Wednesday, November 18, 2015

2. San Diego Zoo Company Overview


Company Overview
San Diego Zoo Global is a not-for-profit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. San Diego Zoo Global is the largest zoological membership association in the world, with more than 250,000 member households and 130,000 child memberships, representing more than a half million people. Members enjoy free admission to the Zoo and the Safari Park, a subscription to the magazine ZOONOOZ, and other benefits. Both Zoo and Park are open every day of the year (Zoo, 2015).
Business Description-
 The museum and zoo industry demand is partly linked to growth in local income and to tourist travel. The profitability of individual institutions depends largely on good marketing. Large institutions have the advantage of name recognition or proximity to mass tourism areas. Small institutions can compete successfully by concentrating on specialty topics, or by operating in a favorable location. The US industry fragmented the top 50 institutions account for about 35 percent of revenue.
Museums account for about two-thirds of industry revenue; zoos and botanical gardens together generate about a quarter. For the industry as a whole, about 40 percent of revenue comes from contributions and grants from private and government sources. Other sources of revenue (each accounting for between 10 and 15 percent) include admission fees, investment income, and sales of food and merchandise. Among individual institutions, the revenue mix can vary significantly, as some receive significant support from endowments.


 Company History- 
Dr. Harry Wegeforth, heard the roar of caged lions that were part of the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. Dr. Harry, as he was affectionately called, decided then and there that San Diego was ready for a zoo and later convinced the city to follow his lead.

Since those humble beginnings, the San Diego Zoo has grown to a world-class animal facility. We were one of the first zoos to have open grotto enclosures without iron bars for lions, tigers, and bears-oh my! In 1972 the Zoo opened its sister facility, the Wild Animal Park, featuring animals living in natural groupings inside huge field exhibits. In 1975 we founded CRES (Conservation and Research for Endangered Species), now one of the largest zoo-based research centers in the world (Diego, 2015).

Key People-
Douglas Myers
President/CEO, San Diego Zoo Global
Mr. Myers serves as the executive leader for San Diego Zoo Global. In this role, he is responsible for setting policy and maintaining the organization’s role as a leader in conservation and animal care.
Matthew Musella
Chief Operating Officer, San Diego Zoo Global
As Chief Operating Officer of San Diego Zoo Global, Mr. Musella serves with the President/CEO in overseeing all aspects of San Diego Zoo Global.
Paula Brock
Chief Financial Officer, San Diego Zoo Global
As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Brock oversees the financial management of the organization.

Mark Stuart
Chief Development and Membership Officer, San Diego Zoo Global,
President, The Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global
Mr. Stuart leads the team devoted to friend-raising and fund-raising efforts to support San Diego Zoo Global’s animal care, conservation and education programs. He also serves as President of The Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global, a separate nonprofit organization devoted to raising major gifts to address the institution’s strategic priorities.

Dwight Scott
Director, San Diego Zoo
As Director of the San Diego Zoo, Mr. Scott is responsible for the overall operation of the 100-acre zoo, which is located in Balboa Park just north of downtown San Diego. He oversees daily operations of all departments, including admission, transportation, education, food service, retail, facilities, animal care, veterinary services, horticulture, special events, and construction and maintenance.

Robert M. McClure
Director, San Diego Zoo Safari Park
As Director of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Mr. McClure is responsible for the overall operation of this 1,800-acre wildlife preserve located near Escondido. He oversees the administration of all departments and operations, construction and maintenance, animal services, veterinary services, horticulture, and special events.

Officers
Robert B. Horsman
Chairman

Sandra A. Brue
Vice Chairman

Judith A. Wheatley
Secretary

Steven G. Tappan
Treasurer
Board of Trustees
M. Javade Chaudhri
Berit N. Durler
Richard B. Gulley
Clifford W. Hague
Linda Lowenstine, D.V.M, Ph.D.
George A. Ramirez
Patricia L. Roscoe
Location and Subsidiaries-
San Diego Zoo-
 North of downtown San Diego in Balboa Park
San Diego Zoo Safari Park-
 It is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego in the San Pasqual Valley near Escondido, California.
 San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research –
  San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is located in Escondido, California

