IBM ROI Case Study: Cincinnati Zoo

Nucleus Research examined the use of IBM Cognos BI at the Cincinnati Zoo and found that analytics enabled managers to learn more about their operations and make smarter decisions that led to revenue increases and cost reductions. In one example, managers used analytics to learn more about when visitors were most likely to buy ice cream and made small changes to the operating hours of the ice cream kiosks, leading to an increase in food revenues. Similar analyses and changes to operating practices caused admissions to increase by 4.2 percent and on-site merchandise revenues to increase by 18 percent.

ROI: 411%
Payback: 3 months
Average annual benefit: $738,212