Style Icon competition
Style Icon: Fashion contests entice shoppers into centres
Published: 27 August, 2009
Hosting events in the communal area of a mall forms a key part of a shopping centre’s commercialisation strategy. However, today’s credit crunched customers need more incentive than ever to set foot inside the nation’s malls.
Style Icon competitions, the brainchild of the team at MindWorks Marketing, may be just the way to encourage shoppers to get involved with the events taking place at their local mall.
The shopping centre management team can help struggling retailers by organising events that involve tenants and consumers. “Shopping centre events need to be about giving shoppers what they want – fun, a sense of theatre and a practical incentive to come shopping,” explains Michelle Leggat, director at MindWorks. “People go out shopping to get choice, service, value and fun. By giving these to customers, stores can benefit even in the height of a recession.”
The Style Icon competition is a concept being rolled out at shopping destinations across the country. The competition takes place over ten weeks and is designed for shoppers of all ages and sizes, with thousands of pounds worth of prizes for the winner whose individual fashion sense makes them a ‘style icon’.
The Cascades shopping centre in Portsmouth has been running the event for three years. “The attraction to retailers and centre owners is easy to see,” says Cascades director, Rhoda Joseph. “As well as being a fashion show, it promotes all our stores, large and small.”
Tenants and consumers alike have been won over by the Style Icon concept in Portsmouth, continues Joseph. “We have been completely stunned by the reaction of retailers and shoppers to the competition. As well as huge increase in footfall during the ‘spotting days’, heats and grand finals, the enjoyment by shoppers has created a brilliant goodwill factor.”
The competition prompted record-breaking statistics for Sunday trading at the Cascades last year and sponsors received editorial coverage worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. This year’s event at the Cascades has attracted sponsorship from retailers as well as fitness club Curves and Portsmouth Football Club.
Portsmouth FC’s brand director, LuciusPeart, said Style Icon has given the football club the ideal platform for promotion, right in the heart of the city. “Our partnership with Style Icon at Cascades shopping centre has been a huge success as we are able to promote the club right in the heart of the community of Portsmouth. With our own PFC retail outlet in Cascades, the sponsorship is highly relevant to promoting our off-field range to the fan base. Sponsoring such a high profile event within the city means guaranteed coverage in the local media for a 10-week period as well as being able to brand the staging within the centre.”
For the shopping centre itself there is also a multitude of benefits to be gained from staging events, such as the Style Icon competition. “We build strong links with the community as well, such as with arts venues and leisure facilities. Local schools and dance clubs are invited to perform at the grand finals between shows and promote their activities,” says Leggatt.
“This is not just a nice idea, it makes commercial sense. The whole point is to promote the entire shopping destination, increasing shopper footfall, dwell time and spend,” she adds.
