Murder in the Zoo

ARTIS presents ‘Murder in the zoo’. An experience-driven campaign that combines storytelling, experience and tech in a 3D audio thriller to bring visitors to the legendary zoo in winter. By offering them a completely new way to experience the zoo.

Radio/Integrated/Digital

By adding a layer to the usual ARTIS experience, ‘Murder in the zoo’ let people discover that ARTIS is more than a zoo and thus created a reason for them to visit the zoo in winter. By taking cues from entertainment and television series, augmented reality and mobile tech, and offline experiences and escape rooms, we tapped into the interests of today’s audience and brought that to the historical location that is ARTIS. This allowed us to build an initiative worth covering (with national press attention ranging from newspapers to extensive TV items), a story worth sharing (with social posts by some of the Netherlands’ biggest influencers), and most importantly, an experience worth doing (resulting in more winter visitors for the zoo).

Strategy

The solution: ‘Murder in the zoo’. An experience-driven campaign that resonates with today’s audience by combining compelling storytelling, a rich 3D audio adventure and location-based technology. A mobile app guides visitors around the legendary park at dusk. With sounds coming from every corner and enclosure, they are steadily lured into a world, where the line between reality and imagination becomes blurred. Joining a journalist on his search for a scoop, they are told a thriller story – written by a top Dutch thriller author – based around the zoo’s assets: the animals and the historical statues. By combining storytelling, experience and tech in a way that hasn’t been done before, ‘Murder in the zoo’ lets people experience ARTIS in a way they never have before. This allowed us to build an initiative worth covering (with national press attention ranging from newspapers to extensive TV items), a story worth sharing (with social posts by some of the Netherlands’ biggest influencers), and most importantly, an experience worth doing (resulting in more winter visitors for the zoo).

Radio/Integrated/Digital

The solution: ‘Murder in the zoo’. An experience-driven campaign that resonates with today’s audience by combining compelling storytelling, a rich 3D audio adventure and location-based technology. A mobile app guides visitors around the legendary park at dusk. With sounds coming from every corner and enclosure, they are steadily lured into a world, where the line between reality and imagination becomes blurred. Joining a journalist on his search for a scoop, they are told a thriller story – written by a top Dutch thriller author – based around the zoo’s assets: the animals and the historical statues. Around the experience itself we built a teaser campaign which was promoted across various platforms, including cinema, digital outdoor and social channels. By combining storytelling, experience and tech in a way that hasn’t been done before, ‘Murder in the zoo’ lets people experience ARTIS in a way they never have before.

Strategy

To attract a bigger audience to the zoo when it’s freezing and the animals are quietest rethinking the ARTIS experience was needed. To spark an interest we created a new way for the audience to experience the zoo. And a new reason to come. The audience’s life happens inside their phones for a big part and mobile technology makes it possible to add layers ‘on top of’ ARTIS, augmenting and rethinking the animal enclosures, the statue garden and the park’s assets. Taking cues from entertainment and series, augmented reality and mobile tech, and offline experiences and escape rooms, we tapped into today’s audience and their interests and brought that to the historical location that is ARTIS.

How do you get people to visit Amsterdam’s legendary zoo ARTIS in winter, when the park is at its bleakest? That was the challenge we put upon ourselves when we set out: make ARTIS top of mind and attract a bigger audience during the off season, the time of the year when it’s cold outside and the trees are bare.

JURY FEEDBACK

RADIO / BRONZE

It is a brave and well crafted version of the all known audio tour that is filled with love and must have required a great deal of persistence and passion to get it through.