explain how viewers can get involved in Rare Care, Zoo Atlanta’s animal sponsorship program.
  
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  Set up radio interviews, and provide radio news releases with top radio stations in Atlanta; STAR 94, B 98.5, Kicks 101.5
  

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  Brochures about Rare Care
  
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  News article in Atlanta Journal Constitution about the zoo’s successful breeding program; for example the success of the Giant Pandas at Zoo Atlanta, one of the many animals available for sponsorship
  
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  Progress articles about Rare Care in Wild Times, Zoo Atlanta’s online magazine
  
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  Congratulatory letters and gifts to sponsors
  

Social Media:

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  Although Zoo Atlanta has a Facebook page, create a Facebook page specifically for Rare Care. Post pictures of animals available for sponsorship, shout outs to sponsors to help acknowledge their involvement, post updates of specific efforts Zoo Atlanta has done in conservation. Posting updates helps enforce where sponsor’s funds are going (example photos and notes from abroad and local programs).
  
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  Use Zoo Atlanta’s Twitter page for updates similar to Facebook, create Rare Care hash tag #RareCare @ZooATL.
  

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  Create a yearly banquet at Zoo Atlanta honoring Guardian and Protector Sponsorship levels, levels that exceed 250 dollars.
  
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  Send zoo keepers to Metro Atlanta and north Georgia daycares, schools, and child aimed community activity groups to educate them on what is conservation and animal protection. Bring animals so children can interact with them and find out interesting facts during the assembly. Ask children if they have ever wanted a lion, monkey, elephant, etc. as a pet. Make the connection to parents that if they sponsor an animal the child owns the animal, but without the mess
  

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  Print Media:
  
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    Create a brochure immediately that can be easily distributed.
    
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    Send a news feature to the Atlanta Journal Constitution every spring on updates about the recent births of animals in the Rare Care program, which most of them are part of the SSP, acknowledging Zoo Atlanta’s continual efforts in preventing animal extinction.
    
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    Write monthly progress articles about the program Rare Care for Wild Times, Zoo Atlanta’s online magazine. Write about new programs, research trips abroad, sponsorship statics, etc.
    
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    Send congratulatory letters and gifts to new sponsors. Each sponsorship level has different assigned gifts and benefits. Update gifts (maybe every year or every other year so people or groups might continue sponsoring an animal(s)).
    

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  Broadcast Media:
  
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    With the upcoming holiday season send zoo keepers to Fox 5 Good Day Atlanta and 11Alive Atlanta & Company. Zoo keepers should educate the viewers on Zoo Atlanta’s efforts in conservation. Bring animals to the sets from the zoo that are available for sponsorship and that are in danger of extinction on all levels. Suggest to viewers that sponsoring an animal through Rare Care makes a wonderful gift for children. They can own their own lion, tiger, elephant, etc. without the mess
    
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    Write a 30 second and 60 second radio news release for the following stations immediately to be aired during the holiday season for the following top radio stations in Atlanta: STAR 94, B 98.5, Kicks 101.5.
    

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  Social Media:
  
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    Separate Facebook page and Twitter hash tag need to be created immediately. Once those online pages are active and page information is edited accordingly, the pages should be updated once to twice a week with news, events, photos, etc.
    

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  Events:
  
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    Create an event honoring people and organizations that sponsor an animal at the Guardian level (250 dollar donation) and Protector level (500 dollar donation) of the Rare Care program.
    
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    Establish the event as a yearly banquet; aim to have the event every March. Include food, music, key speakers, raffles, and involve some of the animals that are sponsored. Keep in mind that all animals involved need to be properly handled by a zoo keeper or additional trained professionals.
    
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    Set up Tuesdays’ and Thursdays’ as Rare Care Education Days. Send a zoo keeper to Metro Atlanta and north Georgia daycares and schools. Additionally, send zoo keepers to child aimed community organizations like YMCA, Girl and Boy Scout troops, 4H clubs, etc. to educate them on what is conservation and animal protection. Bring animals so children can interact with them and find out interesting facts during the assembly. Ask children if they have ever wanted a lion, monkey, elephant, etc. as a pet. Again, make the connection to parents that if they sponsor an animal the child owns the animal, but without the mess.
    

