Shopping centres are having to work harder than ever to get people through their doors. But there’s a fine line between well co-ordinated, managed events and purely promotional activity, as Hannah Prevett discovers
Marketing agencies are having to come up with increasingly innovative events and promotional activities if they want to beat the downturn. Shopping centres offer a great platform for brands to showcase their products and to drive footfall through tenants’ doors, but also for local communities to showcase local skills, talents and merchandise.
There are a number of different types of events for shopping centres. The first are the community or civic based events whereby community organisations benefit from using the shopping centre. Secondly, promotional events are frequently instigated by a brand or a company to promote a new product. The last, and biggest events, are the real footfall drivers which get the involvement of the entire mall. Events like these include fashion shows and wedding fayres.
For Eileen Connolly, getting the centre’s tenants involved is key to hosting a successful mall event. “The higher the level of participation from the retailer, the more the customer is driven to actually purchase a product.” It is also important to ensure the event has some relevance to the consumers and that the events are not “merely parachuted in because they’re moving round the centres”, says Connolly.
“But any event that drives footfall and consequently sales, and you need to link the two, are good because they reinforce the consumer’s view that they actually experience something more than just shopping,” she continues. If a shopping centre does not offer a unique value proposition, especially in the current market, to its customers there are plenty of other options available to them.
“When you’ve got a credit crunch you’ve got people looking at the most effective way of purchasing the things that they need. And we are up against mail order, we’re up against the internet, we’re up against retail parks and discount retailers.”
For Clare Andrew, founder and managing director of mall event specialist Shoppertainment, offering a unique customer experience is the name of the game. “It’s about putting on a bit of mall theatre to attract lots of people,” she explains.
“If you attract lots of people and your footfall’s higher, the promoters that come in won’t mind paying more money because they’re busy.”
Sian Nicholls, commercialisation manager at Savills says that a successful mall event programme can prove fruitful for all of a shopping centre’s stakeholders. “There’s a big draw to get retailers and tenants within the mall involved, generating PR activity and therefore also raising awareness and the profile of the scheme.”
However, the credit crunch has inevitably affected the way that advertisers and brand promoters are spending their money. Andrew Keiller, sales director at Brandspace which is part of the Promotion Space group, says while in some sectors spend has remained remarkably buoyant, other areas have been suffering substantially.
“All the big boys are still spending,” he says confidently. “But cars have fallen through the floor. We used to have car promotions every week in our centres; we essentially have none now.”
|
Events can animate quiet areas of a mall |
Nonetheless, Keiller is confident his team will continue to smash their targets, having hit them all last year. And it is not only Brandspace that stands to profit – with Capital Shopping Centres making over £5m yearly through Brandspace-organised events, the proposition has never looked so appealing for shopping centre landlords.
--
Case study: trick or treat
Often the most popular events and the greatest money-spinners are those which are themed around a particular event or season like Christmas, Valentine’s or Easter. Last October, mall income specialist Shoppertainment hosted an event at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, London.
The ‘tricks and treats’ promotion was held during the week of half term in October 2008 and included a giant pumpkin. Shoppers were invited to take part in Halloween-themed activities including the telling of spooky stories, bug and potion workshops and visits from Scooby Doo.
As well as the entertainment for the children, promotions were also organised to target older generations, to further boost the income for Brent Cross, with a local dealership promoting its recent car offer. The event also encouraged participation of brands like Waitrose, Givenchy and photography demonstrations by Olan Mills.
Overall, the tricks and treats promotion was a success for Brent Cross, with over 1500 people visiting the pumpkin per day, increasing footfall and generating income for the landlord and tenants alike.
