The Solution

The Zoobilation app created by Bluebridge delighted event attendees and sponsors alike in unprecedented ways. Released one week prior to the event, the Zoobilation app helped generate additional news coverage and social media buzz.

The app has allowed Zoobilation’s organizers to see success in various stages of the event—through excitement building and volunteer preparation beforehand, navigation and information during, and archival and follow-up potential even after the event.

“The app goes beyond the evening of Zoobilation,” said Coan. “It’s part of the buildup of the event, as well as follow-up for sponsors and restaurants. Now we have a connection to the people who attended—through the app.”

Each food and beverage vendor received its own page within the app, providing an opportunity to share contact info and other key business details. During a luxurious evening that features nearly 70 restaurants, the Zoobilation app allows users to take notes on their favorite foods and eateries and revisit them later in a personalized, aggregated view. With the one-touch dialing function within the app, users were able to directly contact the businesses they enjoyed during Zoobilation to make future reservations.

Additionally, by including social media links for each restaurant, Zoobilation attendees were easily able to share their favorites on Facebook and Twitter.

“We had a lot more tweets about food and restaurants than anything else,” said Haley Fennell, Special Events Coordinator for the Indianapolis Zoo. “Restaurants use a lot of their resources on Zoobilation and it can be hard for them to directly correlate an increase in business. The app helps us provide value to them.”

As the new spirits and alcohol sponsor in 2015, Republic National Distributing Company was equally excited about the event’s app, which offered tasters an easy way to take notes, tweet about delicious drinks at the event’s 13 bars, and discover recipes to draw attention to the brand.

“We have a considerable amount of interest in Zoobilation sponsorships and the pre-excitement created by the app prior to the event helped us seal future sponsorships,” said Liz Mok, Special Events Manager for Indianapolis Zoo. “By showing tremendous value for sponsors, it encourages them to return and support the Zoo each year.”

For an organization whose mission is to empower people and communities, both locally and globally, to advance animal conservation, the Zoo is also committed to sustainability. Offering guests a paperless map option through the app was a perfect complement to those efforts.

“In addition to our animal conservation mission, the entire Zoo staff is involved with efforts to lead the way by making the Zoo itself as green as possible,” said Julie McDearmon, Director of Institutional Advancement for the Indianapolis Zoo. “This app has allowed us to put those initiatives into action by placing what you’d normally see on a map in the app and provide a more user-friendly experience that our audience expects.”

The app also came into play for the judging of Zoobilation’s highly coveted blue ribbon awards, which are judged by local celebrities and notable Indiana residents, as well as the People’s Choice Award, which is judged by all attendees. The fierce competition includes each of Zoobilation’s 70 participating eateries. Through the convenience of the app, which features a quick way to vote, there was a 30% overall increase in voting in 2015.

The Results

“The app made voting so much more user friendly for the attendees and in turn created more engagement with the restaurants. Because of this, we saw an increase in voter participation this year,” said Mok.

In preparation for next year’s event, Zoobilation organizers plan to add exciting new features to the app for increased engagement and convenience.

To help increase pre-event buzz, the Zoo plans to send push notifications to past attendees and other app users with ticket release dates, discounts, and general updates. As an event that consistently sells out in a matter of hours, the app allows users to receive reminders that help them secure their ticket.

Going forward, Zoobilation hopes to increase opportunities to engage with attendees after the event to share more about the Indianapolis Zoo’s conservation message.