The Challenge:

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Annual Zoofari event is The Zoo’s largest fundraiser. Each year, a highlight of Zoofari is that attendees and Zoo lovers have the opportunity of buying a raffle ticket for a chance to win a trip – typically, one that features the Zoo’s work and leverages current partnerships and expertise. The 2018 Zoofari theme of ‘An Arctic Journey’ presented an opportunity to step outside of previous Zoofari raffles and to offer one that aligned with the event theme. The Cincinnati Zoo needed a turn-key solution for a unique, informative, & well-rounded trip for its affluent audience.

The Solution:

The Cincinnati Zoo contacted Giveback Sports for a high-end experience package. The Zoo gave Giveback Sports the creative license to build a package that would appeal to supporters of The Zoo, both at the event and around the country. After reviewing the theme, understanding the event’s audience, and analyzing several Arctic experiences, Giveback Sports created an adventure to Iceland, a unique experience that would cater to the broad audience and donor base. The trip itinerary was packed full of activities from The Golden Circle to the famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Giveback Sports also alleviated The Zoo’s team from all research, coordination, & execution of the trip logistics.

The Results:

Giveback Sports’ ‘Iceland – Land of Fire & Ice’ experience package was pre-promoted by The Cincinnati Zoo for approximately two months prior to Zoofari. The Zoo featured the raffle on their website, invitation, news interviews, and advertisements in local publications, as well as sold raffle tickets at Zoofari. The cost of the trip was paid for well in advance of the night of the event, and The Zoo saw almost 23x participation in the raffle than in the silent auction. The Iceland Experience raffle allowed for higher engagement with a more diverse demographic given the low barrier to entry. This one trip provided by Giveback Sports helped The Zoo reach approximately 50% of their non-ticketed revenue goal!

“The package Giveback Sports created for us was exactly the kind of experience we strive to provide our members, our guests and our donors everyday- It was unique, it was customized and it inspired adventure! Further, it freed up our time to allow us to focus on providing that same level of service and customer-centric experience at the event. Essentially, they were stepping out of our ‘Arctic Journey’ and into their own, seamlessly. “

– Emily Roberts | Director of Corporate Relations