Hertfordshire Zoo boosts revenue with more personalised customer journeys using Spotler

Hertfordshire Zoo is a leading UK wildlife and zoo attraction, welcoming up to 500,000 visitors each year through ticket sales, memberships, and on-site experiences and events. Originally opened in the 1984 formerly known as Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire Zoo is a family operated zoological park and registered conservation charity located in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.

With a fantastic range of animals and experiences to enjoy on-site, the Zoo offers a unique and inspiring day out. 

As digital expectations grow, the team identified a major gap in their marketing: automated, personalised communication.

Headline Stats

🦁 £500,000+ in additional revenue generated from automated emails in the first year
📈 Open rates increased by 5%
🎯 Click-through rates improved while growing their reachable audience by around 70,000 contacts
💚 More relevant experiences for visitors, members and supporters

The challenge

• No advanced segmentation or dynamic audience management
• Limited personalisation capabilities
• Lack of control over marketing consent handling
• Design constraints that made consistent branding difficult
• No automation strategy to drive additional revenue

As a result, the zoo was missing opportunities to engage visitors and increase average order value through targeted communications, causing specific impact to revenue. 

Once their automated emails were set up with Spotler, they’ve generated over half a million pounds in additional revenue to help support the charities long term goals. 

The solution

Hertfordshire Zoo implemented Spotler to unlock more advanced marketing capabilities, with a strong focus on automation and segmentation. 

1. Automated email journeys 

Automation was the primary driver behind the move. Within a short time, the team launched tailored automated campaigns that:

• Engage customers at key moments in their journey
• Promote relevant experiences and upgrades
• Encourage repeat visits and higher spend

These automated emails quickly became a major revenue driver. 

2. Advanced segmentation and dynamic lists 

Spotler enabled the zoo to move from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a more sophisticated data model: 

• Creation of dynamic member lists that automatically update
• Clear distinction between members and marketing consent
• Targeted communication for “members” vs “members opted into marketing”

This ensures that only engaged, opted-in audiences receive promotional content, improving both compliance and performance.

3. Enhanced email design and branding 

With Spotler, the team significantly elevated the quality of their email communications: 

• Fully branded templates aligned with the zoo’s identity
• Embedded video content for richer storytelling
• Countdown timers to build anticipation for announcements and events

This resulted in more engaging and professional-looking campaigns. 

4. Seamless onboarding and support 

Despite working with a highly bespoke booking system, built by their inhouse team, integration with Spotler was handled smoothly: 

• Fast setup of key automated campaigns
• Strong collaboration between teams
• A seamless onboarding experience

The results

Since working with Spotler, Hertfordshire Zoo have really made an impact to their marketing and revenue. Achieving the following: 

• £500,000+ in additional revenue generated from automated emails in the first year
• Increased average order value driven by targeted upsell communications
• Contribution to a record-breaking year for the zoo
• Significant improvement in email engagement and brand consistency

Automation alone unlocked a revenue stream that previously didn’t exist. 
 
Since implementing Spotler, the team has been able to build on their existing email performance and further strengthen results across key metrics. 

In addition to growing their reachable audience by approximately 70,000 contacts, Hertfordshire Zoo have seen a steady uplift in engagement: 

• Delivered (avg per campaign send): increased from 116,599 to 193,681
• Open Rate: improved from 32.29% to 37.31%
• Click Through Rate (CTR): increased from 1.34% to 1.60%
• Click to Open Rate (CTOR): improved from 4.07% to 4.30%

These improvements reflect a more connected approach to data, segmentation and personalisation, helping to drive incremental gains across both reach and engagement. We’re so excited to see where they go from here! And equally excited to be a part of the journey.

Looking ahead

Hertfordshire Zoo continues to expand its use of Spotler, with plans to further enhance visitor engagement:

• Refining segmentation and dynamic audience strategies
• Expanding personalised marketing campaigns
• Exploring mobile engagement opportunities such as SMS and app-based notifications

Conclusion

By moving beyond basic email marketing tools like Mailchimp, Hertfordshire Zoo has transformed its digital marketing approach.

With Spotler, the team now delivers smarter, more personalised campaigns that drive measurable revenue and enhance the visitor experience.  
 
Using strong commercial intent, time-bound urgency and clear value messaging within their campaigns, Hertfordshire Zoo has increased their email automation results using scalable formats. 

With highly targeted campaigns they’ve been able to achieve exceptional engagement. Demonstrating perfectly what strong relevance looks like.