Sunridge Mall
30th Birthday and Back-to-School Campaign
Challenge
Sunridge Mall celebrated its official 30th birthday on August 19, 2011, just in time for the annual back-to-school shopping season. Sunridge wanted to pair back-to-school shopping with this milestone birthday and spice up the campaign with a nostalgic 1980s theme that tied everything together.
The main objectives of the blended campaigns were:
- Engage the community: be viewed as a positive community partner.
- Drive traffic into the mall: give potential customers a reason to choose Sunridge Mall for their back-to-school shopping needs.
- Increase social media reach: focusing on Facebook and Twitter.
William Joseph Thinking
William Joseph recommended a phased approach to develop and deliver on-brand creative for Sunridge’s 30th birthday celebration and back-to-school campaigns. We wanted to address the birthday and then transition into the remaining weeks of the BTS shopping cycle, using online and conventional contests along with redemption-based direct mailers.
Results
The birthday and BTS campaign involved print and digital collateral for the mall interior, as well as a number of contests to engage shoppers and promote awareness.
An 80s theme was used to promote the birthday celebration and included a number of tactics to promote awareness and generate excitement about the birthday celebration:
- A giant birthday card located in centre court that shoppers could sign and leave messages on.
- A “Totally 80s” YouTube Battle of the Bands contest promoted via social media, in-mall collateral and “gig” posters throughout the city.
- Weekly social media 80s trivia contests.
- E-blasts and handouts promoted by the Virgin Radio Street Team.
These culminated in a birthday celebration event at Sunridge Mall, offering shoppers cupcakes, beverages and the winning Battle of the Band performance.
The back-to-school shopping campaign aligned with the birthday celebrations and extended past the birthday event. The back-to-school campaign featured such additional elements as:
- In-mall signage (print and digital)
- Food court decals
- Scratch-and-win direct mailers to the Sunridge PTA
- An in-mall scavenger hunt
- Social media contests and e-blasts.
The back-to-school campaign spoke directly to the youth demographic and used resonating imagery and marketing tactics. Sunridge achieved an outstanding response rate for a direct mail piece, and youth were provided an opportunity to engage though both conventional and social media contests.
