SA Corp lines up 4 SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards:
SEATED – From Left to Right: Siphumelele Khuzwayo (Umlazi Mega City), Zinhle Zungu (Umlazi Mega City), Ruth Isaac (Springfield Value Centre), Adeela Haffejee (Musgrave Centre), Mariam Omarjee (Musgrave Centre) – STANDING – André Williams (SACREL) & Donald Mclellan (Broll Property Group). Photo: Steven J Brown
Shopping Centres owned by listed property company SA Corporate Real Estate Limited (SACREL) that fall under the Broll Property Group Property Management have scooped three silver and one bronze Footprint Marketing Awards at the annual South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) Congress recently in Durban. The awards, which recognise exceptional shopping centre marketing, innovation and creative achievements and reward economic success within the South African retail property industry, are regarded as important benchmarks.
“Given that we are operating within a very challenging and competitive retail environment with consumers currently under significant financial pressure, it is imperative that we drive performance within all aspects of our assets, these awards are testament to this,” Ian van der Merwe, Inland Asset Manager for SA Corporate Real Estate Limited, pointed out.
He thanked the teams at each of the centres who had worked hard to create innovative and effective, results driven campaigns.
Umlazi Mega City in the South of Durban won in the grand opening expansion and / or renovation category with its ‘Celebrate Great’ campaign.
“When originally developed in 2006, the mall was hailed as one of the catalysts for bringing big retail brands into the townships. Now, after revamp and relaunch at the end of 2017, it is taking community engagement in the retail space to a whole new level. The centre has grown from strength to strength and prides itself in being one of the most dominant community regional centres in Kwa-Zulu Natal,” Andre Williams, Coastal Asset Manager for SA Corporate Real Estate Limited, noted.
The award winning marketing campaign was the result of a review of tenants’ turnovers and in depth shopper research. It aimed to build and grow the mall’s brand, drive up spend and increase footfall. The proposed positioning statement which focused on becoming more community oriented and focussing on events with and through the community was included in the strategic marketing approach.
The marketing campaign celebrated local greats and rewarded shoppers for spending. It also included a 360-degree music video of a local DJ that was filmed in Umlazi and showed off key aspects of the newly expanded shopping centre.
Durban’s Springfield Value Centre was recognised in the sales, promotions and events category for its Coupon Carnival 6.0 promotion. This offered shoppers who had spent R300 or more during the festive season an opportunity to win two tickets to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, in Brazil.
The creation of a reality station at the entrance to the shopping centre where promoters provided a first-hand virtual reality experience of just what it would be like to take a trip to the Carnival in Rio using a VR headset was central to this promotion.
“A 360 virtual sensory experience of the grand prize helped shoppers to imagine themselves winning. 360-degree video technology can “move” you to anywhere in the world, allowing you to see the sights and hear the sounds of the most desired destinations. The experience of wearing the 360 degree goggles is completely immersive and engaging and left a lasting memory. It had huge potential to influence future buying behaviour. The technology is still relatively new and has been used in a limited way within the marketing industry of shopping centres. This 360-degree view was used multiple times during the campaign to break through advertising clutter,” Donald Mclellan, Marketing Portfolio Manager for Broll Property Group explained.
The Artail Fashion Showcase at Musgrave Centre on the Durban Berea also scored in the Sales Promotions and Events category.
With the rise of online shopping, the centre’s marketing team needed to take the in mall experience to the next level by creating an immersive experience that excited and inspired shoppers to share online and via word of mouth.
The end result was a central fashion activation in the promotional court and mini activations by six well known fashion designers throughout the mall.
The name of the campaign stemmed from “where Art meets Retail” and was particularly pertinent as the centre’s tenant mix is made up of over 40% fashion retailers. The Musgrave Artail campaign emphasised four critical elements – turnover, foot count, local entrepreneurial development in the fashion industry/enterprise development and shoppertainment.
“The campaign proved a highly effective way to highlight specific product lines, offers and exclusive services as well as portray the centre in a modern, trendy and creative light,” Adeela Haffejee, Marketing Manager for Broll Property Group, said.
Johannesburg’s first Steampunk Shopping Centre, Cambridge Crossing, clinched an award in the Grand Opening Expansion and / or renovation category.
The long overdue refurbishment, which began in February 2017, came with its own challenges – poor visibility for trading tenants and a fall-off in shoppers which led to a substantial drop in turnover and foot count.
“It was crucial to come up with effective ways to communicate the project plans, create exposure for existing tenants and create excitement about the new and improved Steampunk inspired centre. What followed was an integrated marketing communication campaign that reinforced the brand position of a retail environment inspired by the Steampunk Revolution,” Siphelele Sokhela Marketing Manager for Broll Property Group, pointed out.
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