 Brands, Major Products and Services
San Diego Zoo-
The 100-acre (40-hectare) Zoo is home to over 3,700 rare and endangered animals representing more than 650 species and subspecies, and a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 exotic plants. It is located just north of downtown San Diego in Balboa Park.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park-
The Safari Park is an expansive wildlife sanctuary that is home to more than 2,600 animals representing more than 300 species. Its renowned botanical collection represents 3,500 species and 1.5 million specimens. Over half of the Park’s 1,800 acres (730 hectares) have been set aside as protected native species habitat.
San Diego Institute For Conservation Research-
San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research is one of the largest zoo-based research centers in the world. Founded in 1975, it is dedicated to preserving and protecting rare and endangered wildlife and habitats. Staff develop, gather, and increase knowledge vital for the establishment of self-sustaining populations of wildlife.
 Corporate Vision
The corporate vision of the San Diego Zoo is to lead the fight against extinction.
Corporate Mission
“San Diego Zoo Global is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in animal care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.”
Company’s Current Promotional Strategy
The San Diego Zoo and its partner facilities incorporate social media as an integral part of their marketing and program awareness strategy. They use social media outreach, managed by Hootsuite, to connect with their audience and share the stories of many of their animals and programs. In 2013, the zoo welcomed the birth of a panda cub and documented it through social media. By doing so, San Diego Zoo saw a 500% increase in traffic to their panda cam, gained 28,000 new Facebook likes in 5 months, gained 22 million Facebook impressions, received 4,500 new Twitter followers, 4,500 re-tweets, 35 million potential Twitter impressions, and had over 4 million YouTube view (Slideshare, 2013).
Product Sales History
The San Diego Zoo sales include admissions, memberships, retail products and food.
In the year ending 2013, the San Diego Zoo sales were $200,533 thousand. (San Diego Zoo, 2015) In the year ending 2012, the San Diego Zoo sales were $182,233 thousand. There is an increase in sales over the last two years.
Current Marketing Objective
The current marketing objective of the San Diego Zoo is to inform their current and future visitors of their great educational opportunities and their large efforts in animal conservation.
Media Expenditure
The San Diego Zoo strategically seeks partners with similar goals and objectives to support their marketing needs. Some of the powerful tools they use include discount offers, publicity, publications, premiums and tickets, sweepstakes and onsite opportunities. In addition, the zoo uses local, regional, and national media promotions as one of their most powerful ways to reach their target audience. Ticket giveaways and promotional campaigns are proven winners of their media expenditure (San Diego Zoo, n.d.).
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
The San Diego Zoo provides many different strengths:
·         They are known for its cages less, open exhibits and large plots of land for animals to inhabit. This allows the animals to live in a more natural habit.
·          The Zoo has a large education experience for both children and adults.
·         They are a major player in the animal conservation efforts as well.
·         The Africa Tram allows people to get a closer look at the animals. Customers can purchase a ticket or package that will allow them to take a ride, and get a closer look at the animals.
·         Video Cams, this allows people to go onto their website and see what the animals at the zoo are doing. It gives the consumer an idea of what kind of animals are there so that they can plan their stay. 
Weakness:
As the San Diego has many strengths, they do have some weakness:
  • Large open areas for animals to roam results in missed opportunities to view animals. If the animals are not where people can see them, it is a missed opportunity for the consumer and they might not be satisfied with their visit.
  • High prices of admission - Adult (ages 12+) $48.00 Children (ages 3-11) $38.00. The prices are a little higher than some of their competition.
  • Long Lines, people do not like to stand in long lines because then they do not get to do everything that they had intended on doing.
  • It is so big that you cannot see everything in one day.


Opportunities:
Some opportunities are as follows:
  • Large efforts in animal conservation gives San Diego Zoo a positive outlook amongst visitors
  • Large push of educational opportunities increases interest in zoology.
  • Provide Busing from zoo to the Safari Park, this helps the consumer from having to find other parking.
  • Dinner Package with the price of admission. It is a big zoo and many people are going to want to eat there as well. By creating a dinner or lunch package, they will feel like they are getting a better deal.
·         Hotel on site, this would allow customers to return for a few days at a time. They would have a great experience without feeling rushed for time.
Threats:
  • Large competition in the California area; such as Walt Disney Land
  • Animal rights groups; they may feel like the animals should be in their own environment.
  • Negative views from the public of animal parks such as Sea World on the treatment of animals.












Reference
San Diego Zoo. (n.d.). Sand Diego Zoo global mission and vision. Retrieved on November 15, 2015, from website: http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/content/san-diego-zoo-global-mission-and-vision
Slide Share. (2013). Case study: San Diego Zoo. Retrieved on November 15, 2015, from website: http://www.slideshare.net/hootsuite/hootsuite-san-diego-zoo-case-study
 Diego, S. (2015, November 15). San Diego Zoo: Celebrating our first 90 years. Retrieved November 15, 2015, from San Diego.Org:http://www.sandiegozoo.org/90th/
Zoo, S. D. (2015, November 15). About Us. Retrieved Novemeber 15, 2015, from San Diego Zoo: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/disclaimers/aboutus.html
San Diego Zoo. (2015, November 16). Retrieved from sandiegozoo.com: http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/sites/all/themes/zoostrap/downloads/financial-reports/SDZG2013FinancialStatement.pdf





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