The 3rd oldest Zoo in the country had the essential elements - a beautiful campus, compelling animals and a committed staff. Nevertheless, having struggled for funding, The Maryland Zoo’s visitor experience had failed to evolve. This bolstered skepticism about the quality and value of a Zoo visit throughout the community. Their keen staff recognized that fixing the experience alone was not enough, and that addressing the brand perception was imperative to regaining trust, admiration and support.
Mission was originally hired by the Zoo to provide design services and implementation support for a fundraiser. After a successful event, we became the Agency of Record, working in partnership to elevate the Zoo’s brand, and rebuild the organization’s reputation. We concepted and launched a “Meet Me at the Zoo” campaign that re-introduced the Zoo as premiere place to connect with family, friends and animals alike. We carried the welcoming voice and playful energy into campaigns for signature events, as well as the phenomenal new Penguin Coast exhibit. Recently, we were honored to work with Zoo team to develop a new identity and visual language that will define the Zoo brand and inspire its voice for years to come. Together with the Zoo, we’ve successfully changed the perception of the organization and celebrated consecutive years of record attendance and financial solvency.
Agency of Record: Brand Platform, Messaging, Content Strategy, Design, Environmental, Advertising, Photography, Video, Web Design, Development & Integration, Digital Marketing, SEO, Event Production
Entertainment, Non-Profit, Destinations
The foundation of the The Maryland Zoo's identity system is a logo that celebrates the organization's commitment to conservation in an unexpected way allowing for a wide range of voice and tone applications.
The primary color palette is inspired by the Zoo's animals and their habitats.
Imagined with a wide variety of audiences in mind, the website is the cornerstone of the Zoo's marketing strategy and supports the visitor who just wants to check a schedule and those who want to do a deep-dive into animal education.
The zoo calendar was an exercise in herding penguins; keeping them all in tidy rows when all they want to do is waddle about.
The Zoo offers the unique experience of getting up close to animals who have real personalities and mannerisms. We consistently leverage this differentiator to create meaningful connections to visitors of all ages.
Getting the chance to film the animals in their habitats and up close is a one-of-a-kind experience. It's also an exercise in extreme patience. The results, however, are always gorgeous and make a story that tells itself.
From technical SEO to branded display, digital marketing is an integrated discipline throughout our partnership with the Zoo and drives critical conversions for membership, gate, events and giving.
As the first new major exhibit in over a decade, Penguin Coast not only delivered on a one-of-a-kind habitat for the growing African Penguin colony at the zoo, but also allows visitors to get closer than ever.
The overall design allows visitors to see the penguins closer than ever from many distinct vantage points around the exhibit. The new environment will enable us to continue with our efforts on behalf of these birds.
For The Maryland Zoo, events are more than excuse to have a good time. They are an opportunity to reach new audiences and connect to the community.
The buzz from this event grows every year and features libations from the region's best breweries. While the core identity remains consistent, each year a new unique twist is added by our team.
Events continue to grow with successes like Brew at the Zoo which has increased in attendance from less than 1,800 in 2012 to consistent sellout crowds.
Inspired by the success of Brew at the Zoo, we helped the Zoo imagine a companion event series for the fall named Oktobearfest. This single day event has quickly become a sell-out as well.
This 8K Running Festival offers participants the chance to run through the paths of the Zoo and the adjoining Druid Hill Park. FYI - you can also walk it too if you don't like running.
The Maryland Zoo has been fortunate to experience significant growth in visitation, membership and event attendance over the last several years. The identity and message Mission has worked with us to develop is directly responsible for much of this growth. The personality, approachability and intelligence of the creative have improved both awareness and perception of the Zoo experience. We view the Mission team as an extension of our own and love their sense of collaboration which has elevated the Zoo's brand and continues to exceed our expectations.
