Zoo

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How many corporate sponsors can you fit in a monkey cage?

More than $1 million worth, for starters, with plenty more to come.

The Los Angeles Zoo has taken corporate sponsorship to a whole new level, signing up to 19 different sponsors for a single exhibit its new $5 million “Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountains.”

“We are really the only city facility that has to compete on a corporate level,” said Lora LaMarca, the zoo’s director of marketing. “When you look at our competition, it’s Universal Studios and Disneyland. Our gate attendance is critical to our existence.”

To maximize the visibility of the exhibit, which opened Aug. 13, the zoo has created three levels of sponsorship: Corporate Sponsorship, Promotional Partner and Media Sponsor.

The four corporate sponsors Subway Restaurants, Kodak, Robinsons-May and PepsiCo. are putting up at least $200,000.

In return, they get their names emblazoned on banners, signs and programs. Their names will also be on permanent display within the chimpanzee exhibit itself.

The five Promotional Partners Jiffy Lube, Vons, Food4Less, Westfield Shoppingtowns and California Federal Bank are each contributing between $50,000 and $200,000. And each of the 10 Media Sponsors are putting up at least $50,000 in cash or free advertising. In return, they also get their names and logos scattered about (although not as prominently).

The various sponsorships are devised in every conceivable way to promote the exhibit. Subway has been featuring the zoo in a string of television commercials. Robinsons-May and Vons will give away free passes. The money will also be used to buy television time for the zoo’s own commercials.

The current campaign ends in November, at which time the existing sponsors will need to make further contributions to maintain their standing. Come November, zoo officials may also begin soliciting even more sponsors.

While the zoo’s sponsorship effort is among the most aggressive ever undertaken by such a facility, zoos and aquariums nationwide have been increasingly turning to the corporate world for funding.

Edison International, Atlantic Richfield Co. and American Honda each made large donations to the recently opened Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, and in return have their names associated with certain exhibits.

“It’s true that public projects with consumer interest are becoming more popular with corporate America,” said Carl Terzian, chairman of West Los Angeles-based public relations firm Carl Terzian & Associates. “Sponsoring zoos is a great way to reach out to families.”

L.A. Zoo officials said they have been able to line up sponsors because they have overcome the managerial problems that beset the institution in the past.

“This is a very new situation for us,” said zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo. “Three years ago, no sponsors wanted to get involved with us because we had a negative image.”

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