Ark MorronZoo, a digital breakfast meeting

Arken Zoo tried for the longest time to pause their store manager meetings during the pandemic, but with the great pressure they experienced on their business, it was finally impossible to refrain from meeting. Contrast was asked to reschedule the original meeting as a digital meeting.

CHALLENGE. Arken Zoo is Sweden's largest chain of "everything for your pet" with over 100 stores around the country. Twice a year, all store managers meet, as part of the continuous development of the business. The meetings had to be put on hold during the pandemic, but eventually the need to meet became too great, not least because the stores sold like never before when many chose to get pets. Arken Zoo asked Contrast to re-plan the original meeting and create Arken Zoo's first digital meeting.

A studio broadcast can take place almost anywhere, and often it is best, and most vivid, to broadcast directly from the center of everyday events. We chose to build a studio in one of Arken Zoo's shops, with the dog grooming room as a backdrop and dogs in the studio. We started a two-hour broadcast before the store opened and invited all the staff, not just the store managers, to breakfast - with Arken MorronZoo!

A major advantage of digital broadcasting is the ability to reach a larger audience, both live or later. This in turn allows everyone to be reached by exactly the same message. In addition, the entire workforce has the opportunity to get to know the management team - and vice versa.

Thanks to the digital broadcast, Arken Zoo was able to roll out the idea of engaging all store staff in marketing efforts on their social channels. Frida Boysen spoke about the possibilities of social media, and reminded Arken Zoo of their golden opportunity; they hold the internet's most engaging content in their hands every day, i.e. lots of cute animals!

During the digital broadcast, participants were able to ask questions and give feedback through our meeting app, which was picked up by the studio editorial team where representatives from the management team were sitting. Other engaging content we worked on included competitions and interesting videos from some of the stores that we prepared for the digital meeting.

OUTCOME. "We have to do this again!" was the general feeling after the breakfast broadcast from both management and staff. Although a digital broadcast may initially be perceived as something that creates distance between people, Arken MorronZoo proved that it is possible to create a meeting that - on the contrary - creates closeness, increased knowledge and strengthened relationships.