April 6, 2012

Mr. Jean-Francois PhaneufDirector of Artistic Operations, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra1020 – 555 Main StreetWinnipeg, MB R3B 1C3

Dear Mr. Phaneuf:

The Assiniboine Park Zoo wishes to invite the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to play a starring role in a one-of-a-kind event that aims to raise funds for the Zoo’s educational and outreach programs for young people.

The event we’re proposing is Animal Classical, an evening of great works of classical music inspired by animals and performed by the WSO in the heart of the Zoo. As you will see in the attached proposal, the event has been designed to put the WSO front and centre, expose new audiences to classical music, and draw the Zoo’s audiences to your own educational and outreach programs. Animal Classical also offers the WSO opportunities to strengthen relationships by providing its own audiences with a memorable, educational and entertaining musical experience they can enjoy with their families.

In the proposal, we share our vision of the event (which we propose for the summer of 2013) and the promotional activities we’ll undertake to engage the widest possible audience. We highlight how we’ll leverage the resources of the Zoo and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy to generate the greatest possible return on investment for the WSO. And, of course, we outline the support we need to make the event a success for both our organizations.

As you’ll see, we believe magical things can happen when animals and music come together in the imaginations of young people and veteran classical music buffs alike. We hope you’ll help us create an experience that delights audiences and inspires the young people who will become our patrons and supporters in the future.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to phone me at the number below. I’ll contact you next week to discuss your thoughts on the proposal in more detail.

Sincerely,

Ryan McBrideSponsorship and Grants OfficerAssiniboine Park Zoo55 Pavilion Park CrescentWinnipeg, MB R3P 2N6(204) 898-1070rmcbride@assiniboinepark.ca

ANIMAL Classical

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A Sponsorship Proposal

Presented to: The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Presented by:The Assiniboine Park Zoo

April 6, 2012

ANIMAL Overture 1 o

Situation Analysis 2 b

The Event:Animal Classical 4

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Promotion 6 '

Proposed Budget 86

Sponsorship 9e

Rationale 11vProposed Evaluation 13u

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Animal Classical is an evening of great works of classical music inspired by animals and performed by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in the heart of the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The aim of the concert, which we’re proposing for late July 2013, is to generate awareness of, and raise funds for, the Zoo’s educational and outreach programs for young people. These programs, which include daycamps, guided tours, Zoo sleepovers and classes, inspire young people to take an active role in preserving the natural world around them. Your title sponsorship will help us draw a crowd of thousands and reach our target of over $25,000 in ticket sales and donations at the event.

In return, Animal Classical offers the WSO an opportunity to enhance relationships with its current audiences (including families and young people), demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the cultural life of the Winnipeg community, and promote symphonic music to new audiences in a fresh, meaningful and entertaining way.

The target audiences for Animal Classical are:

J WSO subscribers, season ticket holders and regular concertgoers – specifically, those with children in their families;

J Assiniboine Park Conservancy and Zoo members and visitors – specifically, those with children in their families;

J Winnipeg families eager for value-added events that educate and entertain.

Overture o

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Situation Analysis b

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra generously sponsors and partners with many Winnipeg arts and cultural organizations to provide diverse audiences with enriched cultural experiences. While sponsoring a fundraiser in support of a zoo might seem an unusual proposition, we’re excited by the potential for Animal Classical to benefit both our organizations, and the audiences who make them possible. Here’s why:

J The WSO and the Zoo actively engage in outreach and educational programs that reach thousands of children each year. Animal Classical will serve our mutual commitment to these programs by introducing our audiences to one another, and by providing both with a memorable experience that demonstrates what our programs have to offer. Parents who see their children enjoying this event will be more likely to become new ticket holders and Zoo patrons. Children who enjoy this event will be more likely to encourage their parents to bring them back for more – and become the WSO subscribers and Zoo members of the future.

J In spite of decreasing support for symphony orchestras in general, WSO ticket sales increased 10 per cent in 2010-2011 – a clear sign that Winnipeggers still value arts and culture. Nevertheless, it’s still a challenge to keep top-of-mind in a market full of entertainment opportunities, and the Jets now offer yet another high-end price tag option for families. The WSO still has a big job to do. By sponsoring Animal Classical, the WSO can further enhance its relationship with its own audiences by offering them a chance to appreciate the music they love in a unique setting.

