#LEAwards 2021 highlight: WRS wins children's hearts with interactive animal buddy initiative

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) was struggling from a lack of visitor frequency, with the average visit per local family falling below one time a year. It also realised that while it had a good relationship with schools, it had not fostered a stronger bond with parents and children. The Circuit Breaker period only made things worse as all its parks had to close temporarily. To better engage with children, even during a pandemic, WRS decided to adopt hybrid animal interactions in its strategy. It launched My Animal Buddy, an interactive platform that allowed kids to watch live streams of animals in the park, while also educating them about wildlife.

WRS’ ability to be quick on its feet during a pandemic and engaging children’s interest in wildlife even virtually impressed the judges and secured the brand the gold award for Best Engagement Strategy – Specific Audience at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2021.

Challenge

WRS had three main issues – it suffered from a low visit frequency, with the average visit per local family being 0.9 times per year; there is no engagement once families leave its parks, and its relationships reside with schools instead of parents and children. Its traditional business model of selling tickets, memberships, and working with schools was not furthering its mission of inspiring its guests to value wildlife beyond their single visit. These challenges were further exacerbated when WRS parks had to close during the Circuit Breaker, increasing the need for a different way to engage guests. 

WRS’ vision was of a world where every child is inspired to protect wildlife and the earth and is empowered to fuel positive change for themselves, others, and the world. To achieve its mission, WRS had set three goals - increase the annual visit frequency per guest, transform the WRS brand from a park operator to a trusted everyday brand, and ensure guests foster a personal connection with its animals, instead of a transient one 

Strategy

WRS started out by understanding parents and their needs through consumer research. They scraped through local parenting forums to identify key tension points, led focus group discussions with parents to understand what needs to be done, and tested product concepts with parents every step of the way.

Through these, WRS found that parents know animal interactions are good for their children, but felt there are not enough convenient opportunities available. At the same time, parents said they needed help engaging their children at home and, while digital is inevitable, they did not have a trusted brand. Furthermore, parents wanted their children to thrive with the right values, but did not know how; and they did not want to stress them either.

After scanning the competitive landscape, WRS found an opportunity in hybrid animal interactions.

Execution

WRS came up with "My Animal Buddy", a free platform that teaches children essential values and mindset to thrive in the future while deepening their love for wildlife and the earth.

On the platform, each child will choose their very own animal buddy to adopt and take a pledge to care for and protect the animal - children will receive adoption certificates as well. Weekly buddy messages and email content are sent to parents as engagement reminders. Children can then engage and connect with wildlife in the comfort of their own homes, with the various product features offered on the platform. Some of the product features include videos, quizzes, missions, live chats, live shows with keepers, and resource sheets for parents.

In April last year, a closed group of parents and kids were invited to test the platform. During testing stages, children were invited to send birthday wishes to its sealion through a chatbot and saw over 500 responses.

My Animal Buddy was officially launched in October 2020 at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. With zero paid media and marketing budget, WRS hosted a media event for the launch, featuring a virtual story and live show.

Results

WRS' new platform was featured in over 20 articles across mainstream media, online news sites, and online portals. The platform also saw an outpouring of praise from unpaid influencers.

In March this year, WRS partnered with schools to introduce its new animal buddy, Sally and reached out to more parents and children. Over 10,000 school children were engaged across 309 screens in two separate virtual show sessions.

Without any media or marketing dollars, WRS saw more than 24% of subscribers visit the platform weekly, with about a six-minute increase in average time spent on the platform since July 2020. In a consumer survey conducted this year, the majority of parents said they view WRS as a trusted brand for their children to interact and grow with. My Animal Buddy also saw a sixfold increase in users from last July to June 2021. Within the same period, weekly engagements also increased from about 1.9k per week to more than 14k per week.