Marketing Metrics for Shopping Centres

Retail marketing as a discipline has witnessed tremendous change over the last few years.  We have seen significant advances both in terms of the professional skillsets of individuals working in the sector and in the wider industry’s growing appreciation of marketing as a valuable driver of asset growth.

BCSC in partnership with the Property Managers Association (PMA), has published the ‘Marketing metrics for shopping centres: A best practice guide’.  

Supporting the report is a suite of ‘Briefing templates’, seeking to challenge thinking behind marketing activity and measuring performance.

The report provides:

• guidance and recommended metrics on the different aspects of marketing
• information on how to measure ROI
• briefing templates when engaging on creative, PR, budget allocation and more

See the Executive Summary here

Tourism Trends in Scotland - Selective Authenticity

Authenticity is a fluid concept and subject to individual interpretation. To one person it is the rural landscape, traditional music and heritage; to others it is contemporary urban culture and multi-ethnicity which defines modern living. In this increasingly personalised consumer economy, awareness of your customers’ requirements remains central to product delivery. There is a place for all levels of authentic interpretation - traditional and modern, contemporary and kitsch - but it needs to be genuine, true to your product and connected to your customer. 

Businesses should be aware that consumers may have different expectations of what is ‘authentic’ to them. Some may seek more traditional experiences, whilst others look for more cultural/contemporary pursuits. Communicate with consumers and try to tailor their expectations of the authentic to your business product. This may be tailoring information on different experiences, like visitor attractions or festivals to exploring Scotland's expanding culinary story. 

Beyond the Pink Pound

There is a quiet transformation going on in companies across the UK in the way they market to niche audiences – and especially people in the LGBT communities. There are cultural elements that might influence changing attitudes, but fundamentally, this transformation is fuelled by two factors: money and insight.

There’s a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. There are about 4m lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in Britain today; in total, they spend more than £80bn annually, according to Stonewall. In 2011 there were 8000 families with a same-sex couple at the helm, either in a civil partnership or cohabiting (ONS). YouGov says that 60% of gay people are more likely to buy products from firms they believe to be ‘gay-friendly’, and 50% are more likely to buy products from brands that use images of gay people in ads. Simply on the numbers, you cannot blame any marketer for singling out this attractive audience.

There has been a shift from focusing on what’s on the outside – treating gay people as a homogeneous (sorry) group – to what’s on the inside. A little research at my local Sugar Shack, which specialises in waxing men’s unmentionables, brought this insight from the manager: ‘There’s a little Louis Spence in everyone.’ This may or may not be factually correct, but the principle of targeting what’s on the inside – optimist, adventurer or budget-conscious – can be a more powerful approach

Authenticity - Key to Visual Storytelling

In the age of the selfie, people want something that speaks to them personally. Images that come off as constructed, airbrushed, or posed no longer resonate. People want the unpredictable, but familiar at the same time. They want real, candid moments from everyday life. Moments that speak to the human experience.

“Articles that contain images get 94% more views than articles without.”

That’s the kind of connection that secures a strong and stable bond. Authenticity taps into the passions and emotions of an audience, letting them see something of themselves in the images and turning them into eager advocates of the story you’re trying to tell.

So, how do you select authentic images for your brand? First of all, keep it honest. It may sound obvious, but there is tangible proof that real rules. 

Web Design Trends to Retire

Beware… bad web design can happen to good web pages. Compelling design is an imperative aspect to your website. Your visitors will spend an average of .05 seconds before they form an opinion of your site once your page loads.  Make sure your design aids the user experience to ensure they stay on your site.

Sliders

I know what you’re thinking, “how did this make it on the list?” The truth is, sliders aren’t working for you; they’re actually working against you. As a marketing company, you want to direct your viewer’s attention to how you can solve their pain points. Don’t give them a chance to lose track of this by distracting them with multiple images. 

Pop-ups

Pop ups that offer you the option to subscribe to a blog, or engage in another action on your website, aren’t a bad practice, so long as they don’t hijack the user experience and subvert marketing efforts. A message that pops up after an appropriate time with an option for you to easily opt out of the box is effective. When pop-ups become mean - now that’s a problem.

Auto-play Videos

No one wants to be ambushed by sound and video.  The goal is to get viewers to stay on your page, not drive them away. In an effort to get away from the noise, in many cases, your visitor will just leave your site. Respect your viewers and give them the ability to opt-in to watching your video.

Separate Mobile Sites

What Google says goes. If you feature a responsive, smart design, Google will give you a better rank and prefer your website over another that doesn’t use responsive design. A “mobile only” version of your site doesn’t give you a high quality user experience like having a responsive site does. Also, Google doesn’t recommend them; you’ll actually get penalised due to the duplicate content issue.

Many people who visit websites on a mobile device expect to see similar functionality to the desktop website. Mobile-only versions of websites tend to differ widely from the desktop counterpart, and thus only confuse the user.

Skeuomorphism

Skeuomorphism: this trend had a long life span, and I’m happy to say that it’s finally on it’s way out. It’s the design principle that makes digital images look lifelike-- and it's been used far too much.