As life slowly returns to normal in the wake of COVID-19, brick-and-mortar stores are facing a unique set of challenges, namely: how can retail environments move the needle to attract shoppers away from e-commerce? This is a cornerstone of Trademark’s redevelopment philosophy. A major pillar in this approach is aggressively and strategically increasing event programming.

In 2020 Trademark hired Chuck Steelman as Vice President of Experience to lead activations and experiences across Trademark’s portfolio. The former Neiman Marcus director started in mid-2020 and is beginning to expand customer offerings that can’t be bought online.

This philosophy has paid massive dividends for three of our properties, as key events like the 2020 SNOWDAY Activation at Galleria Dallas, the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink at Zona Rosa, as well as the 2021 Emerald Speakeasy and Mary Poppins Experience at Annapolis Town Center have attracted thousands of visitors from their surrounding communities and beyond.

Galleria Dallas is an international destination favorited by locals and tourists alike, and known around the world for its consistently superlative shopping and dining experiences. With its proverbial “one with everything” reputation, Galleria Dallas has an unbeatable retail mix and a full range of dining options, providing an experiential ambiance as big and bold as Dallas itself.

During the 2020 holiday season, the Galleria leaned in to creative solutions to keep the holiday spirit alive while ensuring health and safety during the pandemic – and maybe even helped create new traditions, like SNOWDAY at the Galleria. SNOWDAY is an Instagram-worthy, immersive, interactive holiday wonderland of festive photo ops, enchanted rooms, and interactive spaces that delivered on new experiences and memories.

In fact, the sold-out experience drew both local and out-of-town guests specifically to the Galleria. Over 14,700 guests attended the activation from over 700 different zip codes, some from over 250 miles away. The event drew significant organic and earned media attention as well, with over 8.9M media impressions as a result of the event, including a TikTok post that saw over 4.3M views.

The current re-imagination of Zona Rosa Town Center in Kansas City is investing in redevelopment that is future-focused towards the evolving needs of consumer demand. One key investment is the creation of new, vibrant, and modern family-friendly experiences and events through increasing green space, aesthetics, and wayfinding. These changes have already begun — to marked success despite COVID-19 challenges.

The 2020 Holiday Winter Wonderland activation from late November through mid-January included a curling area and new ice rink installation where an old building had once stood. With over 23,000 guests visiting the ice rink alone, the Winter Wonderland activation brought a 68.8% increase in foot traffic during the busiest shopping period of the year.

In late February of this year, a former F&B space that hasn’t been occupied in over a year was converted to become a limited-time-only local 1920’s speakeasy. This activation featured a secret entrance through a bookshelf, jazz trio, vintage styled DJ and a dance performance. This two night event was publicized through Annapolis Town Center’s Instagram page, and sold out within the first eight hours of the original post!

This COVID-responsible event attracted 160 of the property’s most loyal customers, and rewarded their devotion with an unforgettable evening reminiscent of the prohibition era. Some of Annapolis’ most noteworthy influencers attended the event and generated a significant amount of earned media to promote both the center and its retailers.

The below recap video provides a glimpse into this unique evening. These types of activations are what create a sense of loyalty amongst our shoppers that can only be earned, not purchased.

Kicked off in 2019, Annapolis Town Center is currently undergoing an extensive redevelopment, repositioning itself for the future of retail and mixed-use spaces with the Conscious Place philosophy.

One of the major initiatives has been aggressively increasing key programming at Annapolis to engage the residents and surrounding community, like the Mary Poppins Experience featured above. These changes have resulted in an 48-68% increase in foot traffic during key events. Even better, these changes are translating into better quality shoppers. The average Town Center shopper has seen a +7.4% increase in median household income since before the redevelopment began.