San Diego Zoo Hires a New Ad Shop
It is a monkey that every ad firm from San Diego to Los Angeles wanted to carry on its back: the $4-million San Diego Zoo advertising account. And in a surprise announcement, zoo officials Monday fired the San Diego ad firm that had created its ads for 20 years and hired a replacement.
The big winner is Franklin & Associates, the San Diego ad agency that is owned by Great American First Savings Bank and which also creates advertising for the San Diego Padres and McDonald’s of San Diego. The big loser is Phillips-Ramsey & Associates, a San Diego ad shop that was recently purchased by the giant New York advertising agency McCann-Erickson Worldwide.
The announcement--which represents one of the most significant agency changes in the San Diego area in the past two decades--shocked executives at both agencies late Monday. Although several San Diego-area clients spend more money on advertising, the zoo has historically been a very high-profile account that tends to help attract other business.
“We feel Franklin & Associates best developed its understanding of the Zoo and Wild Animal Park marketing goals,” said Douglas G. Myers, in a statement. Myers, who is executive director of both the Zoological Society of San Diego and the Wild Animal Park, was unavailable for comment.
Advertising industry executives, however, speculate that while the zoo’s attendance has been rising for several years, zoo officials probably felt that it was costly special attractions that brought in more business--and not the advertising surrounding those attractions. At the same time, attendance at the Wild Animal Park has been steadily dropping.
“We’ve just won one of the most important pieces of business in town,” crowed Bob Cerasoli, president of Franklin. He said his agency will immediately begin to “reposition” the zoo away from other amusement park-type attractions. “We’ll present the zoo more as living theater,” he said.
While Franklin employees celebrated with champagne, there was deep disappointment at the Phillips-Ramsey offices. “I’m a little blown away,” said Richard D. Brooks, president and chief executive. “We flat didn’t expect to lose the business.” Brooks said he wasn’t certain whether the loss would result in any layoffs, but he did say his agency would immediately look for another amusement attraction as a client.
