A few weeks ago, we mentioned the Jump For Wishes charity event. The results are now in – across Australia, over 600 people participated in “star jumping” for charity. Not only did they bring in lots of money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, but they succeeded at setting the record for simultaneous star jumps – a total of 26,830 jumps.

In other Australian news, Erina Fair is taking advantage of the DIY craze this Christmas. It’s holding a competition for 16 local elementary schools. Teams of students from the schools will be given a $100 gift certificate to a mall crafts retailer, and can spend the money to decorate a Christmas tree in any way they like. The trees will decorate the shopping center over the holidays, and visitors can vote for their favorite with a donation to the Cancer Council NSW. A little bit user-generated and a little bit DIY – that’s a great job of managing trends.

User-generated content is big news right now. More and more, people want to contribute to the design of the products they buy, and more sites and retailers are taking advantage. Earlier this year, we showcased TGV’s user-generated T-shirts, which were a huge hit. So how are you taking advantage of the trend?

If you’re short on ideas, there are some holiday classics that fit right in. Shopping bags are a great place to put creative user designs, as are t-shirts and gift cards. Regent Arcade is on top of this – it’s selling greeting cards for charity designed by local children. But why not take it a step further? Next time your shopping center wants to redesign the now-ubiquitous environmentally friendly shopping bag, take submissions for designs and have your shoppers vote for the designs they want to buy.

How else are you making use of this trend?

This week, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The rest of the world might also benefit from some time spent with family, with good hearty food and a reminder that there are things to be thankful for.

But while we can be thankful with or without a holiday, it’s the day after Thanksgiving that US malls and retailers look forward to (and that mall employees dread). On Friday, shoppers will be out in force, looking for crazy deals and huge discounts to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, and the sales are enough to bring the shoppers in.

But in a nice touch, The Summit in Nevada, US, is giving a little bit back to its shoppers. Shoppers who aren’t already in line for a doorcrasher elsewhere in the mall can line up in the morning for a gift – a mystery gift card that will be worth anywhere from $10 to $500. For shoppers on a budget, that might be the detail that drives them to The Summit over other area malls.  It will certainly help spread a little good will and cheer on a busy, stressful day.

You undoubtedly use your shopping center’s newsletter as a valuable resource. With brand loyalty becoming a bigger issue in the current economic climate, being able to reach out to your audience and remind them why they love to shop at your mall is priceless. But are you doing all you can to connect with your shoppers?

In recent weeks, a number of malls have been upping the ante on newsletter registration. While many malls are still offering a chance to win a gift card or retailer prize package, some shopping centers are raising the value of their sign-up contests. One perennially popular contest to drive registrations is a chance to win a Nintendo Wii. Facing another Christmas season filled with Wii shortages, shoppers are willing to take whatever chance is offered to get their hands on the hard-to-find console.

But Cadillac Fairview is one company that’s taking it a step further with its “Go Green and Win” promotion. Shoppers who register for the Cadillac Fairview Experience (the company’s collection of email newsletters) are entered to win a tropical vacation for four, along with the usual gift cards and prize packs.

Not only is the prize inspirational – the website is impressive too. Filled with tips for green shopping and entertaining, the site offers even more value for discerning shoppers. Users can rate the articles, adding a social aspect. But the promotion itself doesn’t seem particularly green, so that disconnect may turn off skeptical shoppers, who are wary of “greenwashing.”

Do you find your shopping center’s newsletter(s) even more valuable in tough economic times?

“One of life’s gifts is that each of us, no matter how tired and downtrodden, finds reasons for thankfulness.”

J. Robert Moskin