When it comes down to it all, a successful activation must be able to provide end results, especially in the shopping centre industry where consumer activities such as foot-traffic, dwell time and repeat visits are measured, evaluated and analysed. Creating picture-perfect activations and art installations are fantastic in so many ways, but what purpose will they serve (other than encouraging snapshots) if they cannot directly translate to meeting KPIs?

“There is a lot more to an activation than creating immaculate art installations and getting shoppers to post snapshots to their social media accounts.”

Activations must set the bar for highly valuable interactions and for that, they must serve a purpose to the community and to the consumers but also allow for retail integration. This means creating opportunities to integrate increase the level of engagement but also about finding ways to encourage repeat visits and creating lengthy activation activities to increase dwell time thus, increasing the spending opportunities.

Solving shopping centre issues through metrics

It is no secret that the retail world is evolving, with traditional brick and mortar stores are striving to compete in an already saturated market; e-commerce and other digital technologies are impacting on shopping centre sales and consumers are changing the way they browse, shop and purchase. Shopping centre marketing managers are now looking for new and innovative ways to attract customers, and effective activation strategy can have a huge impact on their success. The success of an activation can also be measured, reported on and create learning opportunities for future planning and customer expectations. This is the reason why activations add so much value to shopping centre activities as they both go hand in hand to increase a Centre’s productivity.

Now, let’s imagine what a series of staff activations can do for business productivity?  This is how most brands have managed to get ahead of their competition.

“ENGAGE’s  staff activation fundamentals”

The first activation fundamental relies on the key messaging of the activation. If the message isn’t getting across to the audience, it’s probably an indication that there is either a problem with the way the message is being delivered or that there is a problem with the key message itself. Creating cohesive messaging is a crucial component to activations as it helps in establishing standards and forging harmonious communication across all scales of the business. This means that during an activation, all members from that company have received the same level of information, are up to do date with product knowledge and are on the same page.

Cohesive Messaging:  Simply Energy Staff Activation

Here’s a great example that proves the importance of key messaging. Our client’s Simply Energy asked us to deliver a high impact and meaningful campaign that would help in developing cohesive messaging that represented brand personality across three of its call centre locations: Melbourne, Wollongong and Durban, South Africa.

The six-week campaign involved key messages “Simply Exclusive” “Simply Loyal” Simply Rewarding” and “Simply Generous” to be displayed on posters and media walls throughout each centre. This helped employees to connect to the campaign and to keep them engaged throughout. It also got the staff prepared and trained on the up-coming messaging rolling out across radio, television and print.

Sampling: Part of well-crafted brand activation strategy

Here’s a great article featuring our Director TJ Carroll that appeared in Inside Small Business.

Inside Small Business :Celebrating Achievements Through End-Of-Year Events

The overall winners of this year Champion Awards will be announced at the Star Event Centre in Sydney on Saturday 21 March 2020.

The awards gala will give ENGAGE further industry recognition in the experiential marketing industry and the opportunity to be seen in front of a large audience of over 1000 small business leaders.

“ENGAGE is celebrating its 6th year and we’ve had an amazing journey so far. Our team is thrilled to have received this recognition and have definitely earned it. It does take hard work and dedication to run a Small Business and of course, we couldn’t have done it without our loyal clients.” Say the Company’s Director TJ Carroll.

ENGAGE has a full schedule ahead with Easter and school holidays approaching shortly. The team is launching activations across regional Melbourne and other cities across Australia.

The brand activation and event agency who also specialises in shopping centre, property and government activations, as well as planning end-of-year event, has won over high-profile and well-known brands through the years such as L’Oréal, Darrell Lea, The City Melbourne, Visit Victoria and The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“The merchant has always been and will always be most successful where his activity is integrated with the widest possible palette of human experiences and urban expressions – ”Victor Gruen

It is every retailer and Centre-owner’s goal to increase shopping Centre revenue. A clear way to achieve this goal is by increasing the number of customers that walk through the Centre’s door. This is called foot-traffic and is a recognised retail indicator that determines a shopping Centre’s success.

Having high shopping Centre traffic means more sales and opportunities and greater chances to create consumer engagement. Foot-traffic can provide useful insights to retailers. It can also be used to evaluate the strength of the marketing tactics, help retailers find ways to increase productivity but also create ways to boost consumer engagement.
Yet, in recent years, Australian retailers have been experiencing periods of significantly low foot-traffic. Many economists would say this is due to the rise of e-commerce stores, offshore retailers and digital technologies.

Nonetheless, there is good news in all of this as there are many ways to increase shopping Centre foot-traffic. One of our creative strategies consists of increasing community engagement and making the shopping Centre a destination for locals and neighbouring resident to engage in shopping Centre activities.

Shopping Centres are the heart of every community. This is the reason why we live and breathe activations. We design campaigns that will always best represent the audience’s values and interests. This is why following shopping Centre trends and finding out how our communities are evolving have become an important aspect to our activations and campaigns.

If you’re in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry (FMCG), you may find it difficult to play catch up, keep up with trends or create your own brand identity without a proper communications plan. When it comes to implementing a marketing strategy, you need to consider one that works best for you as these decisions are crucial and can make or break your business.

Simply put, when it comes to making lasting brand impressions, creating memorable moments and getting consumers on board, the trick is to build relationships between your brand and your consumers.

Whether you are a new FMCG or a well-established one, you search for opportunities to make your presence known. One exciting aspect of experiential marketing is that not only will your consumers hear and see you but also experience and feel your brand.

The path to creating success for your retail brand, especially in the FMCG industry, begins with crafting a personalised marketing plan, one that will speak your brand and be able to communicate to the right type of audience.

