In the spirit of keeping the magic alive this Christmas, Unlimited’s Primedia Lifestyle team behind the marketing of the Chatsworth Centre in Durban, presented shoppers with a Christmas experience never seen before.

Imagine going into a shopping centre and being able to walk into a real life snow globe, with Santa Clause and his helpers waiting to take a photo with you.  Over the festive season Primedia Lifestyle and its team of retail experts brought in a life size 4m x 3.5m photographic snow globe into the centre, which created a unique and memorable experience for shoppers.

Combined with a host of festive family activities in the centre, Primedia Lifestyle’s Christmas campaign yielded 3500 photos of shoppers and their families being snapped in the snow globe with Santa, while foot traffic increased by 7% compared to Christmas 2010 and turnover increased by 6%.

To accommodate additional shoppers flocking to the centre over the festive season, the Chatsworth Centre also extended its trading hours to enhance the shopping experience.

Primedia Lifestyle’s MD Doug Mayne says, “Client requested that a totally new concept be introduced at the festive season that would set the Chatsworth Centre apart from competitors and surrounding malls. The snow globe was a huge hit and the supporting activities ensured that parents and their families had lots of good clean holiday fun.”

The team also provided an exciting and interactive entertainment line up for children, including Playstation and Nintendo Wii gaming, karaoke and dance mat competitions, arts and crafts, cooking classes, snake shows and movie screenings.

The Chatsworth Snow Globe and Christmas campaign was supported by advertising throughout the centre as well as out of home and community newspapers advertising.

Chatsworth is home to 56 500 households, with a population of 254 250, most of whom use the Higginson Highway on a daily basis, which is where the Chatsworth festive out of home creative advertising was located.

“The combination of the festive activities and our advertising campaign were all designed to create excitement and anticipation over the holidays and ensure that shoppers knew exactly what to expect at the centre during this time. Christmas is a peak shopping period and attracting and maintaining the high market share for Chatsworth Centre during the festive season was crucial,” concludes Doug.

The centre is situated within the heart of the community of Chatsworth, +/- 20km from the Durban CBD. Chatsworth shoppers are predominately Indian LSM 6 – 8 and mainly English speaking. The Centre is renowned for its truly rich Indian Eastern experience and boasts a total of 150 stores ranging from exquisite eastern and trendy western clothing and jewellery, to furniture, authentic food services, and all major banking facilities. 

Primedia Lifestyle DNA
Founded in 1996, Primedia Lifestyle, an Unlimited subsidiary, delivers marketing excellence to over 50 shopping malls nationwide – from Convenience Centres to Super Regional’s. Incorporating its offerings Source, Red Pixel and Media Xpress, Primedia Lifestyle presents a fully integrated consultancy presenting a one-stop marketing solution including strategy, brand management, CRM, design, media strategy and planning, eventing, sponsorship, exhibitions, production, tenant relations and research.