Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes to us from Patrick Tranter, Account Executive at Rainbow Productions:

“Licensed character appearances are a proven way to drive targeted traffic to shopping centers. Be it for meet-and-greet activities, workshops or stage shows, cartoon characters such as Scooby-Doo, Bob the Builder and Bart Simpson provide a huge draw to young families, adding value to their shopping experience.

Why do centre management teams book character appearances? As well as boosting traffic, customers are far more likely to stretch their shopping day and stay longer in the center, with positive effects on secondary spending on tenants such as food vendors. Added to this is the benefit to individual retailers in the way of sell-through of associated merchandise and, of course, impulse buys.

Many centers have also successfully created their own custom characters with Rainbow Productions to act as a figurehead for their kids’ club. This is again a very cost-effective way of tying your family-focused branding efforts together in a unique and friendly way.

By adopting a more integrated approach to mall events, the benefits are felt by all parties—from customers through to retail tenants and shopping center management teams.”

To find out more about harnessing the potential of licensed characters, which are offered exclusively in the UK through Rainbow Productions, please e-mail Patrick or visit the company’s Website at www.RainbowProductions.co.uk

Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes to us from Jamie De Rose, Director of Client Services at The Collective:

What is your Opportunity Gap? Every shopping center has one.

The first step is to precisely define what that gap is for your center—it could be increasing sales per square foot, improving customer satisfaction, boosting gift certificate sales or raising the open rate on your e-mail deployments. Once you’ve set your goal, closing the opportunity gap will require creating a relationship with your shoppers.

All customers make purchases for the same reason: to satisfy a subconscious need. We identify that subconscious need and then use it to form the basis of the customer relationship. We call that subconscious need and everything related to it the Customer Architecture.

Next, you need to figure out why your customer should choose to visit your shopping center. We identify, in seven words or less, what makes your shopping center uniquely remarkable. This is called your Inspiring Proposition, or your IP. Creating an action plan to align every part of the shopping experience around your IP ensures maximum success. We call that process the Business Architecture.

It is the relationship between your customers and the shopping center that defines how effectively you are able to achieve your sales and marketing objectives. The relationship is created inside a conversation, which can be articulated in all forms of communication. We call the nature of that conversation the Relationship Architecture.

And so your job is to create powerful conversations. These will, in turn, produce deep, long-term relationships between your customers and your shopping center, ultimately driving sales.

Are we making you think? Good. So how does The Collective do it?

Call Jamie at 416-646-2789 to find out or e-mail her. You can also visit the collective at www.TheCollective.ca.

Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes to us from Vic Dodier, President of Dodier & Company:

“Every marketing professional knows that during an economic downturn, advertising and promotions are critical for maintaining a competitive presence. Yet marketing is one of the first areas to be cut.
Consider tracking your marketing programs to show ownership and management how marketing supports their efforts. Tracking reports provide hard evidence of increased traffic and sales, which in turn can help you keep your marketing budget intact.

Follow these steps to track your programs:

1. Use incentive-based programs for trackability
At Dodier & Company, we produce seasonal direct-mail brochures that feature retailer incentives. When soliciting participation from the retailers, be sure to remind them to keep all redeemed coupons for follow-up surveys.

2. Conduct merchant surveys
At the end of each marketing program, distribute survey forms to all participating merchants. Survey questions can cover such topics as coupon redemptions, targeted mailing areas, brochure format, and traffic and sales increases as a result of the program. In addition to helping compile results for ownership, the surveys also provide valuable feedback for future programs.

3. Compile your report
Once all the survey responses are in, compile the findings into a report. This would include an overview of the program, percentage of participants, number of coupon redemptions, the rate of return and a spreadsheet with individual merchant responses.”

Want to know more about Dodier & Company’s retailer incentive marketing programs?

E-mail Vic or visit Dodier & Company online at www.Dodier.com.

Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes to us from Bob Chezem, President of December Lights:

“If purchasing a new décor package is beyond your means, you might want to consider leasing your decorations instead.
A December Lights, we offer one-year or three-year turnkey leasing programs, which include the installation, takedown and storage of your mall’s decorations. The three-year program also comes with a purchasing option.
Leasing programs are generally set up between January and August to allow us to build the decorations and plan our installation schedule. However, there are always late programs requested and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
Installations begin November 1st and are completed no later than American Thanksgiving Day, or the last week of that month. Removal of the decorations begins January 1st and is completed no later than January 15th.
The best part about leasing your décor is that your expenses could qualify for a tax write-off, just as your company car leasing expenses would. Tax rules may differ from state to state, so be sure to check with your accounting department.”

Want to know more?

Call Bob at 1-706-579-1665 or e-mail him. You can also visit December Lights online at www.DecemberLights.com.

Each week, we feature tips from industry insiders. Have a tip to share with our readers? Let us know.

This week’s tip comes to us from Brian Lehn, President of Mall Media Inc.:

“When you’re trying to convince people to shop during a recession, scrapping the marketing programs that your customers have come to appreciate and expect isn’t an option. However, if budgets are being slashed, programs such as seasonal giveaways can quickly become expendable. If you’re temped to strike them off your list, put your pen down and think about which partners could help you fund your program.
One of our Mall Media customers, Sunrise Mall in Texas, USA, could have easily decided not to order giveaways to hand out to children visiting Santa at its property last year. But instead, it added value to the buy. It got Marble Slab Creamery (MSC) involved, featuring it on the inside front cover of the Santa’s Coloring Storybook it ordered from us.
MSC’s page included four coupons, which entitled customers to discounts on items such as ice cream cakes and smoothies. The coupons’ expiry dates were staggered and that gave shoppers an incentive to visit the mall again at least four times over a period of a few months.
Sunrise Mall’s deal with MSC is similar to the marketing strategies that other centers use to cover the cost of their gift-with-purchase promotions and branded magazines. The Mall Media coloring storybook’s cover is printed separately, which makes it easy for malls to customize their giveaways with sponsor logos, advertisements and promotional offers. Just remember to place your orders early to have enough time to receive your partners’ creative and complete the personalization before your order is fulfilled.”

Want to know more?

Contact Brian at 1-800-665-2115 (North America), 1-800-005-583 (Australia), 0800 404 9413 (UK) or 001 604 294 6671 (worldwide). Click here to e-mail him or visit Mall Media online at www.MallMedia.net.