sales promotion & events
BREAK FROM
THE BOOKS
AND GET WILD
This fun
Hippopotamus
station was one
of many on this
Animal Trail.
Shoppers trade summer sun for summer sights at Bluewater
During the summer holidays, it’s easy for shoppers and their families to
search for a spot to soak up the sun. To keep up with the outdoor competition,
Bluewater Shopping Centre (Kent, UK) introduced an indoor interactive
installation in the form of an animal trail. With a dozen different life-size
creatures waiting in the brush, “Into the Wild” invited adventurers of all
ages to discover an 18-ft. tall giraffe, an African elephant, and a tiger. For
£1 (US$1.30), trailblazers received a detailed map, a questionnaire, and an
animal hat. Following the trail, explorers tracked down the animals and used
matching fact boards to fill out the questionnaire. Once kids and company
successfully completed the trail and quiz, trekkers returned their work to the
Bluewater concierge team to win an animal-inspired prize, while half the
amount of their event entrance fee went to support the World Wildlife Fund
and the preservation of endangered species.
To generate awareness of “Into the Wild” over the summer period, the
center promoted the event via signage, local press, social media, its website,
and radio. The marketing team aimed to reinforce Bluewater as a top
destination to entertain little ones over their break.
“In addition, the trail itself forms part of the marketing strategy to open
up the breadth of Bluewater’s offer, as many visitors are not fully aware of the
range of retailers that are present at the center. The trail allows guests to fully
explore Bluewater and potentially discover elements that they previously had
not seen,” said David Wilkinson, head of marketing for Bluewater.
“[Into the Wild] was financed [through] the center marketing budget with
all the advertising being woven into the existing summer communication
channels. [We] hope that the event will raise in the region of £5,000 (approx.
US$6,500) for the World Wildlife Fund.”
THE RUNDOWN
Number of tickets sold: 10,000+
Number of photos taken: 100,000+
Set-up: The installation offered a range of photo opportunities for all guests
and many snaps taken of or with the animals have been shared online
via social channels.
PR value:
• 53 percent of participants surveyed reported that “Into the Wild” was the
main reason for their visit
• Close to all of participants questioned responded that they would be
shopping and dining at the center during their visit
• 99 percent of participants questioned rated the event as being good or
excellent
Bleuwater's greatest challenge: It was moving all of the statues into the
shopping center in one night and decorating each one of them to reflect a
quality habitat.
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