Where You Want to Be...Where You Need to Be
The Mall of Georgia at Mill Creek
Mill Creek, Ga.
In April Ben Carter Properties broke ground on what will be a
1.7-million-square-foot center sited by a nature park outside of Atlanta.
The center is to include six department stores, four specialty anchors,
more than 400,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, a 20-screen
theater, a seven-story 3-D theater, a 500-seat amphitheater and a
130,000-square-foot open-air entertainment "village." Given the magnitude
of the project, the company could not afford to miss launching the
leasing effort for The Mall of Georgia at the upcoming ICSC Spring
Convention, just weeks away.
With little time to prepare before the convention, the company's
marketing team set out to design a campaign that would convince the
strongest, most exciting retailers that The Mall of Georgia was where
they wanted to be and needed to be.
OBJECTIVES
1. To successfully kick off the leasing effort at the 1997
Spring Convention.
2. To meet with the top 50 retailer prospects at the convention.
3. To generate awareness, name recognition and excitement for the
project.
4. To build momentum for leasing beyond the convention.
5. To secure a joint-venture partner for the mall's development.
IMPLEMENTATION
The leasing campaign included advertising, a kick-off party and the
design of the company's 960-square-foot trade-show booth. All advertising
elements evoked the look of the center's 500-acre location and promoted
the center's "way of life" concept. A local artist's rendering of the
mountains surrounding the site was incorporated into all materials.
Leasing folders featured pockets that were dye-cut along the mountain
ridge; the folders including renderings of the center design, maps,
demographic information, the leasing plan and the land parcel plan, all
of which double as individiual mailers. The folders also could be used in
the future as press kits and for other projects. Ads in trade magazines
promoted the center, nature park and entertainment village.
More than 800 people were invited to the kick-off party, held the first
night of the convention, to learn more about leasing opportunities. To
reinforce the mall's location, entertainment was provided by the Atlanta
Rhythm Section. A short film about the mall was projected on numerous TVs
and oversize screens throughout the party.
The two-story trade-show booth brought the center to life by mirroring
its architectural details, which evoke early 1900s north Georgia: a brick
tower with cedar-shingle roof, climbing ivy, rattan furniture with
overstuffed cushions, a water wheel designed as a brochure rack--even the
sounds of a running stream. A model of the project and an interactive
CD-ROM on both floors of the booth enabled retailers to "walk" through
the property.
RESULTS
Of the 829 guests invited to the party, 810 attended. Leasing
representatives scheduled 48 appointments before the convention and had
meetings with an additional 30 walk-ins. The walk-ins attributed their
interest in the project to the trade-show booth, the ads, the party and
the convention-floor buzz, all evidence that the company had accomplished
its goals of generating awareness of and excitement about the project.
Within a week of the convention, 12 representatives from national
retailers flew to Atlanta to see the model of the center and review
leases. Negotiations are in progress for 22 specialty store spaces,
totaling 172,000 square feet. As a result of The Mall of Georgia's
presence at the leasing convention, the company's land partner signed on
as a full joint-venture partner for the development of the shopping
center itself.
CREDIT
Owned by: Ben Carter Properties
Professional recognition to: Sue Hampel, CMD, senior vice
president, director of marketing; Flying Cat Promotions; The Jack Morton
Co.; Atlanta Models & Exhibits.
EXPENSES
| Leasing brochure | $39,889 |
| Party | 69,155 |
| Trade ads | 19,074 |
| Logo design | 5,235 |
| Booth | 206,850 |
| Model | 65,210 |
| Renderings | 24,000 |
| CD-ROM, Web site | 81,707 |
| Total | $511,120 |
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