Diergaarde Blijdorp

Corporate CMS Website and App

Roaring into the digital era: Diergaarde Blijdorp’s digital transformation 

Challenge

Help Blijdorp transform their entire digital ecosystem and technological infrastructure to reflect their new mission and create “wow” experiences, while also diversifying their revenue streams.

Outcome

A refreshed future-proof website that evidently showcase Blijdorp’s transformation into a purpose-driven organization. A new interactive app enhances visitor experience, creating the best day possible at the park, while educating the visitors about the state of nature and Blijdorp’s conservation efforts. Together these diversify revenue streams and inspire contributions toward a sustainable future.

Impact

With nearly 1.5 million visitors a year to the park, having better online accessibility across Blijdorp’s new digital ecosystem enables them to reach a wider audience of customers, and further elevate customers' perception of their conservation effort.

Expanding

mission to 25% more customers

Purpose-driven digital strategies

Refreshing Blijdorp's digital ecosystem was the outcome of the transformation they were undergoing. With the new positioning, it was essential to redefine the way Blijdorp’s audience digitally connects with the brand and nature, while also empowering their audience to make impactful contributions to the preservation of our planet's precious wildlife.

Blijdorp sought our expertise to revamp their website and develop a native app to meet customer expectations and reflect their commitment to conservation. The goal was to create “wow” experiences, educate people of all ages and backgrounds about wildlife, and create sustainable revenue streams that secure the future of Blijdorp's mission.

When it comes to creating exceptional digital experiences, our approach relies heavily on Design Thinking principles. We applied the same winning strategy to Blijdorp. Our first step was to thoroughly analyze all of their target groups and understand their specific needs. We carefully matched these needs with the business objectives of Blijdorp, seamlessly blending them to overhaul the website and create the app.

Creating zoo-tiful digital solutions

To showcase Blijdorp’s commitment to saving species and their habitats, the website highlights Blijdorp’s conservation efforts, including impact areas and inspiring stories about challenges in species preservation and nature restoration. Moreover, the digital platform features captivating illustrations and wildlife-inspired photography that portray species in their natural habitats.

The platform prioritizes user experience (UX) with smooth navigation and a detailed calendar system. It showcases scheduled events and offers insights into the park’s busiest days, empowering visitors to plan their Blijdorp experience. Furthermore, it supports Blijdorp’s sales with an integrated ticket management system, ReCreateX, and a customer relationship management (CRM) system, HubSpot, helping to diversify revenue streams.

While the digital hub serves as Blijdorp’s online global home, educating visitors and helping them plan their park visit, the app takes the experience to the next level, acting as their trusty sidekick to maximize their enjoyment during their time at the park.

Particularly, the app features provide an up-to-date daily agenda, with walking route suggestions, notable feedings that can be observed, and a complete index of their animals, plant life, and monumental buildings. Ultimately these features aim to raise awareness about wildlife and guide visitors to make a positive impact.

Wild innovations

Funding is crucial for sustaining Blijdorp’s operations and impactful work. Achieving long-term growth while meeting customer expectations requires a strategic approach. When it came to integrating the right innovative technologies, we evaluated both the risks and benefits for Blijdorp. We made sure to focus on system improvement and enhancing Blijdorp’s overall customer experience (CX).

As a purpose-driven organization, Blijdorp's clear mission backs up our technology decisions. We prioritize what aligns with their goals, and in turn, ensure that it results in a high return on investment (ROI).

In the future, Blijdorp will harness their expertise to create paid educational revenue streams that contribute to their funding. These include exclusive paid educational content on the Blijdorp app, along with exclusive content offerings for members on a future digital platform. Keep an eye out!

‘Design systems form the backbone of a consistent CX. Blijdorp's streamlined ecosystem of design - created with Adobe - highlights how design systems enable innovation while maintaining the consistent foundation of the Blijdorp brand. This supports a seamless customer journey that enhances customer satisfaction and drives conversions.’
Michael Vromans
Chief Creative Officer at DPDK

An exclusive look into Blijdorp’s digital transformation

Curious to learn more about the full brand transformation? Put together by our CEO, Pim van Helten, in collaboration with Blijdorp's CMO, Carolien Ottjes, From zoo to conservation icon offers an inside look into the strategic and creative thinking that drove Blijdorp’s revitalized digital ecosystem, innovative sustainable revenue streams, and cutting-edge technological advancements. Explore the key takeaways from Blijdorp’s journey and how you can use them to elevate your brand. Get your digital copy now!

Technology

The Blijdorp website and app are designed using Prismic and React. Prismic is a versatile headless content management system (CMS) that grants our team the creative freedom to design and customize Blijdorp's digital ecosystem, creating sleek and innovative touchpoints.

React, which plays a key role alongside Prismic, is recognized as a highly developer-friendly tool. With its robust open-source JavaScript library, it is a preferred choice for many developers. In fact, DPDK's technical component library is based on React, which further enhances our capabilities and expertise in harnessing the power of this technology for creating innovative and interactive solutions for Blijdorp. Adobe's creative software allowed for a consistent and engaging UX and CX across Blijdorp’s digital touchpoints.

Together these cutting-edge technologies create a harmonious blend that elevates and future-proofs Blijdorp's online presence and UX.

To explore Blijdorp’s captivating digital storytelling content and marketing strategies, follow this link.

System Integrations

ReCreateX, Adobe Firefly, Illustrator, Photoshop AI, InDesign, After Effects

Tech partners

Highlights

In the midst of juggling the complexities and challenges of overseeing various aspects across multiple projects, our team's collaborative spirit shone through, resulting in a wildly successful delivery.
Creating an accessible website and a native app that offers a great CX for people from all walks of life.