Shopping centre promotional events and campaigns can be a tricky business! Promotional stands, competitions, leaflets, brand ambassadors, freebies, and mailing lists! We’ve all been out shopping and been accosted by an eager promoter trying to sell or promote to the often unwilling British public. But how can you make sure that your shopping centre promotional campaign is successful and stands out from all the rest? Keep reading to find out!

UK Shopping Centres

Despite the continuous rise in online shopping, shopping centres are still often at the core of British towns and cities. Full of high street chain stores, designer outlets or boutiques, and independent shops, nowhere else can you find such a wide range of shops and products. 

Some of the UK’s biggest and most recognisable shopping centres are owned by the Westfield Group. They have 2 London locations, each raking in over £1 billion in 2018 alone. They therefore prove that there is still a desire for shopping centres in the 21st century. Other iconic features of the UK shopping centre landscape include Birmingham’s Bullring, Manchester’s Intu Trafford Centre, and Liverpool ONE.

Often more than just a retail venue, shopping centres can also house a range of restaurants, bars, cafes, play areas, and entertainment facilities (e.g. cinemas or mini-golf), making their appeal wide-reaching. Groups of teenagers, mothers after the school run, couples, families, solo shoppers, and more, all have reasons to visit shopping centres. That is why promoting your business, product or service at one can have a huge impact, helping to increase sales and boost brand awareness.

Make sure that you contact the shopping centre directly before beginning any promotional work. You may need to pay for a permit, or only be allowed to promote in certain areas.

Things To Consider When Planning Your Shopping Centre Promotional Event

We have all been shopping and tried to avoid making eye contact with clip-board clad promoters, or changed our route to avoid walking directly past a promotional stall. So how can you make your promotional event or campaign a success? Consider the following:

1. Make sure that you target the right people

Who is your target audience? Who is likely to buy or want your product or service? There is no point in approaching people who will not be interested in your business, so make sure that have a clear target demographic. E.g. females under 30, businessmen, or families. Put your time, effort, and money, into promoting to these people. They are more likely to engage with you and be converted into paying customers.

2. Offer a freebie or a discount 

Food and drink samples, branded freebies, discount codes, coupons, and competitions are all ways to attract people to your event. Us Brits love a freebie, and trying a product beforehand makes us much more likely to go away and buy it ourselves in the future. Even offering items unrelated to your company (e.g. free stress balls or rubbers with your brand logo on them) can have a long-term positive impact by raising brand awareness.

3. Make it clear what/who you are promoting 

Simply hiring staff to wander around shopping centres approaching the public may seem a tempting and easy option. However, to have a real impact you need to do more, and some people might find being approached by strangers intimidating. Consider having a physical stall/stand/table to conduct your promotion from, with clear signs and banners displaying who and what you are promoting. Having your promotional staff in uniforms or branded accessories will also help to raise brand recognition and make your aims clear.

4. Choose a suitable location 

When planning your shopping centre promotional event you may be given a specific location to promote from. However, if given the choice of where to base yourselves this should be carefully considered. For example, if you are a stationery business, basing your campaign near an existing stationery shop, where your target market, are likely to pass by, would be beneficial. Conducting research before deciding the date and time of your event is also important. There is no point in promoting on a Tuesday morning if there is low foot traffic at this time.

5. Pick the right staff  

Although in Hollywood they use the phrase ‘no publicity is bad publicity’, this is not true in the business world. Having good customer service is hugely important, and this also applies to promotional work. Promotional staff represent your company and therefore leave an impression upon potential and existing customers. They influence how the public view your brand. Having friendly, approachable and engaging staff is of paramount importance. Staff should also be briefed beforehand about your company as well as its products and services so that they can promote your company thoroughly, and answer any questions.

6. Have an interactive element

To get the public engaged and interested in your promotional event, think about how you can make your promo event interactive and exciting. Having a photo opportunity, VR headsets, mascots, games, and other interactive elements will all attract people to your event. Additionally, anything that can be uploaded to social media (e.g. photos or competition entries) will further boost brand promotion.

Push Promotions Shopping Centre Promotional Events Experience

Push Promotions have supplied staff to complete hundreds of shifts at shopping centre promotional events and campaigns. Companies that we have previously worked with include Staples, Sony Pictures, and Ministry of Sound. We have also worked directly with shopping centres such as Liverpool One and The Octagon in Burton Upon Trent.

All of Push Promotion’s staff are highly skilled, experienced, and enthusiastic, and are guaranteed to make shopping centre promotional events a success!

To read about some of the events that we have previously staffed, click here.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it! We have outlined plenty of important factors to consider when planning your next shopping centre promotional events! From the location, staff, target audience, and creating a ‘wow’ factor, there is a lot to think about!