Getting to number one

"The mistake a lot of shopping centre developers and owners make is that they spend a lot of money on a launch campaign and then...nothing," says Anne Duggan, the London office Marketing Manager of Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker

However, a well-planned, run and ongoing marketing campaign is a vital tool for developing brands, which she believes results in:
-the centre's unique identity in a competitive market being established
-the centre becoming the number one customer choice
AND
-the centre's increasing value in the eyes of customers, tenants and investors.

Like a pair of Nikes
"Marketing is a part of the cost of running the centre," says Ms Duggan who then adds, that "it has to be seen as more than this. It's about establishing the shopping centre as a brand that people aspire to, that they want to come to. You can do lots of things to increase footfall, to keep people in the centre, make them spend more money but what might not happen, if you don't do it right, is build the centre as a familiar name."
A brand however is not simply a recognizable name, symbol or logo which helps people differentiate between the centres. "It's about many different things including the atmosphere that's created within the shopping centre and customer service." Ann Duggan compares it to a pair of Nikes which make you feel "more fashionable and help you run faster".
Building brand equity doesn't aim only at increasing footfall. It also means "that the the shopping centre brand itself has value and adds to its overall success. The centre therefore becomes a more attractive proposition to future investors."

Shopping centre personality
The planning of a marketing strategy should start at the design stage. Indeed, as far as Ms. Duggan is concerned, it is an indispensable part of the investment process. Some of the main objectives are deciding on the position the centre is to have within the local market and what its personality and image are to be. "It affects everything about the centre, its physical construction and its architecture," she says. People's perceptions of shopping centres can be dramatically different, which means the surrounding environment needs to be considered right from the design stage.

Mistake!
"The mistake a lot of shopping centre developers and owners make is that they spend a lot of money on a launch campaign and then... nothing," says Ms. Duggan. "Building awareness can take a long, long time to deliver. It all depends on the level of marketing activity but I would say it takes around one to two years before people are fully aware what the new shopping centre is called, where it is, etc."
At the development stage, according to Cushman & Wakefield H & B's specialist, "there should be a 3 to 5 year plan in place which will take the scheme through from the launch to the 2nd or 3rd year of trading". She counsels against involving too many people in the initial strategic stages and suggests only the developer, architects and leasing and managing agents, if the latter have been selected, but adds that "major tenants should certainly be consulted". She admits that "most of them will have their own marketing plans. To get the best use out of the budget it's good to make sure that we're trying to promote the same thing. It's a good idea to work together though it's not always easy."

Critical moments
The launch is a turning point in the life of any brand new shopping centre, and the successful marketing campaign is vital. If the latter is badly run, the centre loses its customers before it begins and it can then take a long time to win them back. However, even when basic public awareness of the centre has been established, other circumstances may arise which hinder its popularity. A change of name for instance, from a well-known one, can cause problems.
"In the market there's a lot of choice and if people have 5 to 6 centres to choose from they can spread their loyalty. What you've got to do is try to make yourself top of their list. The No. 1 choice. If you change the name of the centre they may think that the offer has changed. People tend to like things which are familiar. The unknown is a bit daunting."
"But marketing is obviously a constant process: finding out what the market wants, tailoring your plan and communicating this to tenants, customers, owners and other stakeholders," says Ms. Duggan, in whose view market research should be conducted every year, which it rarely is. "Most shopping centres in the UK probably conduct market research every three or four years. It doesn't always have to be on a large scale and it depends on the resources available. If you have the capability within the centre you can do a small survey, just to get a general feel. But if you run a broad-based marketing campaign that includes lots of different activities across a range of marketing tools, then you need to do some fairly substantial research."

The Bluewater experience
One of the most effective marketing campaigns, Ms Duggan refers to, was conducted by a retail centre in the South-East of England, Bluewater, who initially advertised on national television and radio. As a result, millions in the UK now know where the centre is and determined customers travel for miles to shop there. "Marketing the Centre talks of 'the Bluewater experience'. Customers are not customers, but guests."
Bluewater has its own marketing team, something many centre owners would not agree to fork out for, and promotion is often left to centre management.

Who's going to do the marketing?
Ms. Duggan notes that it happens too often that property managers are expected to do the marketing. "I am not going to deny they will have an input but they will not be the best placed to deal with marketing on a day to day basis, and they have other things to worry about."
There are other options, such as handing down marketing responsibilities to the centre manager or employing a consultant, such as Anne Duggan herself, who works as part of a retail real estate management team at Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker.
"I employ external consultants, as required, to advise, and assist me in preparing the marketing strategy and develop then implement the plan. This is done in conjunction with the centre manager, property manager, tenants, owners, and any other parties involved in the centre to make sure we achieve our objectives, and are using the right tactics," explains Ms. Duggan.