Sales increase of 28% and a gold medal!

Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre management wanted an advertising campaign that was immediately identifiable, easy to read, universally understood and set it apart from the competition. They also wanted to achieve a 10% sales increase compared to the previous year.

When two people on our team visited the mall on a weekday, they came back and said “it was so empty that you could drive a Mac truck through there and no one would notice.” Rather than look at this as a negative, we chose to build on the wide-open hallways as a family- (and stroller-) friendly shopping option. This was the catalyst for the tag: “Shopping is a Breeze in the Park.” We went further to brand Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre as “the Park,” with fun themes like “Pick some fruit in the Park” and “Go for a Stroll in the Park." The short copy and strong visuals could easily be understood in the multicultural market. Outdoor advertising, direct mail and newspaper ads were used throughout the year, with bus ads and transit shelters added during seasonal flights. In-mall signage, promotions and merchant newsletters all continued the “Park” theme.

In less than a year, the campaign had repositioned Lansdowne. Total ancillary sales for the year increased more than 28%, far surpassing the goal of a 10% boost. Fast food, unisex apparel and home furnishings posted some of the biggest increases. Though renovations and re-leasing had a positive impact on the centre, mall officials attributed most of the centre’s success to the advertising campaign.

The ad featuring four teddy bears was so popular, half the campaign posters placed on buses were stolen from the vehicles. Mall officials received so many calls from customers requesting the poster that copies were printed on paper and given away.

The campaign was recognized by the International Council of Shopping Centres with their prestigious Gold MAXI award for the best shopping centre advertising in the world. MAXI competitors are judged not only on their creative merits, but also on consistency of the brand and tangible results.

Beating over 500 finalists from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai and the U.S., the campaign represented the first time Cambridge Shopping Centres, with over 45 malls across Canada, had ever won a Gold MAXI.