Mobile Campaign Strategy | PlaceWise Media

PlaceWise Media Launches Engagement Tool for Malls to Connect Shoppers and Retailers

May 21, 2013 By PlaceWise Staff

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Consumer-centric Shoptopia Leverages Online Research with Mobile and Location Technologies to Drive Offline Purchases

Visit PlaceWise Media at RECon 2013, May 19-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in booth C10-Union Street in the Leasing Mall

DENVER and LAS VEGAS; May 21, 2013 – PlaceWise Media today announced the availability of Shoptopia®, a location-based shopping companion that leverages online and mobile technologies to deliver highly targeted shopper marketing and consumer engagement opportunities for shopping centers, retailers and brands.

Shoptopia delivers retail deals, product and content through an online portal and mobile shopping companion app. The service filters products, retailers and promotions based on shopper preference and location to deliver personalized content and facilitate online research, shopping trip planning and in-store purchases.

A Nielsen study of PlaceWise Media’s mall network shows that 63 percent use online and mobile devices to plan or enhance their shopping mall trips ahead of time. Forty percent of those shoppers visit the mall that same day, and 94 percent visit the mall within one week.

“Reaching shoppers while they research a purchase or plan a shopping trip is a ripe opportunity for shopper marketers,” said John Dee, PlaceWise Media president. “Mobile is influencing where to buy, what to buy and even how much people are spending. It’s essential that retailers have as many integrated options for their shoppers as possible.”

Specific to mobile shopping, Google issued the results of a study earlier this month citing that 62 percent of smartphone users use their device to shop at least once a month, 17 percent use their smartphone to shop once a week, and 84 percent use their smartphones to help with shopping while in the store.

To meet the needs of today’s tech-savvy shopper, Shoptopia uses consumer preferences and location filters to deliver relevant product and retailer information from a database of millions. Every mall retailer in America has a default presence on Shoptopia with basic information such as physical address, phone numbers and hours of operation, but retailers and shopping centers can claim their Shoptopia Storefront to manage the shopper’s experience with their brand.

“Search engines like Google and social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have all been retrofitted to facilitate some kind of shopping and shopper marketing,” added Dee. “Shoptopia is built expressly for shopping; Shoptopia members are members for one reason and one reason only: shopping. There is no better way to be present on the virtual path to purchase.”

Shoptopia offers hyper-targeted marketing options through mobile (SMS, text, app placement), social, online and email placements.

Shoptopia is available as a free download in the iTunes app store. A free download for the Android platform will be available later this year. Shoptopia can also be found at www.shoptopia.com. For more information visit www.placewise.com. For thought leadership on the growing concept of waste-free advertising, visit www.wastefreeadvertising.com.

About PlaceWise Media

PlaceWise Media leverages the latest technologies to help retailers, shopping centers and brands effectively reach their target audience with relevant and timely product information, trends and promotions. Its mall-media network provides multi-platform digital marketing services to more than 300 shopping malls in 75 markets across North America, with more than 5 million total monthly visitors. PlaceWise Media also operates the location-based digital shopping companion, Shoptopia® (www.shoptopia.com), available to consumers nationwide. PlaceWise Media is based in Denver, Colorado. For more information, visit www.placewise.com.

Verizon Holiday Sponsorship: Cookies With Santa

January 12, 2013 By Marisa Martin

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In late November, we were excited to launch our first integrated digital and on-premise sponsored campaign for Verizon Wireless. The campaign supported the launch of the Nokia Lumia 822, a Verizon exclusive smartphone using the Windows 8 platform, and ran at 26 of our network center locations. The campaign was very successful in engaging the Shoptopia Network audience with the Verizon brand both on and offline.

Verizon utilized all of the available easements for the digital portion of the campaign. On both online and mobile web home and secondary pages, PlaceWise placed animated advertising that encouraged shoppers to click the ad to learn more about the Nokia Lumia 822. In addition, Verizon ads were placed in the weekly emails during the duration of the program. The emails also featured custom branded content that was written specifically around the campaign and covered topics such as how to capture the best smartphone photo during a Santa visit to which apps are the most entertaining for children during holiday travel. Lastly, Verizon reached out to shoppers through Facebook by sharing tips about how the Nokia Lumia 822 could enhance the holiday season.

As a compliment to the digital campaign, Verizon selected 10 shopping centers in key markets to host a “Cookies with Santa” events for Verizon customers. Each of the participating centers hosted an exclusive event that allowed shoppers to meet with Santa in a small group environment. Attendance was driven by a text to local Verizon customers and was also supported with “Cookies with Santa” digital media campaigns. All of the event information and RSVP forms were hosted on the local center sites. As a part of the sponsorship of the event, Verizon signage was placed throughout each of the center’s Santa sets during the busy holiday shopping season. Verizon was very excited have played a part in a popular holiday tradition- the Santa visit.

