Consistent brand personality and ongoing conversation were limited and ineffectual throughout the 22,000 sqm shopping mall designer outlets that McArthurGlen build and manage. The challenge was to make sense of the way-finding, communal spaces and food court/children’s play area to engage customers with an enhanced experience that’s geared around them and brought to them by McArthurGlen.
A brand thread, ‘host for big brands’ was created to bring the customer journey to life, and was pivotal in making sense of the offer across a large footprint. Creating destinations within destinations was essential for the continued appeal to the broad demographic and psychographic segments ranging from tourists to local people. ‘Speed bumps’ around the centre, came in the shape of seating solutions and brand partner sponsored event zones, whilst destination food court areas were zoned against need: perch and watch (quick, alone); meet and eat (see you back in 2 hours for lunch); wine and dine (larger groups/families taking time to indulge).
“We chose Household because of their ideas-led, customer-centric approach. The solutions had to appeal to a broad range of mindsets and customer profiles and Household was skilled in capturing these and designing for them, expressing a unique point of view for these retail outlets”
McArthurGlen, East Midlands 2009
