From late-night Sundown Saturdays in summer to making like a penguin on the Rockhopper Rink at Christmas, there’s never a dull moment at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)’s Edinburgh Zoo.
And while Halloween Hoots is just around the corner—an after-hours tour where visitors might spot nocturnal creations such as swooping owls—RZSS events and experiences manager Lindsay Ross has already turned her attention to spring 2024.
Delivering a seasonal calendar of creature-packed attractions and activities requires constant planning and preparation, with Lindsay and her team always thinking six to eight months ahead.
“Seasonal events are when we know we’ve got guaranteed footfall,” says Lindsay. “People are looking to do things and want somewhere to get together.”
But successfully delivering annual opportunities to make memories and build traditions—like going to a Christmas grotto each year—requires careful planning and preparation. Here are her top tips.
Get your ducks in a row
“We start with a brainstorming session, where we include people from different departments across RZSS in order to benefit from a range of different perspectives,” says Lindsay.
And, in addition to generating ideas, the team looks at figures from the outset.
“We ask ourselves, how much will it cost to put on this event? How many tickets do we need to sell to break even? And, most importantly, how does this event fit in with the zoo’s overall strategy at the time?”
“Seasonal events have to fit in with our wider aims and objectives.”
That’s because the team knows that driving attendee satisfaction is just as important as driving revenue.
“Seasonal events have to fit in with our wider aims and objectives—for example—boosting membership across the organisation. If an event encourages people to join up, we place less emphasis on it needing to be completely profitable.”
Action point: Follow our guide to setting SMART goals as soon as you start planning your seasonal event.
Resist following the herd
Throughout the year—particularly at Easter and Christmas—the Eventbrite platform sees no shortage of seasonal events. So how can yours stand out?
Lindsay says it is vital for organisers to draw on their unique selling point, which for Edinburgh Zoo is the opportunity to get closer to some of its friendlier residents than you might on a regular visit—including inquisitive armadillos and brightly-coloured corn snakes.
Last Valentine’s Day, for example, saw the inaugural Beauty and the Beasties event, where couples came for a meet-and-greet and a talk on animal behaviours and mating rituals.
“This was followed by a specially tailored menu served with wine in our historic mansion house,” adds Lindsay. “The event sold out in a day because people liked the animal element and the size of the event. In fact, it was so well received we’re doing it again next year.”
She’s quick to add that animal welfare is their number one priority. “We’re sensitive to how much the animals are handled and we manage attendee expectations by not guaranteeing what they will see,” she explains. “But we always include our USP where possible.”
Action point: Stand out from the crowd by defining your event’s USP.
Don’t be a copy cat
Talking of what people want, Lindsay often looks at what other organisations are doing in order to stand out, as opposed to offering more of the same.
The zoo’s Creep Calm workshop is all about emotional wellbeing and—you guessed it—puts creepy crawlies front and centre. Taking place in September to coincide with spider breeding season (and when the eight-legged friends tend to make their way into our homes), these interactive sessions teach mindfulness techniques to help people manage their phobias.
And to ensure the zoo stands out among other seasonal offerings, Lindsay often looks at what other organisations are doing.
“Light trails are popular among attendees and we’ve previously had festive-themed illuminations at Christmas. However, the city now has about five other trails, which has impacted our ticket sales. That actually inspired us to step away and focus on our points of difference instead.”
“Our seasonal events calendar has evolved through trial and error.”
In addition, the team identify and respond to event trends—“we’ve noticed a big change from large-scale events to more intimate events where people feel they get more personal value”—as well as broader market trends.
“When deciding on pricing, we’ve recently considered the rising cost of living to make our events as accessible as possible.”
Action point: Our latest report reveals the trends that are shaping the events industry right now.
Keep pecking away
“Our seasonal events calendar has evolved through trial and error, and if people like a format, we’ll recycle the premise at a different time of year.”
Take breakfast events, which have become the zoo’s bread and butter. After the success of the inaugural breakfast event, Spots, Tales and Breakfast Trails to launch the new giraffe enclosure, the team now host regular brekkie events such as Halloween’s spooky Zoo Boo! and Breakfast with the Clauses at Christmas.
“These involve a tour when the zoo is closed, which means people feel like they’re getting exclusive access, followed by breakfast at one of our restaurants where we have crafts for the kids,” she explains.
“The format works, which gave us the confidence to roll it. And to give Eventbrite a shout-out, we can take breakfast orders in advance when people book tickets, making it easy for our catering team.”
Action point: It’s easy to copy an existing event and update it depending on the season – find out how.
Develop a pack mentality
For the four-strong events and experiences team, that means leaning on internal resources when needed—from bringing in the discovery and learning team to deliver the educational aspects of some events to calling around different departments to find someone to perform elf duties in the Christmas grotto.
“Depending on the scale of the event, the lead-up can be quite manic. You can never be prepared enough, especially at the zoo, where things crop up that can be quite unusual, so you need lots of contingencies!”
One way to reduce the admin headache, says Lindsay, is to get to grips with the Eventbrite platform.
“Over the years, there are lots of little things we’ve learned that make a big difference.”
She points to the ability to offer members early-bird access to sell-out events via private links and promotional codes for local residents. “It’s also being able to send out reminders and customise order forms—having this product knowledge gives us flexibility.”
Action point: What will your seasonal event look like? Our strategy template poses the questions you should ask and makes navigating the Eventbrite platform easy.
