Twycross Zoo was presented with a Special Award for a spectacular turnaround and sound financial performance at the Coventry & Warwickshire Tourism & Culture Awards 2016, whilst on the same evening their public relations agency, Firebird PR, won Gold and Silver Awards at the 2016 Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards for ‘Best Use of Media Relations’.

The last three years have seen ambitious strategic investments at Twycross Zoo, marking the return to its former significance as a leading visitor attraction in the Coventry and Warwickshire region. The zoo has seen multiple improvements to the infrastructure of the site and animal habitats that enhance the visitor experience, while ensuring highest standards of animal welfare to allow the animals to live and thrive in the best possible environment.

As a result of its long-term development plan, Twycross Zoo has recorded an increase in visitor numbers of 6.2% in 2015 and looking further back, across the three-year period between 2012 and 2015 an exceptional increase of 20% in visitor numbers. The improved visitor numbers as well as the zoo’s financial performance led to the judges’ special commendation for the attraction.

Dr Sharon Redrobe, CEO of Twycross Zoo said: “This award is not the result of a one-person job. I am privileged to lead an outstanding team of dedicated and enthusiastic people, who all worked extraordinarily hard to make this happen within the financial constraints as a charity. We are also delighted to see Firebird PR recognised for the fantastic work they do. The team at Firebird have already exceeded our expectations to date in terms of media attention managed and generated.They continue to demonstrate fast reaction times and measured decision-making on PR opportunities, bringing professionalism and expertise to an important area of our business.”

Firebird PR, based in Oxfordshire, was one of 300 PR agencies to be shortlisted for the 2016 CIPR PRide Awards, and out-classed their competition to win Gold for their ongoing work with Twycross Zoo. Over 1,000 public relations teams and consultancies across the UK entered this year’s CIPR PRide Awards, and Firebird PR was the only agency in the Anglia, Thames and Chiltern region to be awarded twice in the same category.

Firebird PR was awarded Gold for their ongoing role acting as the Press Office for Twycross Zoo in the East Midlands, using innovative PR to support the zoo’s transition to become a world class visitor attraction. Since 2014, Firebird PR have successfully increased the zoo’s visibility, including launching the zoo’s £55million masterplan development and most recently the £2million Gibbon Forest, which saw 18,000 members of the public visit the new enclosure in the first 12 days alone. This year, Firebird PR were tasked to secure 1,300 items of print, broadcast and online coverage between January – December 2016. To date, Firebird PR has achieved 2,056 items of coverage for Twycross Zoo.

Jane Bevan, Managing Director of Firebird PR said: “At Firebird service to our clients is key. We work extremely hard to ensure our clients’ stories reach the public via a range of media channels, so I’m absolutely thrilled that our work for Twycross Zoo has been recognised in this way. We are never short of stories to tell about Twycross Zoo’s work and while the coverage has been exceptional, we still have three months to go!”

Twycross Zoo is open to the public from 10.00 to 18.00. For more information and to book tickets visit 

www.twycrosszoo.org