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Situation

When the Fort Worth Zoo enlisted Schaefer Advertising to help drive people to their new African Savanna exhibit, we couldn’t wait to take the bull by the horns and get to work. Our team was able to come up with a rich campaign that encapsulated the spirit of the exciting new exhibit.

The new African Savanna exhibit was built around a central prairie that houses giraffes, springbok, ostriches and many more species all in one exhibit. A winding path gives visitors a 360-degree view of the animals in the prairie and allows people to get closer to the animals than ever before. This creates a truly unique experience for each visitor and ensures that no two visits are alike. The main attractions are the hippo exhibit that includes above-water and underwater viewing, and the giraffe feeding deck. The new Savanna exhibit features shaded viewing spaces and is surrounded by an aviary that houses a variety of bird species.

Goals

  • Generate awareness of the new African Savanna exhibit
  • Send interested web traffic to the Zoo’s website
  • Drive more ticket sales centered around new exhibits

The Approach

The Get Closer campaign was created to highlight the capabilities of the new African Savanna exhibit and emphasize the intimate experience that the space offers visitors. We needed to clearly communicate that the African Savanna allows patrons the opportunity to get closer to the animals than ever before, and illuminate the giraffe feeding platform, and the hippo exhibit.

Before launching the campaign, our team developed a detailed multimedia strategy that would get more people interested in exploring the African Savanna exhibit. To deploy a fully-integrated campaign, we incorporated digital and broadcast ads alongside more traditional out-of-home ads in the form of pole banners, billboards and bus benches that were placed in strategic positions throughout the metroplex.

The Creative

The campaign featured the two stars of the new exhibit: the underwater hippo viewing area, and the elevated giraffe feeding station. Schaefer developed concepts that communicated the intimacy of the space, while also inviting audiences to look adventure in the eye.

We really enjoy using a medium to its full potential and thinking about new ways to use traditional mediums that command consumer attention. For the Get Closer hippo billboard, we used extensions to maximize the real estate on the board and communicate the capability of the new hippo viewing area. By extending the hippo’s head over the top of the board, we were able to mimic the water line and show viewers the capabilities of the exhibit.

Savanna TV Spot

We chose to use the African Savanna TV spot to expand and support the campaign’s core idea of “getting closer” to the animals and take local families on an authentic African safari right in the heart of Fort Worth. The commercial features children and families getting close enough to the animals to play a small game of “monkey-see, monkey-do,” and interacting with the new exhibit’s animal kingdom. Filming animals is unpredictable, but the “talent” decided that they were ready for their closeups and behaved like seasoned professionals.

The Results

  • The weekend after campaign launch saw a 316% increase in ticket sales compared to the weekend before campaign launch.
  • The 60 days after campaign launch sold greater than 35,000 more tickets than the same 60-day segment in 2017, for a 14.3% increase in ticket sales.
  • Standard media display click-thru-rate 216% higher than industry benchmark of .06%.
  • Rich media display click-thru-rate 46% higher than industry average of 2.25%.

Making Life Better

At Schaefer, we strive to make life better with each project that we take on and in every conversation we have. Going to the Fort Worth Zoo is an incredible experience, and it’s an honor to work with an organization that practices such extensive conservation efforts. Feeding a giraffe or standing eye-to-eye with a hippopotamus is such a joy for people of all ages and working to share that experience with a wider audience was the big cat’s pajamas.

September 15, 2016

Forging New Ground

We all know that gathering metrics and creating reports helps determine the success of marketing or advertising campaigns, but how we gather those metrics and turn them into meaningful presentations is at times difficult for us all.
Schaefer believes that a reporting approach should be more than an excel spreadsheet or a PowerPoint with graphics, so we put together a metrics and reporting “roadmap” that explores every aspect of the process. From the gathering, organizing, and graphing to analyzing and presenting, we wanted to dive into what makes up a successful campaign report.

Download our Metrics and Reporting Guide and hopefully all (or one) of these tips will help set you up for reporting success.


Download Now

February 29, 2016

ADDYs Rock!

On the heels of back-to-back Best of Show Awards, the Schaefer Team was honored with 29 awards, including 11 Golds and two Special Judges Awards at the local 2016 American Advertising Awards – proving that great creative and great results for clients is not mutually exclusive. The winning work demonstrates a broad range of creative depth across a wide range of clients including: Fort Worth Zoo, Mouser Electronics, City of Hurst, TTI Electronics, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth Creative Cooperative, TCU Athletics, Cassco Development Company. Additionally, Schaefer was recognized for several self-promotion pieces as well as work done for the 2015 American Advertising Awards.
UPDATE: Regional results are in! Schaefer won big taking home 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze. Now on to Nationals, our fingers are crossed for another win. (Remember our National win for Zoo Ball last year?)


