Final Report Danielle Andrade Sean Carey

Alex Pizzala Chris Hartnett

Steve Zawada

Agenda•Opportunity •Industry •Challenges•Research Methods•Findings•Recommendations

Opportunity● Despite the Mall’s success, management believes there

is always room for improvement ● Specifically through marketing with digital and social

media:○ Entice target consumer to:

■ Shop more frequently■ Spend more per visit■ Increase shopping during the malls off hours

Opportunity ● In order to meet these requests our team aimed to

investigate the following in regards to the target consumer:o Current social media, email and mobile usage patternso Engagement Patterns o Platform Preferenceso Content Preferences

Industry ● Technology is changing the way we shop

o Changes in lifestyleo Ease of orderingo Expedited delivery optionso Window Shopping

● Shopping Malls/Centers are on the declineo Less than 80% of malls nationwide are considered to be healthyo Those that are healthy are thriving

Digital Marketing in the Industry● Mall of America’s Strategy

o Three Pillars ▪ Listening, Connecting and Engaging

o Employee Trainingo Reach out in new ways

● PlaceWise Mediao Working with 600+ shopping centers nationwideo Fastest growing company in the industry

Challenges● Corporate Marketing Experiment- no access

to the following:o Christiana Mall Club email listo Christiana Mall social media accountso Christiana Mall assistance to post our survey

● $0 Budget● Getting respondents on our own● Permission denied from UD Alumni Group

Research Findings● Our research has identified the following

information about the Christiana Mall’s core consumer:o Social media usage patternso Platform favorability o Favorability and consumer perceptions towards

different types of contento Perceptions of the Christiana Mall’s digital marketingo Consumer desire for digital marketing

Research Methods● Quantitative and Qualitative● Qualitative: In-depth Interviews

▪ Conducted in the mall: 5-10 minutes per interview, 8 total

▪ Gained perspective on personal social media habits and shopping behaviors / preferences

Interview Findings • Usage patterns: • Primary and secondary target are most active on

Facebook • Access from computer, tablet, smartphone

• → WiFi & GPS capabilities • Usage patterns = Early morning & before bed • Everyone was active consistently on email

Interview Findings • Engagement Patterns: • Low rate of engagement with stores and companies • Target market appreciates consumer-centric focus

from stores • Favorability towards email interaction

• Email is perceived as less intrusive and discounts/ coupons/ updates are more often looked at

Interview Findings • Christiana Mall Club: • Lack of knowledge stemming from poor promotion • Interest in Mall Club services • Opportunity to increase email engagement and

customer foot traffic

Research Methods (cont.)• Qualitative: Focus Group

▪ 90 minute duration▪ Mall store managers: American Eagle, Victoria’s

Secret/PINK, J.Crew, Wilson’s Leather, Sidney Thomas▪ Helped to identify current trends and relationships

that exist between social media, advertising, and consumer engagement

Focus Group Takeaways• Mall underutilizing email correspondence• Social media campaign success, dependent on

targeted demographic • Social Media should be used to reach younger

demographics, using primary target’s monetary backing• Social media giveaways, extremely effective

• Need for mall identity and community-centric content → pulls foot traffic

Research Methods (cont.)● Quantitative: Online Survey

▪ 101 respondents▪ Casted over a four week period, reached out to personal

networks, university network, local businesses, mall shoppers

▪ Made several trips to the mall in order to conduct intercept interviews on our own laptops and tablets.

Very Often

Often

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

Social Media Post Content

Post Content Preference

Company Email Signups

• Education• Gender

Recommendations • 69% of consumers listed Facebook as their favorite

social media account• Facebook - sole focus of social media communication

• Most engaging content consists of trends, discounts, celebrity news, and giveaways

• 75% of respondents would like to see sales and deals on social media sites• Active engagement and distribution from the

Mall’s end

Recommendations • Create an identity for the mall = connect to

consumers • Host events that bring consumers to the mall = instant

foot traffic • Usage patterns lead to an opportunity- Post content

before work and after dinner time (catch the most eye balls)

Recommendations • Christiana Mall Club

• Only 8 participants were current members → lack of knowledge due to low promotion• Promote the club on social media, during events, and

through store distribution • Opportunity for email communication

• 89% of respondents are active or very active on email• 67% of respondents agreeing to enjoying emails from

stores

RecommendationsIndependent T-test takeaways

• Remind shoppers of opportunity to shop for loved ones (optimize on current consumer shopping behaviors)

• Well liked mall events = fashion show → geared towards female demographic

• Use Pinterest to interact with the “YoungFamilies” target market

Recommendations

Community Activities

- Yoga

Fashion Shows

Car Shows

Recreational Events:

- cooking

- painting classes

Small Concerts

Questions