The latest campaign from Quebec tourist destination and conservation organization Zoo de Granby is highlighting its status as a go-to destination for families this summer.

Developed in collaboration with ad agency LG2, the “Sketchy Animals” campaign uses a playful tone to show how the zoo and its three complementary parks work together to both offer a family-friendly experience and provide animal welfare. The creative behind the campaign features a cartoon hippopotamus, lion and giraffe, who introduce the zoo’s attractions.

It is being supported by OOH advertising, video, TV and radio spots and two 15-second English-language online videos.

Pascale Boulanger, media director at La Bande, the agency that handled the media buy, tells Media in Canada that they turned to traditional media, as TV in particular remains very popular in Quebec, reaching more than 90% of the population each week. Combined with online video, the team wants to make sure it reaches as many people as possible. Radio optimizes both reach and frequency, says Boulanger.

“To drive traffic on-site and online and generate sales, radio, social media and geofencing media were used,” Boulanger adds. “Radio, as a call-to-action media, is a significant part of our strategy. It is often listened to in cars, which is a good way to reach our main target.”

Marie-Christine Martin, director of sales, communications and marketing at Zoo de Granby, says that the zoo used cartoons to capture the attention of parents with kids under 12 years old, and persuade them to visit the zoo and parks. The team also wanted to remind parents that their children should see animals in real life rather than just watching cartoons on TV.

The campaign is part of the Mission Faune platform, which Zoo de Granby launched last summer to highlight the zoo’s conservation efforts and commitments for the future. The platform also included new positioning for the organization, which now seeks to focus on tourism, while maintaining its scientific reputation.

Martin says that because that platform conveys a more serious and scientific message, the latest campaign intended to remind visitors that the zoo experience can be joyful and pleasurable. The campaign was also a good platform to raise the zoo’s profile as it’s 80 km from Montreal’s tourist centre, and far from other local attractions in the city that visitors tend to stick to, Martin says.

But this isn’t the only challenge Zoo de Granby faces. Martin notes that the negative publicity generated by zoos around the world that don’t respect animal welfare has made the public increasingly skeptical of animal parks. To address this, all of the organization’s recent initiatives reinforce the zoo’s commitment to wildlife conservation and public awareness.