Gold ADDY Award &
Regional Gold ADDY Award

Project: Zoo Ball
Client: Fort Worth Zoo
A pop-up invitation for the Fort Worth Zoo’s annual gala event, Zoo Ball, to raise money in support of the zoo’s ongoing mission of conservation.
View Work



Gold ADDY Award &
Regional Silver ADDY Award

Project: Zoo Preschool
Client: Fort Worth Zoo
An illustrated campaign and series of animal flash cards for the preschool program at the Fort Worth Zoo.
View Work


Gold ADDY Award &
Regional Bronze ADDY Award

Project: The Good Stuff
Client: Hurst Conference Center
A direct mail campaign and invitation to the Hurst Conference Center’s tasting event for local planners.
View Work



Gold ADDY Award

Project: Empowering Innovation Campaign
Client: Mouser Electronics
A campaign for Mouser Electronics centered around engineering and ingenuity through a partnership with spokesman Grant Imahara.
View Work


Gold ADDY Award

Project: Arts Goggle 2015
Client: Schaefer Advertising Co.
Created a 10ft x 40ft chalkboard and encouraged community participation for the annual Arts Goggle event on Magnolia.
View Work

Special Judges’ Award: Design

Zoo Preschool



Gold ADDY Award

Project: Amendment 28 Campaign
Client: AAF Fort Worth
A campaign centered around the passage of Amendment 28, which outlawed advertising and promote entries to the local ADDY Awards.
View Work


Gold ADDY Award

Project: Submission Protocol Video Campaign
Client: AAF Fort Worth
Video campaign showing proper protocol for the disposal of advertising and entry into the local ADDY Awards.
View Work

 


Gold ADDY Award

Project: Amendment 28 Logo
Client: AAF Fort Worth
Logo for the Department of Justice Anti Persuasion Division, the agency responsible for the enforcement of Amendment 28.
View Work 


Gold ADDY Award &
Regional Bronze ADDY Award

Project: Winners Book
Client: AAF Fort Worth
Newspaper style book announcing the repeal of Amendment 28 and showcasing the 2015 Fort Worth ADDY winners.
View Work

 


Gold ADDY Award

Project: Official Advertising Collection Receptacle
Client: AAF Fort Worth
Government packaging for the collection of illegal advertising and ADDY entries.
View Work 


Gold ADDY Award

Project: Amendment 28 Poster
Client: AAF Fort Worth
Large format poster to announce the outlawing of advertising with the passage of Amendment 28.
View Work

 

Special Judges’ Award: Concept

Amendment 28 Campaign



Silver

2014 BRIT Annual Report
Botanical Research Institute of Texas
Beastro Poster Campaign
Fort Worth Zoo
Spring Outdoor Campaign
Fort Worth Zoo
Preschool Campaign
Fort Worth Zoo
Empowering Innovation: Robotics Spotlight
Mouser Electronics
Empowering Innovation: Driverless Cars Spotlight
Mouser Electronics
Schaefer Business Cards
Schaefer Advertising Co.
Schaefer Website
Schaefer Advertising Co.
Creative Gauntlet No. 4 Poster
Fort Worth Creative Cooperative
Amendment 28 Website
AAF Fort Worth

Bronze

The Kelton Logo
Clearfork
Safari Splash Logo
Fort Worth Zoo
The Specialist Comic Book Series
TTI, Inc.
Southside T-Shirt
Schaefer Advertising Co.
Schaefer 2015 Christmas Card
Schaefer Advertising Co.

