digital marketing
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
publisher: Brian Lehn
editor-in-chief: Myriam Beaugé
art director: Christina Lehn
freelance writer: Laura Shirk
advertising sales and
subscriptions: Marianne Svensson
accounting: Fang Lu
CANADA
4416 Dawson St.
Burnaby, B.C. V5C 4B9
phone: 604-294-6671
fax: 604-294-9421
(Patagonia concept store)
THE NEW ART OF THE RETAIL TRADE
Tapping into pop culture as much as product trends
is becoming an unavoidable marketing tactic for
destination retail centers and high-street shops alike.
Maximilian Mundt isn't a male supermodel or an
influencer pushing countless brands on his social pages.
He's a 24-year-old German actor building his career on
the big and small screens and yet his portrait recently
popped up in mega format at the Bikini Berlin concept
mall. The result of the musings of British artist, Chemical
X and the Old Yellow collective, the mural's purpose is to
promote the launch of the second season of the popular
"How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)" show on Netflix. Given
the plot, which focuses on a group of students who start
an online drug shipping business from their nursery, the
1.2-ton piece was created using 120,000 pills—just the
style of pixelated design project for which Chemical X
has become known and the kind of public art experiences
that are drawing consumers to retail centers in droves.
This art attraction is in line with the center's brand
positioning as a place that takes shoppers off the beaten
retail path. Its marketing narrative, therefore, inspires
more than it hard sells. During this pandemic, it's a
smart thing to do. Shoppers who have been homebound
on and off since the early spring and might be facing
more restrictions in the fall are likely more interested in
conversing with family, friends, and even their favorite
brands about what they're watching (e.g., Mundt's Netflix
show), reading, and eating rather than which influencer
is wearing what or which new products have hit brickand-mortar
shelves. It's about meeting shoppers where
they're at to create a communications bridge that will
eventually take them back to physical spaces.
It's hard for retailers and mall promoters to resist trying
to herd customers back to their old stomping grounds
with the same marketing pitches, sales events, and loyalty
schemes as they once did, but the discourse has changed
in private homes and public life, and so should the retail
marketing tone. The goal of regaining higher productivity
rates remains but attaining it will take new tactics.
Myriam Beaugé
Editor-in-Chief, Mall Media Inc.
[email protected]
UNITED STATES
PMB 4416, 250 H St.
Blaine, WA 98230
toll free: 1-800-665-2115
AUSTRALIA
toll free anywhere
phone: 1-800-005-583
fax: 1-800-005-589
UNITED KINGDOM
toll free anywhere
phone: 0800-404-9413
fax: 0800-404-9414
Trendz is published monthly
by Mall Media Inc.
Printed on recyclable paper
Printed in Hong Kong
Canadian Publications
mail product
sales agreement
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Member ICSC
BEAUTY TALK: BREAKING
IT DOWN VIRTUALLY
Pacific Retail had planned to take its COSMECON event on tour to four of its American properties
between spring and fall, but COVID-19 forced it to come up with Plan B
Changing marketing course isn't all bad news for Pacific Retail. Its COSMECON beauty-focused extravaganza
won't crowd the mall halls, but it will engage shoppers from eight different properties online this coming
September 26, instead of the four originally scheduled to host the on-site tours. The packed virtual program
will feature local and global brands. On the roster: Interactions with make-up artists, live masterclasses, "get
ready with me" videos, social influencer panels, product launches and spotlights, and mini-workshops. The
participating properties serve shoppers in Chicago, L.A., New York City, Raleigh, Ridgeland, San Jose, Sandy,
and Santa Barbara.
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