The following numbered bullets are the objectives for the Zoo Atlanta program Rare Care and will be evaluated using the previously stated strategies and tactics:

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   To raise awareness about Zoo Atlanta’s environmental conservation efforts and education programs at the zoo and abroad.
   
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   To raise awareness about the extinction rate for some of Zoo Atlanta’s most popular inhabitants and Zoo Atlanta’s participation in the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP). SSP are collective management programs for breeding captive populations of endangered animals.
   

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  Using broadcast, print, and social media tactics the objective can be measured by a compilation of media mentions in broadcast, print, and online about the program Rare Care, this indicates that an audience was exposed to the message.
  
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  Using print tactics tally the audience exposure for Rare Care brochures and articles for Rare Care in Wild Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and other print media that have possibly been read.
  
  
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  Using event tactics calculate the attendance to the event, and monitor the internet to find out what people are saying about the Rare Care event and overall program. Use surveys to indicate the whether the knowledge about Rare Care increased in the audience.
  
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   To increase donor activity by selecting different sponsorship levels (monetary value) of specific animals at the zoo.
   
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     Using the print, broadcast, social media, and events tactics calculate whether there is an increase in sponsorship in the program Rare Care, take notice as to what sponsorship levels are the most popular among individuals and groups or organizations.
     

News Release

Zoo Atlanta

800 Cherokee Avenue Southeast

Atlanta, GA 30315

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact:

E-mail: aparham1@student.clayton.edu

Phone: (404) 433-6612

Spread Some Holiday Cheer from Zoo Atlanta

We’re Not “Lion”; Give the Little Ones in Your Life Their Own Menagerie

Atlanta, GA- November 29, 2012- Zoo Atlanta’s Rare Care is an ongoing animal sponsorship program. When you adopt an animal from any of the sponsorship levels from Rare Care the funds go to continue conservation work at Zoo Atlanta and around the world. Zoo Atlanta is in need of sponsors and they are hoping that during this holiday season you will make the decision to sponsor an animal. An animal sponsorship would be the perfect gift for those little wild ones in your life or the animal enthusiast.
Rare Care is Zoo Atlanta’s ongoing animal sponsorship program established in 2004. The program helps care for a sponsored animal for a year, continue to fund the zoo’s education programs, and continue the zoo’s environmental conservation work here and abroad. An individual or organization can sponsor an animal on any sponsorship levels that range from 25 dollars to 500 dollars. A list of animals that can be sponsored from Zoo Atlanta can be found online from the Rare Care’s home page, in addition to any animal from the zoo although some animals may require additional processing time.
Zoo Atlanta originally had a sponsorship program prior to Rare Care known as the Animal Adoption Program, "Adopt a Wild Child”. In 2004 the program was revamped and renamed Rare Care, “Care for the Rare”. The program targets many of Zoo Atlanta’s animals that are a part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs. The Species Survival Plan programs encourage the breeding of endangered animals. Zoo Atlanta participates in 23 SSP programs.

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Zoo Atlanta News Release

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Sponsorship levels are as followed and all patron benefits are sent through email: The eKeeper is a 25 dollars sponsorship. Their gifts include a certificate, animal image, and animal fact sheet. The Steward is a 50 dollar sponsorship. Their gifts include a certificate, animal photo, one-year subscription to Wild Times (Zoo Atlanta’s print magazine) and fact sheet. The Advocate is a 100 dollar sponsorship. They will receive the same previously stated gifts as well as a Rare Care VIP Package (including four Zoo admission tickets), cuddly plush of sponsored animal, and two blank note cards with an animal photo. The Guardian is a 250 dollar sponsorship. They will receive the same previously stated gifts as well as four additional blank note cards with an animal photo and your name on the Rare Care Web Board. The Protector is a 500 dollar sponsorship. They will receive the same previously stated gifts as well as four additional Zoo admission tickets, six additional blank note cards with an animal photo, and a guided tour of Zoo Atlanta for two hours.
Zoo Atlanta’s Rare Care program received its most recent redesign about three years ago. Since then the program annually brings in 20,000 to 30,000 dollars on average. When you sponsor an animal through Rare Care, you help the zoo continue their work in conservation at the zoo and around the world. Most of all, a sponsorship helps Zoo Atlanta continue to care for and share these animals’ splendor with zoo visitors.

