With the introduction of 20 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs for a special exhibit, Dinosaurs Alive, the Calgary Zoo needed to communicate that Prehistoric Park has been significantly transformed giving its visitors a unique experience that’s equal to practically travelling back in time.

Building on the truth that these dinosaurs are massive, loud, and scarier than ever, an integrated advertising campaign was conceived on the platform ‘More real, more scary’ that spanned across multiple mediums, including television, radio, print, billboards, non-traditional ads and stunts.

Overall, in an unfavourable winter and summer season for weather, Dinosaurs Alive! helped to buoy visitation to the Calgary Zoo both from Calgarians and visitors.

Zoo attendance was up 6,523 overall from February to October 2010, compared with the same period the previous year.

Zoo admission ticket sales through hotels during the exhibit time increased by 26%.

According to the Zoo's research, 43% of visitors surveyed came specifically to see Dinosaurs Alive!

Website visitation increased 19% over the same period the previous year (February to October) and the Dinosaurs Alive! microsite was the second-top landing page behind the Zoo website's home page.

In the year following the start of the exhibit in February 2010, Annual Pass sales were up by $350,000, and repeat visitation of pass holders increased by 18%.