For 30 years it has been the Singapore Zoological Gardens and
a top attraction.
But the people running the place aren't too happy with the name.
They want something to distinguish it from run-of-the-mill zoos
elsewhere.
So they are spending $500,000 on a massive branding exercise to
acquire a new name, logo, signs and staff uniforms.
The new name is a closely-guarded secret known only to top management.
The management first decided on a name change in 1995, when the zoo
began implementing a master plan based on the guiding principle of
'Journeys to Wild Places'.
A name-creation workshop was held recently for managers, who were
told to think of a new name in keeping with the zoo as a natural
and wild place, where visitors can have an adventure and interact
with the staff.
They came up with a list of 1,000 names, which were narrowed down
to three options by interviewing almost everyone at the zoo.
They then asked visitors and former zoo employees to rank the
three options.
But a regular visitor said: 'They can call it what they want.
Singaporeans will still call it the zoo.'