J The WSO receives only 40 per cent of what it costs to present a full season of performances from actual ticket sales. It relies on sponsorships and donations from corporations, funders and individual donors to enrich the community with world-class music. Sponsoring Animal Classical will provide the WSO with an opportunity to demonstrate first-hand its value to the community and the generous support it gives to local organizations, and to persuade more people and organizations to show their support for the Orchestra through donations and sponsorships.

J During the summer, between 3,500 and 4,000 people visit the Zoo every day. On Canada Day, that number increases to 37,000 people. We’ll promote Animal Classical in a manner that none of the people passing through our gates can fail to miss – and put the WSO, our title sponsor, front and centre.

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J The International Polar Bear Conservation Centre opened in 2012 as part of the Journey to Churchill exhibit, which will open in the fall of 2013. Both projects have attracted, and will continue to attract, significant media and public attention. The outreach and educational programs that grow out of these developments will feature prominent recognition of the WSO’s role in making them possible, and remind everyone who visits that art and nature aren’t worlds apart.

J Assiniboine Park, where the Zoo is located, attracts more than four million visitors a year; it’s one of the most frequently visited attractions in Manitoba. We can leverage the Park’s popularity by publicizing the event at all Assiniboine Park facilities and in all appropriate Park publications and collateral.

J Both organizations have extensive membership databases we can use to promote the event to audiences already on board with what we do.

J The Zoo will leverage existing partnerships with Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg to promote the event and expand recognition of the WSO’s starring role after the event has taken place. This will extend the event’s promotion and further enhance the Orchestra’s profile beyond the city.

J An event of this size will require substantial volunteer support. We’ll draw from the Zoo and Conservancy’s solid volunteer base to make Animal Classical a memorable experience for the WSO and its audiences.

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Stand in the heart of the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Close your eyes.

Listen.

This is what you hear...

The haunting cry of exotic birds. The muffled rumble of the lion’s roar. The staccato chatter of monkeys at play. The musical whinny of the zebra. The elephant’s brassy bellow.

At once familiar and strange, these sounds are a natural symphony that has inspired some of the world’s most memorable works of classical music.

Examples such as “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns, “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev, and “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov immediately leap to mind because of their energy, enduring appeal, and the fact that for many of us, they are the first pieces of classical music to which we were introduced as children.

Animal Classical is a musical evening that aims to bring both symphonies – the natural and the classical – together.

The event is a two-hour outdoor concert to be held on a Friday or Saturday evening in late July 2013, in the heart of the Assiniboine Park Zoo. We have several spaces to choose from that would accomodate the size of audience we’re hoping to draw – somewhere in the vicinity of a thousand people.

The Zoo gates normally close at 4 p.m.; however, on the evening of the concert, a ticket to the event gives concertgoers access to the Zoo grounds at 6 p.m. The Zoo grounds and exhibits will remain open throughout the concert. We’ll amplify the sounds of the performance through the Zoo’s broadcast system so it can be heard from everywhere our visitors might wander to – although we anticipate that most of our audience will want to gather where the Orchestra is, spread picnic blankets and set up folding chairs, and take in the show. Zoo concessions and Animal Tracks Cafe, staffed by our volunteers, will offer refreshments throughout the evening, with all profits going towards helping cover the cost of the event.

Outdoor events are always at the mercy of the weather. The WSO, of course, has experience putting on outdoor concerts “rain or shine” -- we’ll rely on the Orchestra’s expertise to ensure that suitable coverage is provided for the outdoor stage.

The Event:Animal Classical

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We’ll encourage audience members – and Orchestra performers – to come as their favourite zoo animal. And, of course, we’ll encourage the young “animals” in the audience to behave accordingly as the music plays. Because this is no ordinary night at the symphony. Tonight, the symphony shows us its animal side.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. following opening remarks from spokespersons of the WSO and the Zoo. Remarks throughout the evening can highlight how many of the animals found in our Zoo have inspired some of the world’s great music, how this music can deepen our appreciation of the animals, and how the WSO and the Zoo are actively engaged in educational and outreach programs that enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of youth and our community.

The WSO has final say in choosing the musical program. The ideal concert will be dynamic, entertaining, and accessible to audiences of all ages: our goal is to strike a chord with as wide an audience as possible.