Located in Grant Park, in downtown Atlanta, Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889. Zoo Atlanta is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participates in 23 Species Survival Plan programs. In 2007 the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) honored Zoo Atlanta with the International Conservation Award and the AZA Education Award. From well-known native wildlife to critically endangered species on the brink of extinction, Zoo Atlanta offers close encounters with more than 1,000 animals representing over 200 different species from around the world.

Fact Sheet

Zoo Atlanta

800 Cherokee Avenue Southeast

Atlanta, GA 30315

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact:

E-mail: aparham1@student.clayton.edu

Phone: (404) 433-6612

Fun Facts that will make you wild about zoo atlanta
Did you know? That Zoo Atlanta offers an animal sponsorship program called Rare Care that was established in 2004. An individual or group selects an animal to sponsor through Rare Care and all of the funds go towards the care for that animal at the zoo, Zoo Atlanta’s animal conservation efforts, and education programs at the zoo and abroad.
Zoo Atlanta

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  Zoo Atlanta cares for a collection of more than 1,000 animals,
  

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  Zoo Atlanta is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
  

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  Located in Grant Park, Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889 and is one of the 10 oldest zoos in continuous operation in the United States.
  

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  The yearly attendance for Zoo Atlanta typically exceeds 700,000 and household memberships to the zoo are around 27,000.
  

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  In 1985, Zoo Atlanta began a multi-million dollar redevelopment campaign to provide naturalistic habitats for all the animals in the zoo.
  

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Zoo Atlanta Fact Sheet

Page 2

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  Zoo Atlanta participates in 23 AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, which are programs that help breed captive populations of endangered animals.
  

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  Zoo Atlanta houses the largest gorilla population in North America. As of 2010, Zoo Atlanta housed more than 22 Western Lowland Gorillas.
  

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  Zoo Atlanta is one of only four zoos in the United States that houses Giant Pandas.
  

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  Zoo Atlanta has the nation’s only successful captive breeding program of one of Africa’s most endangered primates, the drill monkey, with nine mother-reared offspring.
  

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  In 2007 the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) honored Zoo Atlanta with the International Conservation Award and the AZA Education Award.
  

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For Information: Client: Zoo Atlanta

Event: Rare Care

Contact Information: Amanda Parham

Email: aparham1@student.clayton.edu

Phone: (404) 433-6612

For Release: November 29, 2012

Duration: 60 seconds/ 150 words

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News Feature

For Immediate Release:

Media Contact:

E-mail: aparham1@student.clayton.edu

Phone: (404) 433- 6612

A Tiger for the Holidays

Come visit Zoo Atlanta’s Wild Family this Holiday Season and Maybe Bring a New Family Member Home with You

Holiday break is coming up for thousands of children across Metro Atlanta. Parents, spending time with your family is what this holiday season is all about. Why not take your child to a place where they can see a variety of families. Zoo Atlanta offers more than 200 different species of animals from all over the world. Bring your child to Zoo Atlanta today so they can see a wonderful collection of animal families. Many of these animals your children will never see in their natural habitats.

In July of 2011, two Sumatran Tiger cubs, Sohni and Sanjiv, were born at Zoo Atlanta. They are the first Sumatran cubs to be born at Zoo Atlanta in over a decade. Sumatran Tigers are the world’s second rarest tiger species, and less than 400 are believed to remain in the wild. These animals are only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and due to poaching and loss of habitat from deforestation these tigers have become critically endangered.

When the two cubs were finally introduced to the public, Rebecca Snyder, PhD, Curator of Mammals at Zoo Atlanta said, “We’re so excited about finally being able to introduce Sohni and Sanjiv to our Members and guests, not just because they’re adorable new babies, but because they represent a critically endangered species”.

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Zoo Atlanta

Page 2
Zoo Atlanta participates in 23 Species Survival Plan programs, and one of them acknowledges the endangerment of tigers. Overall, we have lost 97 percent of wild tigers in just over a century. The Tiger Species Survival Plan’s goal is to maintain a self-sustaining, genetically diverse population of tigers within North American zoos. Conservation projects supported by Zoo Atlanta include preservation of Sumatran Tiger habitats located in a critical wildlife corridor in Sumatra’s Aceh Forest.