AgVoice | Shopping - Sale to Happiness

Shopping is an amazing phenomenon. For many(read women) it's a thrill; One plans for it, prioritizes it over a week full of things to do, saves money, spends hours dreaming about the things one wants( who cares whether it's a need) and one cajoles the spouse, friend, lover, parent into seeing things just like you do- with a glint in one's eye. (thank god there is rayban to keep the unnecessary out). On the other end of the shopping rainbow, the retailers in the mall polish up their nameplates, don ribbons on the mannequins, make identical discount advertisements(percentage symbol without fail) and gaze casually (but terribly nervously) for bargain hunters to troop in.

And then, nobody turns up at the mall. NOBODY. Well nobody got to know there was something exciting happening. So it turns out that nobody came and the rest went to the nearest outlet. Why? Well¦somebody had to invite them.

Welcome to the world of experiential marketing ladies & caddies on the planet called malls.

Who can forget the aroma of fresh baked cake at the neighborhood baker? Or the menacing biceps at the gymnasium when you decide what you need to do with your body.

When it comes to SALE periods, when margins are wafer thin, it becomes all the more necessary to get innovative in letting the world( in your catchment) know that the roses are reddest, the music is sweetest & value add amazing in the communication that goes out.

To make it strictly a chapter out of marketing mantras here goes some things one ought to, ought to do. Rest you can leave to the discerning ability of the Indian shopper.

Make an interesting SALE gambit- the mall communication has to be eye-catchy. So what is it doing that makes people make a mental note as "places must visit'. Is the mall wrapped up in a sale ribbon or are the brands lining up their offerings all together in a Mall advertisement so that one makes a decision sitting in one's bed rather than in someone else's atrium.

Select MEDIA forms- have to be effective, yet remain cheap & flexible. Where does the Target group hang out most? Who do you really want to come to your mall? Oh, so you created a new media form. Bravo!

Set TARGETS to achieve- A Mall is best served when its retailers are on its side. Sitting with them helps to work out numbers. So what is the footfall projections best suited, maybe something unique will come out of the efforts as retailers realize every footfall is a shared wallet. Hey maybe it will help the mall plan for the extraaa numbers of cars that one doesn't have space to park!

Do Pre Event Communications- yes in the mall, in the store. Tell people before the sale period starts to expect something exciting soon. If already in the sale period, plan for the weekend ahead, let the offers dangle and aid the shrewd shopper decide on another visit soon.( with her neighbor & bigger shopping carts)

Create an experiential moment- nothing travels faster than an experience. So what's really unique there to experience, why would you click a snap and share it with your friends over social media, why will you come back to live the thrill again? Did the mannequins come alive suddenly or did we hear that a "rush hour' has been created where the discounts on offer became even more seductive.

Stretch the mind, think out something true to your mall and you will see the shopper paying for it. Literally.

For all that we all do is live up to FIVE "I' which if figured out well do make every situation into an opportunity. And a Mall in a SALE period is an ideal testing grounds for this principle. One starts at home with getting an invite, on arrival in a Mall one is informed, with adequate simulation( read well designed offer & activations) one is induced and with a personal touch one identifies with a brand thereby leading to the sale where the "I' in every being is satisfied. Illusion, innovation, insights & intentions complete the list of enticing hats that experiential marketers will don to make the sale comes home to welcoming shores. | By Vijay Dewan, Founder, EVERYTHING GOES! Communications

About Vijay Dewan:

Vijay Dewan an Automobile Engineer is also a Hospitality and Disc Jockeying, self-taught graduate. He ran a club at 23 and then pursued Mass Communications which resulted in him having stints in copywriting, scripting AVs and anchoring TV shows. Vjay took the entrepreneurial plunge with the inception of "EVERYTHING GOES! Communications' in the year 2000. He reckons he is sufficiently qualified to strike a meaningful conversation with nearly anything- furniture, animals, automobiles, wind and people.