We are currently speaking to many clients that are excited about opportunities on the Shoptopia Network and we look forward to bringing more exciting sponsor opportunities to our shopping center partners in 2013.

Black Friday 2012 Success

December 3, 2012 By AllyThiac

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Do you know where the term “Black Friday” actually originated from? This universally used term was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to when a store would move from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand. Red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

Each year when Black Friday comes around we work with our network of retailers to try and come up with new and innovative ways to entice shoppers to frequent their stores over competitors. This gives the store a great opportunity to capture an audience that is already engaged by directing them towards their stores product offerings in a truly unique way. This years our stores did this by; extending the length of their sales, increasing the amount of discounts, BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) and highlighting peak periods when certain items were marked down dramatically. One of the most known change is stores extended their stores hours to motivate shoppers by opening at non-traditional times.

The sales content and support we had was outstanding. We will continue to grow our outreach and sale content that will reach millions of shoppers.

We are already working on more efficient ways to make next year bigger and better!

Black Friday 2012 Success :

We were able to get over 200+ sales posted across our network.

We saw over 1.2 million visits across our participating socially enabled websites in just 5 days! This was a 78% increase in the numbers we saw from the year prior.

68% increase in Unique Visits from year prior.

54% of the traffic came from mobile usage where shoppers were checking out sales as they came in while waiting in line.

Project Style Is Off To A Great Start!

July 16, 2012 By VickiRousseau

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The ultimate online fashion competition, Project Style is back! This year, 15 centers are searching for their ultimate trendsetting shoppers! “Project Runway” designer, Nick Verreos and “Fashion Star” correspondent, Jeannie Mai have teamed up to search the country for the next chic stylist! Round 1 launched in May and we are seeing stellar results.

We have had almost 500 applicants vying for the chance to compete at their centers. Over 10,000 new sign-ups have been created since Project Style launched mid-April. Round 1 and 2 racked up almost 20,000 votes and almost 34,000 page views during the 2 weeks of voting!

Winners of each of the 4 rounds of competition will compete in a Live Style Off held at the center in September for a shot to win a $1,000 shopping spree and the chance to move on to the national competition. The National Style Off will bring each center’s local winner into an online competition where they will compete for the top Project Style bragging rights. Nick and Jeannie will help select the national winner.

The National Style Off winner receives a trip for 2 to New York City during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and will attend a fashion show with Nick Verreos! They will also go on a shopping tour of Soho with Nick where he will design a personal wardrobe sketch for them! Our final winner will be announced in October! Good luck to all our chic stylists!

Author Profile: Vicki Rousseau is PlaceWise’s Director of Promotions vicki.rousseau@placewise.com | 702.421.3973

The New Short Pump Town Center App is Here

May 18, 2012 By Greg Hickman

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After lots of hard work we are happy to announce that as of last week, Version 2.0 of the Short Pump Town Center App is now available for download!

Version 2.0 comes with many new features, including:

Facebook Connect:
Now you can connect super fast by using your Facebook profile.

Follow Your Favorite Stores:
Following your favorite stores prioritizes which deals you see first when you open your app. So the app is totally customized to YOU!

Bookmark Your Favorite Deals, Events & Articles:
If you want to remember a good deal, an event, or article you can “bookmark” it for future visits to the mall.

Easier Sharing:
Find a great deal at Short Pump? Quickly and easily share that with your Facebook friends, Twitter followers or email to those that haven’t caught up with the rest of the world.

This is a positive step for PlaceWise and we are excited about the momentum it is creating. Next we will be launching the iPhone app for Galleria at Sunset, which will be available in the app store shortly.

PlaceWise will continue to announce apps for shopping centers within the Shoptopia Network. These shopper focused smartphone applications will help shoppers discover and share their favorite deals and reward them for doing so.

Short Pump Gets App in Time For Christmas

November 28, 2011 By Greg Hickman

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PlaceWise Media is proud to announce the Short Pump Town Center iPhone shopping App! A free app giving access to the hottest trends and the best ways to save at all the stores at Short Pump Town Center. This is the beginning of many new mall-based apps that Placewise Media is initiating.

The app gives shoppers access to exclusive deals and sales from their favorite stores. Shoppers can plan trips around one of the many events happening right at their mall. Tons of articles, photos, and video will keep shoppers inspired and help plan their next visit.

PlaceWise will continue to announce apps for shopping centers within the Shoptopia Network. Throughout 2012 these shopper focused smartphone applications will help shoppers discover and share their favorite deals and reward them for doing so.