Because one of the event’s key objectives is to draw attention to the Zoo’s outreach and educational programs, we’d like the climax of the concert to help our audience appreciate the value of the natural world and the efforts of zoos and conservationists to protect it.

A two-minute “symphony of silence” from the Orchestra will draw the audience’s attention to the natural symphony of the Zoo. We’ll provide a recording of animal sounds to broadcast in the event the animals are too quiet (like the best music, they can be unpredictable), and then fade to silence.

Following the “symphony of silence”, WSO Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate will face the audience and invite members of all ages to let out the voice of their favourite zoo animal in a deafening audience-performed finale.

The Zoo will provide the WSO with a table at the event to promote its outreach initiatives, sell tickets, subscriptions and memberships, accept donations, etc.

Tickets to Animal Classical will be available through the WSO box office, at the Zoo gates, and on our websites. Provisional pricing is $20 for adults and $10 children under the age of 12. WSO season ticket holders and members of the Zoo may be eligible for discounted prices. All proceeds (minus event costs) will go towards enhancing the Zoo’s educational and outreach initiatives.

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The following section outlines the creative promotional tactics the Zoo will undertake to publicize Animal Classical to its target audiences. Our promotional strategy is to engage audiences of all ages, maximize attendance at the event and, in all instances, put the WSO in the spotlight as the event’s title sponsor.

To this end, the official title of the event in our promotions will be “The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Presents: Animal Classical at the Assiniboine Park Zoo”.

ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIATwo months leading up to the concert, we’ll begin promoting the event in earnest on winnipegzoo.ca, through our Facebook page at facebook.com/assiniboineparkzoo, and our Twitter stream, @assiniboinezoo.

CONTESTSWe’ll engage our audiences by holding contests that ask them to share their favourite animal-inspired piece of classical music. Maybe they want to videotape themselves humming a few bars, or dancing to it; we’ll certainly encourage them to send us the results to win free tickets to the concert. And we’ll give one lucky winner under the age of 12 not only free tickets to the event, but an invitation to conduct the Orchestra. (All the better if, during this part of the performance, the performers themselves start behaving like unruly animals!)

We’ll also ask our audiences to tell us what animal best describes WSO Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate. We’ll leave it up to him if he wants to show up for the occasion dressed accordingly.

POSTERS, FLYERS, EMAIL BLASTSThe Zoo will also promote the event through posters and flyers at the Zoo, and email blasts to our members. We’ll provide these materials to the WSO for distribution to their members and audiences as well.

ONLINE COMMUNITY EVENT BULLETINSWe’ll post full event details on online community event bulletins. We’ll also approach Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg (two of our current partners) to promote the event in its brochures, website and social media.

Promotion '

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MEDIA COVERAGEWe’ll attract media coverage by issuing news releases to local newspapers, radio stations and television stations. The event promises the kind of visual spectacle and community interest the local media will be eager to cover.

FLASH MOBSIn the weeks leading up to the event, we’ll stage flash mobs at the Zoo (and possibly other public places with high traffic, such as The Forks, Polo Park Shopping Centre and St. Vital Centre). A parade of volunteers dressed up or face-painted as animals will dance to a piece of classical music and pass out handbills promoting the concert. Flash mobs that take place at peak times near the Zoo gates will be hard for any of our 3,500 to 4,000 daily visitors to miss on their way in or out. They’ll have an even greater impact on Canada Day, when 37,000 people are expected to visit.

POST-EVENT COVERAGEAfter the event, we’ll be pleased to post media coverage, photos and video of the event on our website. We’ll publish a full-page story about the concert in the next issue of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy Newsletter, which comes out three times a year. We’ll invite Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg to post stories on their websites after the event as well.

These stories will highlight the essential role the WSO played in making the event a success, raising funds that enrich our community, and bringing music and animal lovers together.

The WSO can provide further promotional support through: email blasts to WSO members; on-stage promotion at WSO concerts and events; promotion of the event in concert programs, the WSO website and social media; distribution of handbills and posters at the Centennial Concert Hall; ticket sales at the WSO box office.

