Rhino Lookout
Case Study
As Woodland Park Zoo prepared to open the new Assam Rhino Reserve exhibit in May 2018, we knew visitors would want to come see Taj and Glenn, the first greater one-horned rhinoceroses in the zoo’s 119-year history. But we sought to challenge our audiences to do more than see rhinos—look out for them.
With our newly launched mission “to save wildlife and inspire everyone to make conservation a priority in their lives,” we saw the opportunity to reframe the community’s love and excitement for rhinos around a powerful shared purpose: saving species.
When 70% of Washington state voters passed the nation’s first citizen initiative to stop wildlife trafficking in 2015, one million people in our community came together to make it clear—we stand for saving species. Yet while much progress has been made around the globe, including national and international ivory bans, wildlife trafficking continues to put species on the brink of extinction. For Washingtonians who want to see the trade ended in their lifetime, our Rhino Lookout project creates a community rallying point to ignite and unite our actions.
Rhino Lookout is a storytelling project devoted to real heroes who are looking out for rhinos. Centered on a series of stories featuring community members in India and locally here in Washington, Rhino Lookout played out across a number of channels, platforms and audiences in 2018 to build awareness of the zoo’s conservation mission and instill hope for the future of rhinos.
Featured Stories and Videos
Save Us, Save You
We launched the Rhino Lookout storytelling project with a blog post filed from the field in Assam, India. Featuring the people, the animals, the challenges and the solutions, the post set up the story of the return of rhinos to Manas National Park. The blog post received 490% more views than average for the zoo.
A Second Chance for Rhinos
With a feature video, this blog post provided an overview to the conservation challenges and solutions in the fight to save greater one-horned rhinoceroses. The story sets up future featured players including Forest Guards and school children committed to conservation.
Patrolling for Poachers
…Inside the watchtower, Mr. Nath pulls on his boots, slings a rifle over his shoulder, straightens out his uniform shirt, and heads for the stairs. He’s one of eight forest guards stationed at Kuri Beel anti-poaching camp inside Manas National Park, Assam, India and he is off on a mission this morning…
A School Child’s Oath
…It’s morning and class has not yet begun. The Raghab Bill middle school students in the Manas community of Assam, India gather in the courtyard. Their chatter rivals the mynahs in nearby trees…
Meet Benny, a Certified Good Boy
…When Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Detective Lauren Wendt was searching for a new recruit, she had some criteria in mind: high energy, relentless drive, sharp senses, and a love of toys…
Additional Story Outlets
Rhino Lookout Photo Exhibition
Featuring 16 photographs by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren and label copy by Rebecca Whitham, the Rhino Lookout photo exhibition was installed in the Assam Rhino Reserve exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo in 2018. Since the addition of the photo gallery, visitor dwell time in that area of the exhibit increased by 44% from an average of 4.96 minutes to 7.16 minutes.
Mobile Beacon Technology
By incorporating location-based beacon technology with Woodland Park Zoo’s mobile application, we were able to send Rhino Lookout content to the mobile devices of zoo visitors who opted into the engagement while trekking through the Assam Rhino Reserve exhibit. A total of 2,410 app users received 13,000 content engagements during the three month pilot.
Fundraising
Leveraging the Rhino Lookout content, Woodland Park Zoo’s development staff completed their most successful GiveBIG 24-hour fundraising effort in May 2018, raising more than $100,000 from 351 donors, including a $52,500 matching fund.
Results and Awards
With hundreds of thousands reached on social media and through on grounds engagements, and thousands more engagements generated by users posting to #RhinoLookout, the campaign succeeded in raising the awareness of Woodland Park Zoo’s conservation mission and exposing wide audiences to the social norm that saving rhinos takes people (and dogs!) from all backgrounds.
In March 2019, Woodland Park Zoo was recognized for the success of the Rhino Lookout project.
WINNER
Public Relations Society of America Puget Sound
President’s Choice Award
WINNER
Public Relations Society of America Puget Sound
Totem Award for Public Service