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The City of Beijing is looking to become the next major fashion center in Asia, and shopping malls like Raffles City Beijing are playing their part in that quest.
With “The Heart of Fashion” as its positioning statement, Raffles City is promoting itself as a destination for not only the local fashionable set, but also for foreigners working in the city and international travelers. That strategy is certainly evident in the first anniversary edition of the mall’s Raffles City magazine.

Even if you cannot read one Chinese character, the magazine’s cover draws you in with the promise of delivering content that will be relevant to you. It does it subtly, just by providing an English translation of the story headlines. Turn the page and you’ll find more lures: an interview with YEO Kee Whye, the managing director of CapitaMalls Asia, written in both languages. Opposite that is the contents page, also with translated text. But that’s where the in-depth English translation ends, and somehow it doesn’t really matter.

Raffles City Beijing’s marketing team was clever in providing only the English translation of the various magazine section and article headlines to highlight the breadth of the mall’s product mix. The rest of the text is in Chinese characters. Still, the essential information for any style experts with the willingness and ability to spend is there: the product image, the brand and the price. “Guess – ¥580” written below the picture of an animal-print belt, along with a detailed mall directory/map at the back of the magazine: what more do you need to know?

Instead of using valuable resources to publish a fully bilingual magazine for the off chance that an English-speaking shopper might want to sit down and read the articles therein, the mall’s marketers seem to have followed their instincts about how fashionistas really use style magazines. The latter are, for the most part, publications that are image-heavy and made to be flipped through, tagged, talked about with friends and perhaps even taken apart to produce fashion tear sheets in preparation of a future shopping trip. So why not give customers what they want, namely page after page of fashion images, style updates and key information for shopping?

Other malls wanting to attract a culturally diverse local audience, as well as foreigners, might be wise to follow Raffles City Beijing’s lead. Spend your marketing dollars where it counts most. You’ll probably end up with more effective campaigns.

Keep an eye out for the last Tactics edition of the year in which we’ll recap the 2010 RECon Asia Conference, celebrate the winners of the ICSC 2010 Asia Shopping Centre Awards and bring you more ideas to enhance your marketing programs. Also, mark your calendars: the next RECon Asia conference will take place November 2-4, 2011 in Shanghai, China.

Myriam Beaugé, Editor in Chief, Tactics Magazine

There are a few things we’d like to tell you about before we return to your weekly news posts:

Our 2010 Marketing Directory is now available. This resource guide will help you find reputable marketing suppliers in dozens of categories. From holiday displays to special events, it is an invaluable tool for all shopping center marketing directors.

Also, if you haven’t been to TacticsMagazine.com or MarketingTrendz.net, you should stop by. We’ve recently launched a new design for both that should help you find the content you’re looking for. We’re constantly working on adding new content and new features, so check back often. If you’re looking for more info on our print magazines, you can see samples of our digital editions and content on the sites.

And finally, we’ve mentioned it before, but if you’re going to be at Fusion, make sure to stop by booth 337. Our Tactics Magazine team will be there, and they’ll be offering a show special on Tactics and Trendz, so don’t miss out.

As many shopping centers scramble to get their own iPhone apps out the door, one app is striving to be the ultimate mall guide.

Point Inside (iTunes link) is a free application currently targeted at North American iPhone users. For a shopper whose mall lacks its own app, or for shoppers who aren’t loyal to one particular mall, the app is a godsend. It uses GPS to pinpoint a shoppers location, then pops up all the malls nearby (or rather, all the nearby malls that are listed in the app – we’ll get to that in a moment). Shoppers can then pick their malls of choice, and be treated to a map of the mall that can pinpoint nearby ATMs, restaurants, food courts, elevators and escalators. Pick a store, and the app offers a handy “call” button, and shows you where it is, what its hours are, and any promotions that are listed. Malls can also include information on events and promotions.

It’s been featured on a few big tech blogs already, so this app is likely to take off. Which means you’ll probably want your mall in its directory. A number of US malls are already in there, but very few Canadian malls are represented yet. You can visit Point Inside’s site, and check out their FAQ for more information on getting your mall added to their queue for mapping.

It seems that the experts all agree: Now is the time to focus on marketing. And if you’re ready to make a change for your shopping centre, we’ve got the information you need.

That’s right, the Tactics 2009 Marketing Directory is out, and it’s filled with valuable information. If you’re looking for the best suppliers, marketers, and service providers in the industry, this directory will help you make the right connections. And best of all, you can view it online for free.

Click here to get access now. We also have the directory available in the sidebars of our sites and newsletter if you want to access these resources later.