Client: East Kilbride Shopping Centre
Celebrity profile helps gain maximum coverage for East Kilbride
At 1.2 million sq ft and with over 150 outlets East Kilbride (EK) shopping centre is Scotland's largest indoor shopping and leisure destination. Starting out in 1972, essentially as the town centre, the centre has grown steadily over the years, becoming a focal point for the local community and attracting shoppers from across Lanarkshire and beyond.
To ensure EK stayed ahead of the competition and continued to attract shoppers, a series of communications initiatives were implemented across the malls and in the local EK community.
One part of the marketing push was to create a spectacular festive programme that would attract visitors from far and wide to the centre and position EK as one of the country's top shopping and leisure destinations during the festive period.
At the heart of the programme was a mini concert and Christmas light switch on by pop superstar, Peter Andre. Working with his management team and the EK communications team a multi strand programme was created to maximise his appearance at the centre. This included an online competition organised within the community for local children to meet Peter Andre and a wide ranging media relations programme to publicise the event.
As a result, extensive media coverage was achieved, footfall increased and local community ties were strengthened by allocating several interview slots to local media outlets including an EK school radio station.