Life's a beach at Menlyn

Doug Mayne, Primedia Lifestyle's MD says, "This is the third year in a row that the team have featured the Beach at Menlyn, based on its popularity. With Menlyn attracting three million shoppers over its busiest months, our marketing activities are designed to provide fun family activities and unique entertainment elements.

"Our biggest challenge with this year's campaign was to top the activities we hosted last year. However due to our insights into the Menlyn shopper and international retail entertainment trends, I believe that we, together with the team at Menlyn developed a winning strategy that left shoppers delighted."

The Beach at Menlyn and supporting in-centre campaigns ensured that shoppers not only enjoyed an exciting retail experience but also could relax on the 'beach' with family and friends, soak up the sun and cool down in the surf.

Campaign results

• Sleeping Beauty Ballet event yielded 10% increase in foot count
  
• Beach Parties attracted 1151 children over three days
  
• Local beach holidays and Bazaruto competition encouraged an 11% increase in spend per head compared to 2010
  
• 200 shoppers attended children's fashion and talent extravaganza auditions, with 100 children selected to participate
  
• Fashiontainment Show was attended by 557 children including 97 participants

The company's marketing team also embarked on an intensive above-the-line campaign to promote its campaign, spanning television, radio, community newspapers, magazines and out of home. From a broader perspective, the campaign yielded increases across the board including beach attendance up by 66%, publicity up 65%, overall foot count 40% and sponsorships up by 61%.

"In the shopping centre management mix, the marketing discipline should provide tenants and consumers with experiences they can't get from any other advertising medium, but more importantly, they should deliver positive, quantifiable return on investment for the property owner. In other words, looking at the value-add of the marketing campaign, relative to the investment from the property owner," adds Mayne.

"It's about knowing your centre's objectives, its tenants and the changing needs and media consumption habits of shoppers. Before starting with any marketing campaign, confirm quantifiable objectives to support your accountability to the property owners. Combine this with great creativity and targeted media strategy, and as with this campaign, the results will speak for themselves."