Resource Center: Trends

Funded in part through a grant from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Future on Demand delivers relevant, timely trends information to AZA members for use in strategic planning and other applications.

Trends Committee

The AZA Trends Committee is charged with promulgating trends exploration through further collaborations with forward-thinking committees, through continued national research, and through presentation at AZA conferences.

Communiqué Articles

All of the following are in PDF.

August 2004

March 2004

Who Do We Think We Are? Uncovering the Truth with National-level Research

September 2002

Visionary Thought Series: Trends in Conservation Education

Trends Reports

ACORN Analysis: A Predictive Tool for Marketing (in PDF)
ACORN (A Cclassification Of Residential Neighborhoods) divides all U.S. residential areas into 43 clusters and nine summary groups based on demographic characteristics such as income, age, household type, home value, occupation, education, and other consumer behavior characteristics. AZA member institutions can use ACORN for direct mail, media selection, sponsorship, partnerships, and outreach.
September 2003

AZA 2020 Trends Report (in PDF)
Explores those long-term trends most relevant to the zoo and aquarium industry, with the suggestion they should be carefully considered in the context of each institution's long range planning process.
June 1999

Building a Business Case for Diversity (in PDF)
The AZA Diversity Committee crafted this trends report to help member institutions understand the challenges and issues many organizations face today when they misinterpret and ignore diversity.
February 2003

Conservation Education Trends Report (in PDF)
In conjunction with the Trends and Conservation Education Committees, a group of AZA educators met to develop a trends tool that would be useful to the AZA community. The resulting report highlights 16 trends critical to conservation education within the AZA. Because a simple list isn't terribly actionable, this report explores the implications of each trend to AZA institutions, and provides potential strategies for addressing these implications.
November 2004

Trends in Marketing: Evolving Audiences and Techniques (in PDF)
Members of the Marketing and Trends Committees convened in Orlando in November 2004 for a two-day facilitated workshop to examine changing trends in marketing strategies, techniques and audiences. This report covers trends in demographics, media, technology, cause marketing, lifestyle, and consumer attitudes.
November 2004

Diversity Trends Report (in PDF)
The AZA Diversity Committee examined diversity trends in the U.S. and how they might relate to AZA zoos and aquariums. A subcommittee convened to comment on whether the AZA 2020 trends are still valid, identify new trends, and determine strategies and recommendations for addressing these trends.
June 2004

Industry Statistics

Survey Research and Statistics (Members Only)
Industry statistics gathered through the AZA Annual Survey of Members is a snapshot of the operations of AZA accredited institutions. Useful no matter what type of planning or institutional challenge you may be confronting.

Get Involved

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