NIGHT SAFARI’S HALLOWEEN HORRORS 2009 CREEPS OFF WITH ‘BEST INNOVATIVE MARKETING INITIATIVE’ PRIZE AT SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE AWARDS

Singapore, 28 October 2010 – Night Safari, the world’s first wildlife park for nocturnal animals, has won the ‘Best Innovative Marketing Initiative’ for its Halloween Horrors 2009 campaign at this year’s Singapore Experience Awards. This is the first time Night Safari has been awarded this accolade at these Awards, which are hosted by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

Night Safari’s Halloween Horrors trumped competition from Shangri-La Hotel’s ‘Flash your age’ and Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre’s ’Suntec First’ initiatives.

The ‘Most Innovative Marketing Initiative’ award recognises campaigns that have demonstrated ingenuity, technical quality, considered planning and effective execution in creating an integrated brand marketing campaign specific to an event in Singapore.

Shortlisted entries were judged on the creativeness of the campaign, the ‘look and feel’ of collaterals and materials generated, and most importantly, the success of the campaign. Bonus points were awarded for companies who took into consideration factors such as corporate social responsibility, as well as the ability to enhance the positioning of Singapore as a choice destination.

To promote Halloween Horrors last year, Night Safari embarked on a 360-campaign, which tapped on various channels such as electronic direct mailers, Facebook, posters and in-park collaterals. They also used Foosti Mobile Marketing which is a location-based service, and created a micro-site to engage its customers. One interesting feature of this portal was an e-postcard function, which allowed people to send greetings to friends and share information about the event.

“We were up against some tough competition and we are honoured that Night Safari has won this prestigious award. Halloween Horrors is a premier annual event for Night Safari, so it is important for us to develop a strong marketing campaign around it. Last year, we had a cohesive and integrated campaign that could be carried across various platforms including traditional print media, new media as well as videos. We had received very positive feedback on our marketing initiatives and look forward to developing more innovative campaigns in the future,” said Ms Isabel Cheng, WRS’ director of marketing, sales and communication.

NIGHT SAFARI OFFERS THE BEST VISITOR ATTRACTION EXPERIENCE ONCE AGAIN

Singapore, 28 October 2010 – Night Safari, the world’s first night zoo, has been recognised for providing the ‘Best Visitor Attraction Experience’ at the Singapore Experience Awards 2010 yet again. Hosted and presented by Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Experience Awards honours organisations and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to enhance Singapore’s image as a premier tourist destination.

The world famous Night Safari beat two other nominees; Singapore Zoo, which is also managed by parent company Wildlife Reserves Singapore, and Singapore Botanic Gardens, to win the ‘Best Visitor Attraction Experience’ category.

Results were unveiled at a gala presentation ceremony at the Shangri-La Singapore earlier this evening, which was graced by Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education, Mr S Iswaran. This year saw a total of 83 finalists shortlisted in 27 award categories. Finalists in each category were nominated by industry players and experts, with the final winner picked by a panel of judges.

The ‘Best Visitor Attraction Experience’ award recognises visitor attractions which provide their guests with memorable experiences through the delivery of services, facilities, exhibitions and environments. Shortlisted attractions were judged on their ability to attract local and foreign tourists and positively promote Singapore as a premier tourist destination. Finalists were also scored against factors such as highlights of the attraction, innovative initiatives undertaken to enhance clientele experience, overall guest experience, marketing strategies and other accolades awarded previously. Another important criterion for the category was a mystery shopping experience at the shortlisted attraction by the judging panel.

Ms Fanny Lai, Group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: “We are very happy and proud to receive this award for the ninth time. It is a clear endorsement of our hard work and commitment to achieving and maintaining the best international standards for our wildlife parks. We will continue to set the bar higher for ourselves every year, to provide our guests with their most memorable experiences at Night Safari and our other attractions, Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park.”

Night Safari was also most recently awarded “Most Popular Asian Attraction” for the Wildlife Park category at the 2010 Asian Attraction Award presented by The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

In addition, Night Safari will be launching a new in-park attraction. Inspired by the Naracoorte Cave National Park in Australia, the Night Safari has constructed its very own Naracoorte Cave which will house mysterious cave creatures such as bats, snakes and scorpions. The new attraction will be officially launched in early 2011.