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Proposed Budget6

The following table outlines the proposed budget for the Animal Classical event and promotions:

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ITEM HOURS DOLLARS

Animal Classical concert, including rehearsals and performance

20

*$25,000

Transportation for orchestra 2 *$3,000 Sound, including equipment, transportation, set-up, monitoring, takedown

4

*$2,000

Lighting, including equipment, transportation, set-up, monitoring, takedown

4

*$2,000

Stage, including transportation, set-up, takedown 2 *$1,000 Seating area (chairs), including set-up and takedown 4 ***$0 Refreshments for performers, staff, volunteers 3 **$1000 Event coordination, liaison with WSO 40 ***$0 Zoo volunteers to run event, including training/ coordination, admission/ticket sales, concession, guides, set-up and takedown Zoo security Thank-you gifts

12

3 2

***$0

$1000 **$500

Ticket design and printing 3 $400 Promotions:

Design of posters, handbills, event banners, signage and programs Printing Distribution (volunteers) Email blasts to members (writing, design, distribution) News releases Media interviews Website and social media maintenance Contest prizes (Zoo memberships)

20 12 25

8 8 8

600 8

**$500 **$2000

$0 $0

***$0 ***$0 ***$0

$500 Flash mobs:

Performers (volunteers) including rehearsal and performance Costumes and/or makeup (provided by volunteers or donated by partner) Thank-you gifts for volunteers

20

0 4

$0

$0 **$500

Photography (flash mobs and event) 10 $500 Videography (flash mobs and event) – including editing 10 $1,000 Gifts to performers (Zoo memberships) 1 $2,000 Insurance 6 **$5,000 Evaluation 100 ***$0

TOTAL 943 $48,400

* Donated in part by title sponsor ** Donated in whole or part by secondary sponsor *** Cost covered by Assiniboine Park Zoo administrative and operational budget

SponsorshipeTo support the Animal Classical fundraiser, the Assiniboine Park Zoo is asking the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to donate:

J 60 per cent of the total cost of a two-hour evening concert, including rehearsal, performance, sound, lighting and stage equipment. Estimated value: $(OMITTED).

J Promotional support: email blasts to WSO members; on-stage promotion at WSO concerts and events; promotion of the event in concert programs, the WSO website and social media; distribution of handbills and posters at the Centennial Concert Hall; ticket sales at the WSO box office.

J Set-up, takedown and transportation of the Orchestra to and from the event.

In return for the WSO’s generous support, the Assiniboine Park Zoo will provide the WSO with:

J Recognition in the event title: “The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra Presents: Animal Classical at the Assiniboine Park Zoo”. This name, and prominent positioning of the WSO logo, will appear on all event-related materials, including signage, posters, email blasts, handbills, tickets, Zoo website, and in all media references to the event by Zoo and Conservancy representatives.

J Promotional materials for the WSO to distribute to its own audiences.

J Complimentary Assiniboine Park Zoo memberships for all performers who participate in the event. (Value: $40 per individual adult, $35 for adults over 65, and $95 for family memberships.)

J Five (5) complimentary Zoo memberships for the WSO to give away to its own subscribers/audiences in its promotion of the event.

J All promotional, advertising and similar collateral for Assiniboine Park Zoo educational and outreach programs for children will feature “Made possible by the generous support of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra” and accompanying logo.

J A table at the event for the WSO to promote its upcoming concerts, programs, subscriptions and season ticket packages.

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In order to offset the cost of producing and promoting this event, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and Zoo will pursue additional sponsorship support from our current partners, Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg. Both will be eager to sponsor this event because it promotes the city and province as destinations where world-class attractions such as the WSO and the Zoo come together to make amazing things happen.

The WSO already has established relationships with transportation, sound, lighting and stage equipment providers; the Zoo will approach these for potential sponsorships as well. (Secondary sponsor recognition will in no instance compete with or detract from the WSO’s profile as title sponsor.)

We’ll also seek opportunities to cover our expenses by increasing Zoo merchandizing efforts before and during the event: we’ll offer specially discounted items to Zoo patrons on mobile carts located strategically throughout the grounds, for instance – especially on Canada Day. We’re also looking into producing CD and/or DVD recordings of the concert to sell after the event.