To gain maximum impact, you often need to step out of your comfort zone. An experiential marketing plan is similar to a rocket launch. Done right, the forces will be able to lift, power and launch your business to where it needs to be. And just like that: you will have lift off.

Having Lift off Means Not Getting Left Behind

Experiential marketing is all about trying something new. The era of traditional marketing where consumers are only on the receiving end of a brand’s message is coming to an end, with a move to fully engage with customers and offer a window to the brand’s personality and value proposition.

Experiential marketing aids in finding the best possible solution for a brand to communicate their message. It might be through brand activations, pop-up events, one-off installations, live events, product launches or even a series of activities incorporated in one large event.

This allows for innovation and creativity and offers an opportunity to incorporate consumers in the campaign from beginning to end. Doesn’t it make sense to include the community in the conversation with your brand?

Experiential Marketing is Like a Rocket’s Engine Firing off

FMCG brands require a sparkling personality in order to stand out and only the most extraverted ones will truly succeed in the industry.

Also, just like us, brands have a compelling story to tell. This is what makes a brand relatable enough for a community to emotionally attach themselves to it. They may feel that the brand is speaking and reaching out to them. They may also feel like they can identify with the brand and want to make a genuine connection.

An imaginative campaign can generate word of mouth, entice new consumers to choose the brand but also maintain the loyal ones.

Sometimes Launches Are Colourful, Courageous and Require Creative Problem Solving

Lifesavers – Leading by Example

The key to having a successful brand activation or live event requires you to be faithful to the brand values. That doesn’t mean you can’t plan anything bold, playful and colourful. What makes experiential marketing so clever and imaginative is that it can cater to any brands’ specific needs.

We are proud and honoured to have the Lifesavers brand on board with ENGAGE At Disegno. We are thrilled and excited to announce that the well-known brand, loved equally by children and adults for over a century, has decided to go experiential. The Life Saver’s brand activation will take place on February 2, 2020 on Bondi Beach – a fitting location.

The campaign planned for the brand truly reflects its youthful and energetic personality. The community of Bondi and the people of Sydney will truly appreciate what is in store for them, with surprise and delight across the day’s activities.

Life Savers are proof that even well-established and high-profile brands sometimes need that little experiential rocket boost to launch them into the 21st century. Life Savers will now lead by example and show other brands that it is never too late to go experiential.

This was their first foray into the world of activations to connect with their customers, and they were so excited and motivated to be able to proactively promote YVW to customers in a community setting. They wanted to highlight their WaterCare program which provides support, pathways and services to help customers manage their bills. In addition, they wanted to highlight water-saving initiatives and provide a giveaway of products that can work towards this. The team had already booked 3 weeks of activation space across 3 different Shopping Centres in Melbourne for the campaign, and we also had a tight timeframe to develop the activation to suit.

Check out the trailer!

Well, the good news is that the technology is already available and could be the WOW factor for your next brand activation campaign.

Whilst we are not as geek as it seems we are all about new technology and are in love with the endless possibilities it brings to the activation space. And let’s be real it is pretty fun too!

From mixed reality to brainwave neurosensing (I know right?!) and everything in between, we are always exploring and seeking ways to integrate new technology into the brand experience to maximise community engagement.

Let us expand a little on some of our favourite new technologies that we are excited to get creative with.

One of our favourites is gesture recognition. Imagine giving your audience the power to interact with your activation at the swipe of their hand and discover a new renovation while it is still in the making or create their own virtual journey through your property. I know I would like to engage with something that cool and this is just a few of the many possibilities!

 

 

Looking for a creative way for your retailers to do a giveaway? Then look no further than the digital vending machine – we love these! Perfect for launching a new product, these digital vending machines create an interactive experience where your audience can receive the giveaway through facial recognition. Check out the example below to see how clever this is and how it works. It will blow your mind!

 

 

Our clients are particularly loving the addition of augmented reality (AR) into their brand activation and community engagement events and so are we!

Augmented reality elevated our client, Fostering Connections, campaign to a new level of engagement when we used AR in a playful way during Foster Care week. The lobby of 530 Collins Street was abuzz with beautiful graphics that played real-life stories from foster carers when people scanned the images with their phones, helping to break down the myths about becoming a foster parent.

AR is also amazing for gaining insights into your audience and measuring the success of your activation. In addition to being able to gauge key demographics of your audience, it provides an excellent opportunity for data collection.

This is just one of the many inspired and innovative ways new technology can create a greater impact in the world of activation. Leading to greater community engagement, longer dwell times and increased brand awareness that leaves a lasting impact.

We have touched on a few of the exciting technology options that can be personalised to achieve your desired outcomes, aid in gaining awareness, increased interaction and brand recognition as well as social amplification.

The possibilities are limitless and we are excited about the creative and strategic opportunities that exist through clever implementation with technology. We will never look at a screen, a vending machine, an iPad or space the same way again and we hope you won’t either.

We understand how important community engagement is when it comes to achieving your property or Shopping Centre goals. Community engagement is after all the strongest indicator of your audience’s feelings about your brand and of course, we all want them to feel great about your brand.

This is why we have drawn on our years of experience to give you our top insights and tips to get your audience excited, engaged and make the most of your next activation campaign.

Let’s get started!

1. Partner with a local charity

There are no doubts that your Centre, property or business is making valuable contributions to your local community. A great way to amplify your contribution is to partner with a local charity. We recommend teaming up with an organisation that is actively making a positive difference in a way that directly impacts your local community.

2. Connect with a local school, community group or sporting team

This is a great way to show your audience that you care about what matters to them and you are in touch with the community to which your organisation belongs. Bringing a local school, community group or sporting team into your activation and making them a part of it in a unique and creative way will result in greater engagement through their active community.