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Name-Dropped Souvenirs at Zoos and Aquariums

Choosing new name-dropped souvenirs and discovering which items sell best in this category can lead to a veritable “zoo” of choices at zoos and aquariums. For this article, zoo and aquarium staff explained why.

At Newport Discovery Zoo and Aquarium in Newport, Ore., zoo Director Blane Brown said the 300-square-foot gift shop carries a limited number of name-dropped souvenir items. “We have shirts and stickers, but that is pretty much it for name-dropped items. Why did we choose those kinds of items? There are several reasons, but most of all, with many other kinds of name-dropped items it becomes a little more costly for us, and then we have to add extra money to the price we are selling the merchandise,” Brown stated. “People just aren’t spending the money the used to on that kind of item, they are being more frugal. So, it isn’t a good idea for us to pay to name drop a plush item like we used to.”

Along with price point, a shortage in supply led Brown to this decision. “With some stuffed animals, you can’t find the product much less find someone to do the name-drop for us on those items reasonably. That is a real challenge.”

However, T-shirts and stickers are doing well as name-dropped souvenirs. “They are reasonably priced, with the shirts at $20. And they make a good wearable souvenir. The fad of the day are sloths, and we have a shirt with our logo and a sloth on it, and that is extremely popular. What kind of animal is going to prove a popular purchase can really be determined per se, but the price point can be, that’s what people want to spend these days, around $20. A year ago, they would buy many other things for more.”

The fluctuating popularity of one animal or another is in part due to the fact that Newport Discovery Zoo and Aquarium is a rescue. “We don’t keep many of our animals long, we try to find homes for them at other zoos or another location, so we have a different kind of market in terms of what sorts of animal items we select at any given moment.”

Elsewhere in Oregon, at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Kelly Wiley just took on her position as gift shop manager, so has not yet put new name-dropped plans for items into place. “We are planning to name-drop T-shirts, plush, and mugs because those items sell really well overall. People like those as gifts, and they like

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