Additionally, the WSO may wish to leverage sponsorship of Animal Classical for maximum positive impact on its own audiences by:

J Encouraging performers to dress up or have their faces painted as their favourite animal for the event;

J Contributing volunteers (including musicians) to our promotional flash mobs and the event;

J Participating in our social media promotions – for instance, Alexander Mickelthwate may wish to participate in our social media campaign by engaging directly with his Twitter and Facebook audience;

J Engaging in media interviews to help promote the event – especially high-profile WSO figures such as Alexander Mickelthwate;

J Promoting its concerts and outreach/educational programming at Animal Classical;

J Offering discounted membership rates or ticket prices for families attending Animal Classical;

J Posting coverage of the event on the WSO website, and sharing in the event’s success by announcing how much money the WSO helped raise.

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Inspiring young people to appreciate the natural world – from the animals that populate it to the efforts of conservationists to preserve it for future generations – is an undeniably worthwhile cause.

By engaging the imaginations of our audience in creative ways, we persuade them, whatever age they may be, to look with fresh eyes upon the fellow creatures that inhabit this earthly stage with us.

By invoking the symphony of animals, we show them the value of the creatures in our zoos, our parks, in the shrinking wilderness regions around the world.

By invoking silence, we draw their attention to what could be, and has already been, lost forever. We motivate our audience to take action, whether it’s by supporting our efforts today or in the future.

Animal Classical will help the Assiniboine Park Zoo achieve these aims by delivering our message to a wider audience, in a way that delights and entertains. But this event will not be possible without the generous support and world-renowned talent of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

This is why it’s so important to us that we offer you the maximum possible value for the support you provide. We’re certain that title

Rationalev

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sponsorship of Animal Classical will help the WSO achieve its own communications and business goals because the event will:

J Expose new audiences to classical music and attract them to WSO events, concerts, membership, and outreach programs;

J Provide an experience that parents and young people can share, whether they love music or animals or both;

J Enhance the WSO’s profile in the city and beyond by helping create a newsworthy, one-of-a-kind event that draws a huge crowd;

J Highlight the WSO’s value not just to the city’s arts and cultural community, but to all communities and organizations that seek to educate and inspire young people. Your support will encourage people and organizations to support not only the Zoo, but the Orchestra with future sponsorships, partnerships and donations;

J Provide the WSO with creative promotional opportunities, such as flash mobs and social media contests, that engage, build and strengthen relationships with new and existing audiences.

Finally, even an orchestra has a wild side. We hope you’ll let it out, and help our audience appreciate how fun it can be to give voice to the animal in all of us.

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We’ll measure the effectiveness of the Animal Classical fundraiser and promotional strategies before, during and after the event to help the WSO consider future sponsorship opportunities.

J One of our key objectives is to raise funds for the Assiniboine Park Zoo’s education and outreach programs. Specifically, our goal is attract at least 1,000 people to the Animal Classical event and raise $25,000. We’ll measure attendance figures and dollars raised to find out how successful we were in meeting this objective.

We’ll also measure:

J Regular membership and ticket sales for both organizations during our promotional campaign and at the event;

J Participation in our outreach programs in the months following the event, to determine how well Animal Classical raised awareness of what the Zoo and the WSO have to offer;

J The effectiveness of our social media campaign, by tracking not only our message output, but Twitter retweets, Facebook “likes”, comments, website traffic, contest entries, and the kinds of responses we receive from our audiences;

J Media coverage of the event, by tracking the number of news releases, hits, media attendance at the event, and the quality of coverage we receive;

J Our adherence to the budget, by monitoring expenditures and providing full financial reports after the event;

J Our success in attracting secondary sponsors for the event, by measuring the dollars, services and participation they contribute;

J The effectiveness of our sponsor recognition and experience, by meeting with sponsors before the event to determine if we’re providing what we promised and what they want; by conducting sponsor surveys after the event to measure their views of the partnership; and by issuing surveys to our mutual audiences after the event to measure how their attitudes changed as a result of the event and related promotions;

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Proposed Evaluationu

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J Public perception of the fundraiser, by tracking the quantity and quality of comments left on our websites, and those on which any related online media coverage is posted, after the event;

J The experience we provide our audiences, by watching how much fun they’re having and engaging with them directly!

We will establish an evaluation reporting schedule structure with the WSO in the early stages of planning this event. We recommend weekly reports during the three-month period leading up to the event, and monthly reports in the six-month period after the event.

Any evaluation the WSO undertakes of the sponsorship’s impact on its own business and communications – including membership and ticket sales, donations, responses to promotional activities, etc. – will sharpen the ability of both organizations to measure the success of this event.

Thank you.

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