Solal awards for Primedia's Mall Division

L - R: Lee-Ann van Der Schyff (Primedia Lifestyle Marketing Services – Regional Marketing Manager) and Manuela Calhau (Sonae Sierra - Director Marketing & Innovation). Manuela was the Chair of the 2014 Solal Jury.

They have collectively been awarded gold and two silvers in this year's awards after receiving 10 finalist positions out of 122 from across Europe and Africa. Collectively, the companies had more finalists than any other entity in Europe.

"We continue to live our value of innovation," says Doug Mayne, group MD of the Primedia Lifestyle Group. "We are thrilled to receive a coveted gold award especially considering there were only seven golds awarded across Europe this year. We are also fortunate in that we are the only South African marketing consultancy to be represented on the winners list. I'd like to express our gratitude to the teams at Cavendish Square and to Menlyn Shopping Centre for their remarkable achievements."

Golden exchange

Cavendish Square's gold was a result of The Exchange pop up store concept. "The idea behind The Exchange pop-up store, a cashless fashion boutique, was to ensure that new organ donors registered with the Organ Donor Foundation (ODFSA)," says Lana Maree, the centre's PR manager and tenant liaison. "The campaign asked its affluent and fashion-forward shoppers to 'exchange' their organs for fashion items."

By the end of the campaign, donor registrations increased by 805, above the expected 7.7% year on year registrations. Social media engagement with The ODFSA's Facebook increased by 628% in less than four weeks and of all the signed-up donors, 759 came from Cavendish Square. With each organ donor potentially saving seven lives, the 759 sign-ups could theoretically save 5,313 lives.

Silvers for 'The Beach', in-mall magazines

Menlyn Park Shopping Centre's 'The Beach' won the team a silver Solal. "This very successful campaign is in its fifth year and continues to impress. The manmade beach area, maximised with surrounding holiday activities, achieved 34% higher attendance figures than its previous year."

Also receiving a silver award, Captiv8 impressed judges with its offering. Its primary function is to grow and manage non-GLA Revenue and convert marketing initiatives into possible revenue earning platforms.

Collaborating with a leading magazine publisher Bespoke Media, it conducted a feasibility study to launch several 32-page in-mall magazines. Mall tenants experienced positive benefits through advertising in the magazine, as products featured have sold out in-store and have out-performed projected sales across the country. There is massive potential to increase the products online and centre presence by extending availability to various platforms such as Facebook and centre touch screens.

"Well done to all involved and a big thanks to Seraj Toefy, MD at Bespoke Media and his team," continues Mayne. "We're very fortunate to be able to showcase South African marketing efforts on a global scale and consistently come up tops."

For more information on the Solal winners, go to www.icsc.org/uploads/awards/Solal-2014-Winners.pdf.