September 1, 2015

Opinion: Google's New Look

Google unveiled a new logo today. And while they chose not to run it past us first, we feel sure that they’re still very curious what our opinions are on the matter. Therefore, I’ve assembled our crack team of rebranding experts to weigh in on the update.
Blair: My first impression is that I like the multi-colored “G” as the icon.
Jon: Because of its simplicity, I kept looking at it to try to notice details, but then I realized that the simplicity is the detail.
Charlie: My first thought was, “It’s about time.” To me, this matches everything they’ve been doing for the past few years – from a UI perspective, from a design perspective…
Scott: So, simple question: Do you like it?
Charlie: Yes.
Blair: Yes.
Jon: I think it serves its purpose.
Scott: Do you feel like this is an innovative mark, or are they following a trend?
Jon: I think they’re following the trend that when a company is successful, they can rely on a mark that’s simple. It’s kind of a power move.
Blair: I think the other things with the logo like the animations, the “G” logo and the little man that turns up the “E” in the video gives it some personality.
Charlie: I think they’re kind of the poster child for a dynamic logo, and they’ve built on that for so many years with animations and games, etc. It’s never been static, and this new typeface fits the playful whimsy that you’d want if your name was Google. Another big part of their new identity is the animated dots and the interaction they create. There’s a robotic response to it, whereas I wouldn’t be surprised if you could soon be talking to your browser.
Scott: Do you think they ripped off Siri with the ‘OK Google’ thing?
Charlie: No, they’ve had that for a while.
Blair: Apple has Siri, but Google is Google. It’s a noun and a verb.
Charlie: I think they started the trend, and their brand embodied it. Now, I think their logo fits that trend that they created. In all honesty, I think Apple followed the trend that Google started a few years ago.
*At this point, Amanda brought cookies and everyone went downstairs. So there it is, Google. Schaefer Advertising approves of your new logo.
**A little while later, Todd came back from a meeting and decided to weigh in.
ToddI associate Google with the thin, serifed, lower-case “G,” so I wouldn’t have updated to a bold, sans-serifed font. Nike didn’t add a wave to their swoosh after 17 years. That’s all I got.

September 1, 2015

Opinion: Google’s New Look

Google unveiled a new logo today. And while they chose not to run it past us first, we feel sure that they’re still very curious what our opinions are on the matter. Therefore, I’ve assembled our crack team of rebranding experts to weigh in on the update.

Blair: My first impression is that I like the multi-colored “G” as the icon.

Jon: Because of its simplicity, I kept looking at it to try to notice details, but then I realized that the simplicity is the detail.

Charlie: My first thought was, “It’s about time.” To me, this matches everything they’ve been doing for the past few years – from a UI perspective, from a design perspective…

Scott: So, simple question: Do you like it?

Charlie: Yes.

Blair: Yes.

Jon: I think it serves its purpose.

Scott: Do you feel like this is an innovative mark, or are they following a trend?

Jon: I think they’re following the trend that when a company is successful, they can rely on a mark that’s simple. It’s kind of a power move.

Blair: I think the other things with the logo like the animations, the “G” logo and the little man that turns up the “E” in the video gives it some personality.

Charlie: I think they’re kind of the poster child for a dynamic logo, and they’ve built on that for so many years with animations and games, etc. It’s never been static, and this new typeface fits the playful whimsy that you’d want if your name was Google. Another big part of their new identity is the animated dots and the interaction they create. There’s a robotic response to it, whereas I wouldn’t be surprised if you could soon be talking to your browser.

Scott: Do you think they ripped off Siri with the ‘OK Google’ thing?

Charlie: No, they’ve had that for a while.

Blair: Apple has Siri, but Google is Google. It’s a noun and a verb.

Charlie: I think they started the trend, and their brand embodied it. Now, I think their logo fits that trend that they created. In all honesty, I think Apple followed the trend that Google started a few years ago.

*At this point, Amanda brought cookies and everyone went downstairs. So there it is, Google. Schaefer Advertising approves of your new logo.
**A little while later, Todd came back from a meeting and decided to weigh in.

ToddI associate Google with the thin, serifed, lower-case “G,” so I wouldn’t have updated to a bold, sans-serifed font. Nike didn’t add a wave to their swoosh after 17 years. That’s all I got.

August 5, 2015

Process: Zoo Ball 2014

Project

The Fort Worth Zoo’s largest annual fundraiser, Zoo Ball, attracts some of the biggest names in Fort Worth to support the Zoo’s local and international wildlife conservation and education efforts. 2015 will see the event’s 30th anniversary, and past invitations have included everything from View-Masters with custom slides to flocked, psychedelic blacklight posters. For last year’s invitation, we wanted something new, exciting and different.

The 2014 Zoo Ball theme was “Festival of the Elephants,” an annual festival held in the Indian city of Jaipur during the Holi festival when elephants are elaborately painted to honor the Hindu god, Ganesha. The theme was chosen in part because the Fort Worth Zoo had just welcomed two baby elephants named Belle and Bowie only a few months prior. (If you look closely, you’ll see they made an appearance in the invitation with their mothers.)

We started by researching Indian culture and events as well as typography, textiles and more. With reams of printouts taped up on the walls of our office for inspiration, we were most intrigued by some of the intricately die-cut wedding invitations we found.

Process

At Schaefer, we have a reputation for punishing ourselves – often saying, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if…” then scrambling to figure out how to make it happen within the given timeline and budget. For this project, we did it again. Our complex design required us to partner with many more vendors than we typically do, but the end result was worth it.

