The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is an established leader in wildlife conservation, education, and recreation, recognised globally for its impact and dedication. As one of the nation’s premier zoological institutions, the Columbus Zoo is home to animals representing over 600 species from across the world. Through partnerships, the Zoo annually supports 70 conservation projects in over 25 countries, contributing over $1.2 million to initiatives aimed at preserving wildlife and wild places. The Zoo is also an innovator in animal management and husbandry – caring for and conserving some of the world’s most endangered species through numerous programs and conservation initiatives.
With conservation at the heart of all it does, the Columbus Zoo understands the importance of sustainability for preserving animal natural habitats. Yet, operations centered around paper tickets, receipts, Zoo maps, and mailing plastic membership cards to Zoo members which also used additional labour and resources.
To align with their sustainability commitment, the digital team decided to go paperless. They envisioned a seamless, all-in-one solution that could not only integrate with their existing tools but also support meaningful connections with guests at every stage of their customer journey – from pre-visit planning to post-visit feedback.
With sustainability and guest satisfaction in mind, the Columbus Zoo turned to Attractions.io for a comprehensive mobile solution that would help them achieve their goals. The Columbus Zoo launched its new mobile app in 2023, but not before getting feedback from Zoo volunteers about the technology.
“Before we launched we invited our volunteers to test the app, and we got a lot of feedback from them,” explains Jane Cirigliano, Director of Advertising and Marketing. “By involving them in the process, they felt a sense of ownership, which helped them understand the app’s value and embrace it. Ultimately, they became advocates, promoting the app to guests via a QR code displayed on their badges.”
The team found that the app helped Zoo volunteers navigate the large site and equipped them with the knowledge to assist guests confidently. Even those new to the role could rely on the app as a personal concierge, ensuring they were well prepared to handle any guest inquiry.
It also features an interactive heat map, which the Columbus Zoo used to identify areas of high foot traffic and then prioritise key locations. This has allowed them to make data-driven decisions about where to place their beacons, thereby optimising their investment.
The app launched with a schedule of the day's events, like Zookeeper talks and cheetah runs, and push notifications to alert guests to information based on location. It also features an interactive heat map, which the Columbus Zoo is using to identify areas of high foot traffic. The Zoo’s technology team is using the heat map to conduct a feasibility assessment for a new wireless network.
The app’s mobile wayfinding guides guests through the Zoo’s numerous animal regions and even to air-conditioned spaces in particularly hot weather. Most importantly, the interactive digital map allowed the Columbus Zoo to begin phasing out paper maps as the first step in their sustainability initiative.
It wasn’t until the Zoo launched mobile wallet and digital membership cards within the app in June 2024 that they went truly paperless. With the mobile wallet, digital passes replace any kind of paper or email ticket and plastic membership card, so admission, fast-track passes and premium experiences are all stored directly in the app.
In the first month of launching Mobile Wallet and digital memberships, 94% of guests reported they had a positive experience using the app, and 50% of guests imported their tickets or passes.
With such high app usage and satisfaction rates, Columbus Zoo has stopped handing out paper maps and provides physical membership cards only upon request. Whereas they had previously produced nearly 200,000 plastic cards per year, 97% of members have now adopted digital membership.
“That’s a significant amount of plastic cards that are not going into the environment,” Bonifas says. “We have also installed recycling boxes at our gates so that guests can recycle their old cards sustainably and correctly. But it’s not just plastic cards,” he continues. “It’s printing, postage, paper waste from envelopes and even labour. It’s a huge sustainability initiative for us."
Looking forwards, Columbus Zoo plans to use data from the app to enhance their personalisation efforts. As of August, they had achieved 69% email opt-in, which the marketing team is already using for retargeting campaigns around events and upgrades. Now, they plan to start segmenting guests to deliver more personalised push notifications.
“We’ve been talking about how we can further personalise the guest experience with the new data that we have access to,” Bonifas muses. “Now that we can differentiate between the types of digital tickets or memberships guests have in their wallets and whether or not those passes have already been scanned, we can make our messaging all the more personalised and get really granular with our strategy.”
The Attractions.io platform enables real-world businesses to lead in the digital age. Our guest experience apps and powerful platform for operators provide world-renowned attractions like LEGOLAND, San Diego Zoo and Butlin’s with the tools and data they need to deliver better outcomes and experiences. From virtual queuing and interactive maps to enhanced communication with guests, we’ve got the know-how to future proof your attraction for the digital age.
