Taronga Zoo Rise of the Beasts

[KELPIE]

Taronga Zoo has some Transformers thing (https://taronga.org.au/dubbo-zoo/whats-on/transformers) going on from Jan 9th to 31st.

Do some stuff, see some animals, maybe win an overnight stay.

What’s On – BEAST POWER at the Zoo
Throughout January, there is more than meets the eye… Transformers have come to the zoo!

Make sure you collect your BEAST POWER kid’s map upon entry to discover the beasts and unlock their hidden power by decoding the Cybertronian Code to reveal their force of nature. Help Optimus Prime & Bumblebee protect Beast Power and the planet.

Once you crack the code, take your completed map to the Zoo Shop at Savannah Plaza to receive a Transformers Beast Heroes sticker!

Don’t forget to also pick up your limited-edition Transformers hat and BEAST POWER temporary tattoo upon entry at the zoo so you look the part!

Your great day out at Taronga isn’t just a great day out, it has the power to protect. Taronga is not-for-profit, so your visit helps save wildlife.

Adventure awaits!

[griffin]

I don't know how long Taronga have owned the Western Plains zoo in Dubbo, but this was very confusing because of the same name being used for both zoos... as it looks like you need to go to the Dubbo zoo to do the Transformers game and enter the competition.
It doesn't look like the (Sydney) Taronga zoo is doing anything for this promotion... which is a shame, as this is a very limited exposure promotion, when it could have had a much greater audience at the Sydney zoo for the same investment.

[griffin]

I had to do a bit of digging, but this promotion is also at the Sydney zoo....

https://taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo/whats-on/transformers

[griffin]

Looking on both pages, they detail some sample animals that are at each zoo, and relate them to Transformers characters in the new movie... so someone at Hasbro or Paramount must have been helping with this, and not just do up a half-ass effort.

If anyone goes and plays out the kids map, let us know what it is like, or post up a photo if you can.

[Tha_Phantom]

If anyone goes and plays out the kids map, let us know what it is like, or post up a photo if you can.

I'll be going with a friend on Saturday morning. I'll post some updates later in the day.

[Tha_Phantom]

As promised, here are some pics from visit to Taronga Zoo today. I'll be breaking these into separate posts as I can't have more than three images in one post - if a mod can fix/merge this then please do!

Anyway, the ROTB promotion was pretty simple, I wouldn't recommend that you go to the zoo _just_ for this. But if you haven't been in a while anyway, maybe this is the extra excuse you need to go. ;)
I forgot to get my tattoo as I walked in, but I did grab the paper hat and map.
https://i.ibb.co/5r9XJFd/20230114-101051.jpg (https://ibb.co/StxDZr2)
https://i.ibb.co/ydMbLnF/20230114-115044.jpg (https://ibb.co/6rpf6R0)https://i.ibb.co/kDjsHHT/20230114-122713.jpg (https://ibb.co/C9g311y)

[Tha_Phantom]

There was plenty of signage around to make sure people didn't miss it. I didn't take photos of all of it, but trust me they made sure it was very visible.
https://i.ibb.co/c6QVgPQ/20230114-100909.jpg (https://ibb.co/0CrvDkr)https://i.ibb.co/7pf718p/20230114-101518.jpg (https://ibb.co/6tM6WVt)
https://i.ibb.co/W0100Tg/20230114-120528.jpg (https://ibb.co/YXGXXrp)

[Tha_Phantom]

So the game/quest aspect of this, is that there were these individual stands with Cybertronian language that you have to decipher using the zoo map.
https://i.ibb.co/CWg5hQK/1.jpg (https://ibb.co/Tr6BmtM)
https://i.ibb.co/56dcb4R/2.jpg (https://ibb.co/W6QKm52)https://i.ibb.co/gtMtXzN/3.jpg (https://ibb.co/HGDGMn6)

[Tha_Phantom]

There were only one of each of these and only at certain points in the zoo, so you had to walk around to find them.
https://i.ibb.co/jwGj82F/4.jpg (https://ibb.co/HPY9KsQ)https://i.ibb.co/f05M4Pk/5.jpg (https://ibb.co/q1fBkPN)

[Tha_Phantom]

Here some close ups of each side of the map. Note the Cybertronian translator you need to decipher the code.
After I helped my friend's son translate the map we went and got some stickers from the gift shop. There were only two sticker designs available - one with Optimus Prime and Primal, the other with Bumblebee and Cheetor.
https://i.ibb.co/ZTjBh8j/20230114-225058.jpg (https://ibb.co/zfMXSRM)https://i.ibb.co/CmpJ43w/20230114-225118.jpg (https://ibb.co/7jxgBdS)
https://i.ibb.co/KNdtNwp/20230114-230635.jpg (https://ibb.co/xmWnmHt)

[KELPIE]

Awww.... Paper hat :(


Doesn't look that busy there. I always remember the Zoo being packed.

Thanks for the pics.

[GoktimusPrime]

Glad I didn't go considering that the hat was the drawcard for me. I mean, if I were going with kids or others, that'd be different; but it doesn't seem like it's worth going on my own just to get that hat.

Great pics :)

[i_amtrunks]

Strange to have it so early but I guess they wanted it out while the zoo has the majority of its visitors. I'm kind of glad to see those paper hats are coming back in vogue, Lego is giving them away too!

[griffin]

The promotion certainly had a lot of effort put into it, and not just a half-assed effort that vaguely related to Transformers in general.

But a bit like the Earthspark promotion back in September, this movie promotion is waaaaay too early for it to have a significant impact on people, particularly kids who have a much smaller attention span if the marketing isn't consistent all the way up to release. It just feels like another case of too much money spent for a minimal return.

I still would have loved to have gone though to check it out.
If anyone has any unused spares that they were going to give away or throw out, please let me know, as that map (and to a lesser extent the headband) would be nice novelty items to collect, as they are exclusively Australian.