Tailor-Made
Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Riccardo A. Davis
CBL's campaign is not unique. Macerich Co. too, in its customizable marketing campaign “The Life of Style” tries to make an emotional connection with its shoppers. Its year-and-a-half-old campaign focuses on retail merchandise and connects shoppers with the items and experiences they can have at any Macerich property. “We realize that people making purchases and how they feel about their favorite items forms the emotional center of what we do,” says Traci Weber, senior vice president of brand planning for Macerich. “In ‘The Life of Style’ campaign, we focus on the emotional bonds that make up the shopping experience.”
Rather than focus on the Macerich brand, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based mall owner and operator created 60 ads that spotlight retailers at its nearly 100 centers. The print, radio and TV campaign by its ad agency, Panzano & Partners, allows the respective properties to select from among the numerous options. The campaign is featured in the spring and fall and during the holiday shopping season.
Still, CBL's campaign is notable for its breadth and depth. At the malls and shopping centers, “Treat Yourself” materials include back-lit ad panels, banners, door wraps and floor graphics. The external elements of the campaign include television, radio, print and newspaper advertising, direct mail, billboards and mass e-mails. For example, in Madison, Wis., the company's West Towne Mall sends new residents, whose homes are valued at more than $200,000, a postcard offering free $10 CBL Malls Gift Cards. The program's intent is to win new residents early to make West Towne Mall their destination for shopping. According to West Towne Mall's marketing director, 75 percent of the gift cards distributed have been redeemed at stores and restaurants in West Towne Mall.
Elsewhere, to endear itself with the military market in Fayetteville, N.C., Cross Creek Mall has introduced a novel program to augment the “Treat Yourself” campaign. The “Treat Yourself to Military Deals” offers specials to the enlisted and their families. The campaign was designed to cater to the residents in the market, 80 percent of whom, Gonzalez says, are associated with nearby military base Fort Bragg. Servicemen and women and their dependants are invited to stop by the mall's military Family Welcome Center to register for discounts and pick up coupons exclusive for them and their families.
Gonzalez says, “every one of my properties has taken the ‘Treat Yourself’ campaign to the next level.”
Acquiring e-mail addresses has been a focus of the campaign for CBL. Since January, it has bolstered its database of e-mail addresses by 32 percent through a “Treat Yourself to $20,000 in Retail Therapy Sweepstakes” that began in March. Using these addresses, CBL & Associates plans to identify customers based on their preferences and offer them personalized coupons, store promotions and retailer announcements of private special offers via the Internet. “This is a free medium for us and it's an excellent and immediate way to build a relationship,” says Faucette.
Holiday chic
Another component of the campaign for CBL is to bolster existing relationships with some of its suppliers. For example, Coca-Cola, which exclusively sells Coca-Cola brand beverages and snack foods at CBL food courts and vending machines, is being integrated into the upcoming “Treat Yourself” holiday ad campaign.
“Our intent is to save money with creative and production by establishing efficiencies through partnerships,” says Faucette. “The advertising program realized a savings of approximately $250,000.”
Coca-Cola will pay for the creative and production of its holiday collateral. For Coca-Cola, every holiday “Treat Yourself” photograph will include a Coca-Cola brand. The ads are to break in November and run into December. The benefit for Coca-Cola partnering with CBL for the seasonal campaign is to reinforce their brands among the shopping center operator's consumers.
CBL's high-traffic shopping centers are ideal locations for building brand preference, says Brian Potter, national account executive for Coca-Cola enterprises. “We believe the fourth-quarter ‘Treat Yourself’ campaign lends itself perfectly to reinforcing our product offerings.”
PROBLEM:
How do you increase the relevance of CBL & Associates Properties' shopping centers and their unique attributes in diverse and geographically disparate markets?
SOLUTION:
Marketing executives launched a “Treat Yourself” campaign to define and highlight respective properties and fulfill the needs of the varied consumers in those numerous markets.
