From the screen to the enclosure: the gamification strategy at ZooParc de Beauval
In a particularly dynamic French tourism market (100M tourists), the competitiveness of a brand or chain depends on its ability to maintain a continuous link with its visitors, well beyond the visit itself. Faced with a seasonality and fundamental challenges – animal welfare, biodiversity preservation, raising public awareness – zoological parks must evolve their communication toward a more sustainable dialogue.
A triple objective:
- Recruiting: collect qualified data (opt-in) to limit the intermittence of the activity.
- Engage: animate communities all year round, beyond the highlights.
- Raising awareness: promote the park’s actions in an educational and entertaining way.
Gamification provides an effective response to these three challenges. By integrating game mechanics into its marketing strategy, the ZooParc de Beauval transforms every digital interaction into a double lever: engaging relationships and raising awareness of biodiversity.
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ZooParc de Beauval: a year-round gamification player
Nearly one French person in three visit a zoo every year. In this competitive family business, standing out from the crowd requires an innovative relational strategy.
ZooParc de Beauval is France’s most visited zoological park, with 1.9 million visitors in 2024. But its ambition goes far beyond the physical visit. The park aims to :
- maintain a relationship with its audience all year round,
- generate traffic to the website and box office
- enrich your CRM base with qualified leads.
To orchestrate this strategy, ZooParc de Beauval is deploying continuous gamified activations with the Adictiz platform.
Interactive mini-sites accessible on mobile, social networks, the website or via QR codes multiply the points of contact. The objective is transversal: to combine education, emotion and marketing performance in each activation.
Key operations at ZooParc de Beauval
ZooParc de Beauval’s gamification strategy has been rolled out across several events throughout the year, enabling us to reactivate the audience while targeting the company’s strategic objectives (acquisition, engagement, conversion, loyalty, etc.).
Attracting a new audience: the “Tour de France” wheel of fortune
To celebrate its 45th anniversary, the brand deployed a Wheel of Fortune during the Tour de France. This mobile-first operation distributed via QR code in the Tour Caravan generated impressive results:
- Engagement score: 164,000 visitors,
- Conversion: 31,000 clicks to the site.
The prizes on offer covered a wide spectrum: discounts, free admission, VIP experiences and stays. The aim was to reach new audiences beyond the park’s regular visitors. The connected offline system was also perfectly aligned with the ZooParc’s family-friendly, accessible DNA.
This campaign illustrates the power of gamification for lead generation. An opt-in rate greater than 50% far exceeds industry standards. Participants are more willing to share their contact details in exchange for a fun experience and attractive rewards.
Creating emotional closeness: the “Which panda sleeps in you?” test
For instance, the personality test “Which panda sleeps in you?” generated 30,300 visitors and 21,200 registrations. The immersive format featured a draw with exclusive prizes VIP guided tour and free admission.
The objective went beyond simple data collection. By using these mechanics, the park aimed to relational engagement and deepening customer knowledge. The “feel good”, conversational format strengthened the emotional bond between visitors and the world of pandas, the park’s emblematic animals.
Furthermore, the 3,800 clicks generated to the site demonstrate the effectiveness of this format for generating qualified traffic. Participants who discover their “panda profile” develop a personal connection with the world of the park, which promotes conversion and long-term loyalty.
Boosting traffic during peak seasons: the “en route to Beauval” outrun
Another example is the “Outrun” campaign featuring a family on their way to the park. This operation generated 116,000 visitors and 4,800 clicks. Visual storytelling and immediate mechanics maximized engagement: participants easily identified with this family on their way to a day of adventure, and the prizes on offer (stays, tickets) directly encouraged conversion at the ticket office.
This campaign illustrates gamification’s ability to transform peak visitor numbers into usable CRM data to animate off-season audiences.
Create an event around a new feature: the Mega Jump “arrival of the golden monkeys”.
The arrival of the golden monkeys at ZooParc de Beauval in April 2025 was accompanied by an arcade game, the Mega Jump. This activation generated 65,000 visitors, 43,000 registrations and 7,000 clicks to the site – the highest opt-in rate of all the brand’s campaigns.
This result can be explained by the combination of an eagerly-awaited novelty and an addictive mechanic. But the operation also had an educational dimension: participants discovered the specific features of this rare species in an interactive way, reinforcing the ZooParc de Beauval’s mission to raise awareness.
Why gamification works for ZooParc de Beauval
The alignment between gamification and the animal world is a natural one. The ZooParc de Beauval’s family-friendly, fun and educational positioning lends itself perfectly to game mechanics. Visitors expect the entertainment and wonder. Gamification extends this promise beyond the ZooParc.
The exchange of value remains clear. Participants receive entertainment, a chance to win attractive prizes and an experience that strengthens their bond with the ZooParc. In return, they share opt-in qualified data. This transparent reciprocity generates a high rate of engagement.
Gamified campaigns record a 100-150% increase in engagement than traditional marketing approaches. The experiences on offer are simple, fast and perfectly integrated into the animal world. Participants can play in just a few minutes from their smartphone. This accessibility maximizes participation and boosts virality.
The high social potential of playful mechanics amplifies these performances. In fact, participants are encouraged to share their experience (results, winnings) on social networks. In this way, the company can extend the reach of its communications and reach a wider audience organically.
An ongoing relationship strategy with measurable results
The figures speak for themselves. The brand’s gamified campaigns boast opt-in rates greater than 50%, well above tourism standards. With each activation tens of thousands of qualified clicks are generated towards the website and ticketing service.
But the performance doesn’t stop there. This strategy of regular events feeds the CRM on an ongoing basis.
Campaign after campaign, the ZooParc de Beauval:
- refines its knowledge of its visitors,
- captures precise interest signals that enable it to fine-tune its offer and better calibrate its communications;
- maintains a year-round link with its audience, even in off-peak periods, strengthening loyalty and boosting the rate of new visits.
Gamification also plays a key role in conversion. Participating in interactive experiences and earning rewards creates a real proximity with the brand. Players can easily project themselves into the brand’s world, encouraging them to plan their next visit and book a stay.
Over time, play has become a pillar of the park’s relational strategy. Each activation creates an interaction that nurtures brand loyalty: an exchange, qualified data, a good reason to come back. By creating this digital bridge “from the screen to the paddock”, ZooParc de Beauval is proving that gamification can lastingly transform customer relations in tourism to stand out from the competition.
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