Panda Base: Digital Transformation for Wildlife Conservation

Man Zhao; Yang Chen; Carol Hsu; Ning Su; Guiyao Tang

Product #:9B20E012

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:Information Systems, International Business, Sustainability

Setting:2020

Details:Case (PDF) • 12 pages • 2020-07-02

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The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (Panda Base), located in Chengdu, China, was the world’s most popular scenic spot for giant panda tourism. Panda Base was founded in 1987 with a mission that included the protection and breeding of the endangered giant panda, scientific research, public education, and cultural tourism. In 2002, the director of Panda Base began to build panda culture and the panda brand in an effort to resolve low brand awareness and to better protect the giant panda. In 2020, Panda Base promoted the giant panda on various digital media platforms. Based on the concept of Web 3.0, Panda Base integrated the theories of social media marketing, content marketing, and viral marketing to promote panda culture and brand value, and successfully developed its core cultural brand value: "Tell the most touching story of the giant panda." Looking to the future, Panda Base’s director wanted to develop a smart tourism project to continue protecting giant pandas and increasing their population with the help of 5G (fifth-generation) technology, while providing tourists with an immersive experience. How can the director best use technology to support and promote Panda Base?

Learning Objectives

This case can be used at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and is best suited for a social media marketing or content marketing context. Students should be familiar with the basic concepts of digital and social media, network integrated marketing, and marketing management. They should also understand social media marketing and how it differs from content marketing and viral marketing. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to

explain the main issues related to the promotion of the tourism industry, while emphasizing the importance of culture and content in marketing;
illustrate different digital media promotion strategies in terms of platform selection, content design, and form of expression;
describe the process whereby cultural tourism organizations use social media for advertising purposes; and
appreciate the application of social media marketing in tourism and better understand relevant marketing theories and their practical application.