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BUDGET SQUEEZING

Cuts in marketing budgets are a challenging consequence of today’s competitive retail environment. Nonetheless, successful programs are possible even with the scant funds available, pros say.

CBL & Associates Properties certainly qualifies as a real estate powerhouse. Yet the company has rewritten its marketing directors’ job descriptions to emphasize retail sales and the overall profitability of each property, says Barbara J. Ivankovich, SCMD, vice president of mall marketing and corporate relations. Sharing marketing costs with partners and sponsors is part of that strategy.

On the corporate side, CBL’s multiyear alliance with Coca-Cola Enterprises allows the REIT to bring major events and celebrities to malls throughout its portfolio. The Coca-Cola Family Racing Experience tour, for example, will travel to 66 CBL malls this year. It offers millions of NASCAR fans the opportunity to ride in race-car simulators, see such attractions as the Coca-Cola Harley Davidson and enter a variety of prize-drawings and contests. Thus far it has drawn about 265,000 shoppers to CBL centers, says Ivankovich.

A high-profile deal with Coke might be beyond the reach of smaller owners, but many other opportunities exist to drive traffic without spending big bucks. Marketing directors at CBL malls are always on the lookout for sponsorship opportunities that can drive revenue, right down to such small details as children’s plastic “race-car” shopping carts bearing the logo of local car dealerships, says Ivankovich. CBL’s marketing teams also use inexpensive holiday promotions and charity events to maintain strong connections with local communities.

When maximizing budgets, attitude is critical. “It is important for a shopping center marketing director to consider the marketing dollars, not as a budget, but as seed money,” said marketing consultant Rebecca L. Maccardini, SCMD, president of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based RMResources. The goal, she says, is to multiply the effect of available dollars by taking maximum advantage of public relations opportunities, sponsorships and partnerships, as well as by trading services in-kind with other businesses. In a perfect world, she says, those efforts should yield a value quadruple the dollar amount of the original budget. Few shopping center owners could argue with that.

— JG