From paper and printing to foil stamping and laser cutting, each step of the process required multiple press checks and test samples, each of which had to be okayed by the Zoo Ball committee. Thankfully, they loved it, and it was a big hit with attendees. The Zoo even had event decorations produced to match the invitation, including ten-foot panels that were die-cut using the same illustration files.

Results

According to the Zoo, this invitation was their new high-water mark. That’s quite a compliment, but as we get ready to reveal this year’s Zoo Ball invitation, it’s also a slightly intimidating bar that we’ve set for ourselves. Thankfully, we like the pressure.

We have received several awards for the piece, including Best of Show for the 2015 Fort Worth ADDY awards, a national Gold Addy Award and entry into the Graphis Design Annual.


 

July 22, 2015

Meet Sandy

Today, we are introducing our newest team member, Sarah Estes, to you, the internet. You’re welcome. She’s new. She’s a senior account manager. She’s focusing on our technology clients. Let’s see what else we can find out about her.
Schaefer: First off, we already have a Sara here, so is there anything else we can call you?
Sarah Estes: Jon has already started calling me Sandy. That and Sesty, but that doesn’t sound very good.
Schaefer: No it doesn’t. I like Sandy. Would you actually respond to that?
Sarah: Yeah, I already have actually.
Schaefer: Good, it’s settled then. What is the most important thing we should know about you, Sandy?
Sandy: If you can read my face, I’ll never need to say anything. I have a very expressive face.
Schaefer: For another point of view, let’s see what Megan thinks. Megan, tell everyone about Sarah, I mean, Sandy.
Megan: Can I just talk, and you just make it pretty in words? Are you typing that? You should’ve just said “no!” If I had to sum up Sarah, I’d say she’s so spunky that she puts my sassiness to shame, and it makes me seem more normal. And that’s my summary of Sarah. The end.
Schaefer: Any rebuttal, Sandy?
Sandy: You ain’t seen nothing yet. This is really downplaying it.
Schaefer: So what are you like when you’re not downplaying it?
Sandy: Oh, ooo. I think I’m the girl that always shoots it straight. Sometimes it’s a good thing; sometimes it’s a bad thing. I can literally get along with anybody. I don’t judge.
Megan: She loves shoes. And she paints her nails in weird places.
Sandy: Yeah, that’s something I do. I’ve got three bottles of polish on my desk.
Schaefer: You’re not going to try to paint my nails, are you?
Sandy: I mean, I think a black would look good. Just the pinky.
At this point in the interview, I left. So that’s all you get to know about Sandy for now. I think it’s safe to assume she’ll fit in just fine.

June 10, 2015

Party. Animals.

Each year, the Fort Worth Zoo brings together some of the best restaurants and music acts in town for a tasting and music event called Beastro. For this year’s campaign, we boiled it down to the essentials.

June 10, 2015

Paint the town hot pink

We love our neighborhood of Near Southside here in Fort Worth, and we try to be neighborly whenever possible. So when residents started complaining about business patrons parking in front of their houses, we were there to help. See, there’s this perfectly good parking garage just off Magnolia street, but a lot of people didn’t know about it. How do we remedy this? With advertising, of course!

Park-the-garage-web1
Schaefer created the “Park the Garage” campaign using eye-catching street banners to point people in the right direction. We also provided table tents, buck slips and coasters to local businesses to help reinforce the message. With all that hot pink, there was basically no way for upstanding gourmands to miss that great, big, juicy parking garage just waiting for their vehicles.

Today, the garage is in use, the neighbors are happy and there is peace and tranquility in Near Southside once again. All thanks to some well-placed, brightly colored information.

Park-the-garage-web3

June 9, 2015

The Specialist is in

Four years ago, Schaefer was asked to create a spokesman character for TTI, Inc., a $2B electronic components distributer that had just been acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. Thus the Specialist was born, and since then he’s been fighting bad guys and saving production lines both in videos and a comic book series. Both have been very successful within the industry. “TTI – you’re the guys with the Specialist, right?”
Wanting to maintain our momentum but keep things fresh, Schaefer went back to the drawing board to think of a new way to capitalize on The Specialist character’s infinite knowledge of all things electronic.

Now, Schaefer is proud to introduce Ask the Specialist, a new video series that features our intrepid hero answering questions on a wide range of topics – everything from parts and components to relationship advice.

Click the link to see the first episode, and be sure to check back each month for more answers to life’s burning questions.
http://www.ttiinc.com/page/ask-the-specialist