digital strategies
VAL D ' EUROPE TO PARENTS ' RESCUE
The French center has just solved one of its visiting families ' biggest problems : Dealing with school work during the pandemic .
There is no doubt that Val d ' Europe ( Greater Paris , France ) is pushing its online services hard these pandemic days , especially its mobile app . Even when shoppers are at home , they can still consult the app to keep up with what ' s new on-site and access a host of exclusive deals from tenants retailers and corporate partners . Last month , " Val d ' Europe & Moi " users could sign up for a premium membership to Yoopies , Worklife ' s online platform that connects members to personal service providers for everything from house cleaning to petsitting . The cost for app users : Just € 1 ( US $ 1.14 ) instead of the usual € 24.90 ( approx . US $ 28 ). That membership fee is a steal , Val d ' Europe tells its shoppers , for parents who might be looking for tutors to help their school-aged children with homework .
Val d ' Europe & Moi is available to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store . Once downloaded , users need to navigate to the " Partner Offers " tab to locate the Yoopies promo code .
ON THE AIR & OFF THE CUFF
Peter Nordstrom ' s new podcast is really about nurturing an iconic family brand ' s legacy .
How important are job titles these days ? If you ' re heading up a company with a history as long as Nordstrom ' s , chances are being president is a pretty big deal . That doesn ' t mean , however , that the shoppers who browse the American retailer ' s aisles in search of upscale merchandise have any clue what Pete Nordstrom actually does every day . But that ' s about to change . Shortly after celebrating the 120th anniversary of the company that his great grandfather founded , he ' s launched The Nordy Pod , a podcast that takes listeners behind the scenes and into his daily life at the office where he shares the responsibility of running the US $ 15 billion company with his brother Erik ( CEO ) and cousin Jamie ( president of stores ).
Pete Nordstrom himself knows the business inside out , having started working in its stockroom at age 12 , and the very mentioning of this ingenuous retail birth in the podcast ' s intro notes is where the story branding truly begins , like the first intriguing lines of a good whodunnit novel that has readers hooked . Nordstrom says it himself , the point of revealing details of his day-to-day duties and personal life , too , is to make a human connection . Marketing translation : Make him relatable and so shall the brand be , which is crucial for today ' s consumers who like their luxury experience with a side of deeper meaning ( e . g ., sustainability principles , giving back to the community through charity partnerships , cultural mindfulness , and more ). Nordstrom won ' t take up the challenge alone , mind you . He ' s planning to invite guests to share the mic on The Nordy Pod ; people he says he admires , including Mickey Drexler ( the former CEO of J . Crew and Gap Inc ., and current CEO of Alex Mill ) whom listeners can meet in the inaugural episode . Next up will be Erik and Jamie Nordstrom , so more story branding .
THE TRENDZ TWIST :
Shopping centers tend to put the spotlight on their retailers when hosting branded podcasts . Striking a balance between that and featuring the staff that runs and promotes the property is a marketing tactic worth exploring . To keep listeners happy and engaged in the content that interests them most , consider planning your podcast episodes so you alternate between focuses , be they food , fashion , community programs , or health & wellness . For Example , ABC mall could launch a " Know Your ABCs " podcast , focus on a different retail category every week , and then repeat the sequence every month ( e . g ., The ABCs of Style , The ABCs of Good Nutrition , The ABCs of Family Shopping , The ABCs of Staying Fit ). Make it easy for customers to find what they want , organizing the episodes by themes and under separate website tabs , just as you would do to sort videos on your YouTube channel . If you ' re looking for a mall example , check out Eastland Mall ' s Short Cutts podcast with host Sean Ferguson , the Macerich center ' s marketing and specialty leasing manager . The show , now in its third season , offers a mix of mall-focused content and insight into local community organizations .
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