Prague – After the successful Smurf campaign in which children from across the Czech Republic collected Smurf cards to fill special albums, Albert stores have now launched a campaign with a similar concept called “Playing with animals.”
Collectible cards
From April 24 to June 5, Albert customers can collect educational cards featuring animal motifs from stores; the cards are unique in that they are “sensory,” meaning that it’s possible to touch the animal’s fur or smell its scent. The cards are designed to fill special environment-focused albums, which are full of games and competitions and cost CZK 39 (€1.58) from Albert stores. The cards can also be used to play in pairs. A trading day will be organized on June 2 in all Albert stores across the country to exchange cards, giving children the chance to collect the full set. Available for some lucky winners are 5,000 family tickets to the six leading Czech zoos.
“The mechanics are the same as our customers experienced during the Smurf campaign,” says Albert’s Marketing Director, Zlata Ulrichová. “For every CZK 200 spent in an Albert store, customers will receive a pack of two cards. The packs include 5,000 family tickets to six Czech zoos. The campaign is very different in that it offers unique sensory cards. These imitate the smell of the animal or the tactile quality of its fur. It is a great honor for our company to be able to work with the Czech zoos.“
Partnership with zoos
As a part of the marketing campaign, Albert has formed a partnership with zoos in Prague, Plzeň, Liberec, Brno, Zlín and Dvůr Králové, across the Czech Republic. Each of the zoos allowed a certain number of animals to be featured in the campaign, and two cards were produced for each animal. Customers can look forward to 20 million cards with real animal celebrities and 250,000 albums – with more to be printed if necessary. The captions on the cards were written by the zookeepers, who look after the animals every day and know them well.
“Prague Zoo has been promoting its animals via the MEET US! campaign. The concept designed by Albert fits perfectly with this, and we also have the same target group – families with children. The campaign is based on effectively combining a game (collecting cards) and education in an easy and accessible form. The graphics and language are comprehensible to younger and older children alike, and I like the design of all the printed materials, including the sensory elements,“ says Vít Kahle, Marketing & PR Manager at Prague Zoo. Through the campaign, customers meet not just any white tiger but the white tigress Surya Bára, named after the Olympic winner Bára Špotáková, as well as many more animal celebrities, of which gorilla Richard is probably the most famous.
Agents with animals
The campaign will feature Albert agents who will appear in TV commercials and on other advertising media alongside the animals. Find out more about the campaign on www.albert.cz (in Czech only).
