How Do Shopping Centers Drive Online Awareness of Amenities?

April 8, 2009

A recent survey of shopping center executives reveals creative approaches to online marketing. "One of the things we're looking at is how to use Twitter, Facebook and text messaging," says Jones Lang LaSalle's Carol O'Grady, Vice President and Regional Marketing Manager.

Survey results show that shopping centers are taking the online age seriously, using multimedia functions to highlight their most popular amenities like play areas, as well as events, sales and marketing announcements.

"We will soon have a brand new website which will feature our PLAYTIME play area, events and tenants," says John Tchetchenian, Property Manager with Newmark Merrill Co. "Once customers are on the site, they will find our play area listed under 'amenities'."

"We're also running over 6,000 television ads and we plan to film the play area as part of that process."

Additionally, Tchetchenian says, the Janss Marketplace website map will soon be interactive "so that you can click on an amenity and a video comes up for 10 seconds."

Most of the survey respondents said that they include amenities on both their online directories and on their kiosks within the centers.

Kerstin Berg, Associate Property Manager at Macerich's FlatIron Crossing says, "We have our play areas on our online interactive map and on the handheld directories. We also mention them on our phone system; our on-hold message talks about the play area. Also, the television at our guest services desk loops and talks about the play areas."

Stacy Scheelk, CMD, who manages branding and sponsorship for CBL Properties' Dallas region, says that they cross-promote their sponsors and their amenities.

"The play area is on our home page and also on our sponsor's page," Scheelk explains. "We try to link an amenity to a sponsor's website and they link back to us."

O'Grady, with Jones Lang LaSalle, says her company is taking the new world of social networking quite seriously.

"If we have a program or an event targeting moms, for instance, there are many groups out there on Facebook or Twitter where we can announce what we're doing," explains O'Grady. "In Chicago, walking moms have a Facebook page, so we could post on that page about our new PLAYTIME soft play area."

And, of course, everyone said good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth still works wonders.

"Moms talk to moms and grandparents. Our sponsors talk about our play area, too," says Scheelk. "They're proud of it."

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