Author Profile: Greg Hickman is Product Manager of Mobile Solutions greg.hickman@placewise.com

Holiday Success Using SMS: Driving Shopper Action

February 1, 2011 By Greg Hickman

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Stonecrest Mobile Deal: Free $50 Gift Card With A $100 Mall at Stonecrest Gift Card Purchase. This Friday at 6 AM sharp! Msg&DataRatesMayAply. Rply STOP 2 end

The most successful use of SMS that we saw this past season was with The Mall at Stonecrest. Stonecrest’s mobile strategy was simply based onleveraging their mobile loyalty group to drive gift card sales and mall traffic in the early hours of the day on Black Friday. Mobile Club members of the Mall at Stonecrest received the message to the right on Thanksgiving day, and it generated a great return.

Would that message make you show up at 6:00 AM on Black Friday? It drove 32 people to The Mall at Stonecrest at 6:00 AM sharp. The above message generated $3,200 in gift card sales. 13% of Stonecrest’s Mobile Club users arrived at 6:00 AM on the busiest shopping day of the year. SMS is extremely powerful in driving action, and Stonecrest’s success proves that.

Don’t let the communication fall by the wayside just because the holiday season is over. If you have a mobile loyalty group, make sure you remain consistent in your messaging as you move forward through the new year. If you have yet to incorporate mobile into your marketing strategy, it’s not too late to take advantage of the effectiveness of SMS.

If you’d like to get started with SMS, follow these steps to start building a mobile loyalty group:

Obtain a keyword and shortcode to add to existing marketing collateral
Promote at various locations throughout the center
- Add a website widget
- In mall signage
- Call to actions within e-blasts
Execute an instant text-to-win or a giveaway to generate quick sign-ups
Always include opt-out language

As your list is growing remember to:

Create regular weekly messages or sale notifications
Send exclusive offers to the mobile loyalty group similar to Stonecrest
Reach out at specific times to increase slow periods

Author Profile: Greg Hickman is Product Manager of Mobile Solutions greg.hickman@placewise.com | 720-891-4943

Together SMS and the Mobile Web Creates Deeper Engagement With Shoppers

December 6, 2010 By Greg Hickman

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Quick Recap

When it comes to utilizing mobile tools to connect with shoppers on the go, we recently explored smartphone applications, mobile web, and SMS (text) alerts as various options.

Create A Deeper Engagement

Together, SMS alerts that drive shoppers to the mobile web allow for much deeper engagement. As you continue to grow your SMS database, remember that mobile is the most personal marketing channel available today, so don’t become the mobile version of the Sunday circular, that’s not what your shoppers want.

Deliver more than just a retailer coupon, and create a deeper and more personalized experience by driving them to the mobile web, where they will interact with additional content, such as event information, product info, etc. Nowadays, consumers expect retailers to have a mobile optimized website. Brand Anywhere, a leading mobile strategy firm, and Luth Research, creators of one of the largest global online research communities recently found that 51%** of consumers are more likely to shop at retailers that have mobile friendly websites, yet only 4.8%** of retailers actually have a mobile friendly website. This means there is a lot of opportunity to get ahead of the competition.

Test And Refine

Through a holiday campaign, Mallfinder is testing how SMS is enhanced when it is coupled with the mobile web. The Shoptopia campaign offers holiday gift ideas via SMS, which drive users to a mobile microsite, highlighting gift ideas for both men and women. Each product is featured with a prominent image, a comment about the product, price and where it can be found at the local mall.

Thus far we’ve experienced an average of above 2.5% click through rates from SMS to mobile web campaigns, which is higher than the industry average but also shows lots of room for growth. As SMS and the mobile web experience continue to merge together, we anticipate this behavior to grow dramatically as consumers move seamlessly between SMS, mobile web and mobile applications.

If you’d like to join in on this holiday experience, and be assured that you won’t give boring gifts to your loved ones, just text either DUDE or CHICK to 55800 to receive gift recommendations for the men or women in your life. If you’d like to receive ideas for both, just text GIVE to 55800 (Message and Data Rates May Apply).

* This statistic is according to Pew Internet Project

** These statistics are according to Brand Anywhere and Luth Research

To learn more about mobile marketing tools, call your account manager.

Author Profile: Greg Hickman is Product Manager of Mobile Solutions greg.hickman@placewise.com | 720-891-4943

Mobile Web is a Must For 2011 For All Shopping Centers

October 20, 2010 By Greg Hickman

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New technologies and feature capabilities are rapidly evolving with mobile web, and we’re seeing many ways to engage your shoppers in innovative and cost effective ways. For example, recently Mallfinder incorporated GPS into mobile websites with great success. Your shoppers are already online with their phones, and you should be too.

With now upwards of 12% of total website traffic coming from mobile devices, more shoppers continue to access your website through their smartphones. We have seen this grow dramatically in the past 12 months, and expect even more growth in 2011.

Author Profile: Greg Hickman is Product Manager of Mobile Solutions greg.hickman@placewise.com

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