Something New at Every Turn
Northridge Fashion Center
Northridge, Calif.
When Northridge Fashion Center reopened after an 18-month recovery from
serious earthquake damage, the center seemed to have regained its place
as a premier Southern California shopping destination.
However, many of the shoppers who had arrived for the reopening
festivities were disappointed to find only 58% of the new center's stores
open; they chose not to return. Although 50 more stores soon opened, the
center had lost its one chance to make a good first impression. Market
research also revealed that consumers found the new center environment
sterile and dull.
Additional challenges included delays in remerchandising the
perdominantly vacant north wing into an entertainment complex.
Negotiations for the project got even tougher when the wing's anchor
closed.
Northridge's marketing department needed to turn shoppers' perceptions
around and take steps to reassure merchants.
OBJECTIVES
1. To communicate to shoppers how much more the center had to
offer since its reopening.
2. To add life and color to the center environment.
3. To recaptures shoppers whose shopping patterns had changed during the
18-month rebuilding process.
4. To increase participation in the customer loyalty program and make the
program more effective at driving sales and traffic.
5. To bring life to an almost vacant wing and build anticipation for its
transformation into an entertainment zone.
6. To keep merchants upbeat throught the center's remerchandising and
repositioning.
7. To minimize the loss of sales and traffic caused by the closing of an
anchor.
IMPLEMENTATION
The campaign tag line, "Something New at Every Turn," conveyed what
shoppers could expect at the new center; the sub tag line, "If you
haven't been here lately, you haven't been here at all" persuaded
shoppers to give the center another chance.
Bold color and motion-oriented graphics were used in print, billboard
and TV ads that focused on the center's large selection of stores. The
same colors and graphics were incorporated into the center's barricades
and signage. The storefront barricades also featured interactive elements
that turned (such as wheel-of-fortune spinners), playing off the word
"turn" in the tag line.
To enliven the nearly vacant north wing, colorful, freestanding
interactive units were added. Three-dimensional spinners on sign toppers
throughout the center drew attention to messages about new stores, future
plans and special events, all playing off the "turn" pun.
Newspaper inserts also got a new spin--literally. A Mother's Day ad
featured a wheel that could be turned to view gift items; a Father's Day
ad, when turned, revealed a hidden message. A series of entertaining
print ads promoted the center's selection of stores, as well as the
advantages of membership in the center's Select Shopper Club.
The marketing staff reinforced the theme with related giveaways (such as
spinning tops), gifts-with-purchase (circulating fans, for example) and
special events. At one, shoppers were invited to turn a giant prize
wheel; at another, they turned the tumblers on special vaults to see if
they could open the door to a $1,000 shopping spree. Prizes, including
vacations and a car, were donated (a $45,000 value). Frequent merchant
communications also underscored the theme, incorporating pinwheels and
the like.
RESULTS
The campaign's colorful images, unique interactive elements and amusing
wordplay have captured shoppers' attention. Membership in the Select
Shopper Club has grown by 80% since the campaign's launch, and
participating stores have seen a commensurate surge in Select Shopper
traffic and sales.
Centerwide traffic has increased 13.7% for the year to date, and
zip-code tracking of Select Shopper Club memebers shows the center has
regained shoppers from areas where it had lost market when shopping
patterns changed during its closure. Sales to date are up 3.4%.
CREDIT
Owned and managed by: MEPC American Properties
Professional recognition to: Annette Bethers, marketing
director; Indigo Inc., ad agency; Valerie Rickel, assistant marketing
director; Maria Migliore, marketing assistant.
EXPENSES
| TV ad production | $30,000 |
| ROP ad production | 13,600 |
| Newspaper insert production | 147,000 |
| Billboard production | 7,000 |
| TV ad placement | 115,086 |
| Outdoor ad placement | 192,560 |
| Newspaper ad placement | 182,635 |
| Directory | 10,000 |
| Special events | 6,000 |
| Barricade design | 2,500 |
| Interactive units | 7,000 |
| Total | $713,381 |
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