Thinking Outside of Big Boxes
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Featured in Photo: Series Six was chosen as the winner for our Spring 2021 Pop Local Contest at The Boulevard
We love it when our clients come to us with innovative visions – it’s like we can see the stars in their eyes and we’re here to reach for them too. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards Realty, like many other commercial property managers, had some leases to fill from national retailers downsizing. They felt the room and realized that local businesses were the ones championing communities at that time and the “local love” was mutual with customers doing everything they could to support. It was time to shake up the ecosystem of traditional shopping centers with pops of local to reenergize their retail properties with new concepts!
The Vision
Edward Realty Company’s vision was to attract more local businesses to their centers knowing that they have a strong, custom approach to supporting their tenants. They also wanted to incorporate a Pop Local contest for three months of free rent to one local business in each city who might need a little extra boost to believe they could “make it” in the brick and mortar world (but who the team already knew could!)
The Partnership
Enter KMG – here’s how we brought this vision to life in two cities:
“Local Love” is our middle name so we reached out to our network of PR pros, influencers, local businesses and social media following to create a robust digital presence and build excitement to bring in prospects for the contest and awareness for the shopping centers
Our marketing support for the businesses who won the Pop Local contests was key to them all deciding to stay on long-term and sign leases!
The team’s activations for the shopping centers attracted MULTIPLE new local tenants helping to not only reduce vacancies but also achieve the goal of an engaged, more local merchant mix
The press and new tenants created a much-needed buzz in the community resulting in a major boost in foot traffic and website visits for the centers
The Future
We’re all living through historical shifts in our respective industries. Business as usual is often not the most successful solution anymore. Tackling new trends excites us so that we can excite customers and the communities around us. Staying relevant and impactful is requiring us to think outside of the box more and more these days, but that’s why we love what we do! It’s a colorful journey.
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