BOO! Media signed V&A Waterfront (Cape Town), Sandton City (Johannesburg), Melrose Arch (Johannesburg) and South Point.
In partnership with the marketers and managers of these malls, the company seeks to identify places within the mall to activate. This activation will take the form of linking these landlords to marketers that will advertise in these locations. It will be beneficial to both the mall owners and the brand promoters.
Speaking during the signing of these contracts, BOO! Managing Director Mc Kenzy talked of malls as blank canvasses waiting to be filled with adverts. The real thing with malls is that almost every part of it is virtually visible. It, therefore, presents a marketing opportunity on either side of it, be it on the outside or inside the mall itself.
The signing of these agreements comes in as a continued effort of the company to popularize out of home form of marketing. It is also an appreciation of its worth by the new malls after witnessing its effects on other places such as Hyde Park and Southgate malls where it has already taken root.
BOO! is exploring and adopting new marketing trends different from the traditional static billboards and regular T.V and radio adverts. In Melrose Arch, for instance, they installed a giant camera for FNB that took photos of shoppers and posted them on social media in real time.
One of the reasons why landlords should encourage the idea is because it presents them with an additional stream of income. This is a new score as most are only accustomed to the regular space letting fees.
Another reason marketing managers should encourage this form of marketing is because it gives a whole new look to the mall. It is this lively environment that will draw in more customers into their complex. It may also be interesting to note that when shoppers see something they like in the mall, they will tend to stay in longer to get acquainted with it. This stay will most probably translate to an additional sale.
Brand promoters get the chance to identify themselves better with their market. This improves the effectiveness of their adverts in that it ensures they only advertise to people who are interested in their products. This form of marketing also plays in well with marketers who practice market segmentation.
Adverts in the malls will be placed on the walls to the exterior or the interior, on escalators, lifts and any other relevant place within the premise. This will obviously be done in consultation with the marketing manager, the developers, and the interior designers of these malls.
BOO! is however optimistic that this is certainly the way forward in advertising and is happy to introduce it to the South African market. They are also confident that the current collaboration will yield positively and be the avenue to more businesses going forward.
