The Annual Easter Eggs Hunt as a PR Opportunity for Parks, Zoos and More
In news today, many parks, public gardens and zoos announced the “Annual Easter Eggs Hunt” that attracts a number children every year to their premises. Unfortunately, not many of these organizations take advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness about their scope and business with the public. For zoos, churches and other educational institutions, this is a chance to make a difference, to attract even more younger minds through their gates. But for the organizations listed below, this year’s Easter Eggs Hunt is almost a wasted opportunity. No doubt, there was, or will be some participation, but not as significant as it could be with the involvement of the social media and its citizen journalists.
The Knoxville Zoo announced an Easter egg hunt that will take place at 4:30 p.m. today and Sunday at the Stokely African Elephant Preserve. However, the campaign is poorly organized, with announcements published only on a few local publications, and virtually no social media engagement. There is no mention of the event on the Zoo’s official site.
The Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa hosted a similar event as well, however this time the event was not opened for zoo visitors, but for orangutans. Visitors were able to watch the event, which was part of the enrichment programme for primates. Again, a poorly organized campaign from a social media perspective, although there were some mentions on Twitter, yet no mention on the Lowry Park Zoo official website.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has a better strategy, with the animal egg-stravaganza featured on its official site, and a few other press release announcements on the Internet. The event is scheduled for tomorrow, between 10am – 4:30pm. At the same time, the nearby Burnet Park will organize the annual Easter Egg Hunt for children ages 2 to 10. The zoo made the effort to announce the event on Twitter as well, via Facebook.
The Christ Episcopal Church in Pottstown, as many other churches around the world, organized an Easter Egg Hunt as well, for children and families. The event was announced by the city’s local newspaper. No mention of it on the church’s official website. Many other churches that organized such events, have adopted similar strategies.
Lowry Park Zoo’s programme for primates could serve as example for many other zoos and animal breeders around the world – but how, when there’s not enough news about the programme and the event?
The Annual Easter Eggs Hunt is an opportunity to teach children about the signification of this religious holiday, while these are having fun. It’s an opportunity to educate, and motivate children to learn and participate. It shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity for financial gain. If organized properly, the Annual Easter Eggs Hunt can mean more visitors, more clients, and so on. To organize such an event and see it successful, sometimes an announcement in the local paper is not enough. This is not about attracting people from other cities, or countries. It’s about leading by example, showing the world how to make a difference at the right time.
The advice for these organizations, and others that missed the boat this time, is to plan the Annual Easter Eggs Hunt more carefully. There are many PR companies willing to conduct free campaigns for non-profits, if the cause is right. If you don’t know how to find them, contact us.
