The top accolade at the South African Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) Footprint Marketing Awards 2022 - the Spectrum Award – has been won by Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Gateway, in KwaZulu-Natal, is owned by Old Mutual Property and marketed by Excellerate Brand Management.
The SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards celebrate retail excellence and recognise innovation and outstanding economic and creative achievements. These important awards are unique to their industry and view marketing in the context of strategic shopping centre objectives.
Commenting on the awards, Amanda Stops, CEO of SACSC, says, “Marketing is a fundamental element of any successful business, and shopping centres are no exceptions. Our dynamic industry holds these awards in high esteem because they acknowledge the significant contribution made by malls and their marketers. This year’s SACSC Footprint Marketing Award winners were again judged to a global standard. The winners can stand proud with the best shopping centre campaigns around the world.”
An impressive 184 entries were received for the SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards 2022 from shopping centres of all sizes and from across the country, and only 17 Gold Awards were given.
Gateway’s community relations campaign, ‘Stronger Together’, undertaken in the aftermath of the KZN riots, scored the highest of all the Gold Awards to clinch the overall Spectrum Award.
Stops describes the winning campaign as “a great example of how quality shopping centre marketing ultimately benefits the communities that a shopping centre serves”.
Darren Katz, Founder and MD of Excellerate Brand Management, highlights the significance of this award. “Receiving the Spectrum Award for marketing – and winning it for two consecutive years, for two different centres under the Excellerate Brand Management umbrella – recognises the heart and soul put into the award-winning campaigns by every team member and confirms that from conceptualisation to execution, the multi-layered campaign journey translated into a unique and memorable experience.”
Katz adds, “Malls require a unique and specialised approach as retail becomes a targeted and personal science. The Footprint Awards recognise exceptional ideas, work, marketing managers and their teams, who live and breathe retail daily, and celebrate their incredible skills, commitment and passion. I know that for our team, a win is not a reason to relax; if anything, it is a brand-new challenge to innovate further.”
Michelle Shelley, Marketing Manager of Gateway, believes that the deep commitment and discipline of staying true to the “Stronger Together” campaign goals from the start right to the finish underpinned its genuine social impact. “It was an extremely difficult time to do anything in KwaZulu-Natal. Public violence, instability and uncertainty made for difficult execution circumstances, which our team had to face head-on with courage and conviction to make a difference to our community and those in need.”
Gateway was one of only two shopping centres to receive multiple Footprint Gold Awards this year, bagging four golden gongs, followed by Sandton City with three. Footprint Gold Awards were also presented to Maluti Crescent, Kyalami Corner, Mall of Africa, Liberty Promenade, Vincent Park Shopping Centre, Centurion Mall, The Pavilion Shopping Centre, Cavendish Square, Kagiso Mall and Denlyn Shopping Centre.
SACSC spearheads ground-breaking solutions that cement the retail landscape as a critical contributor to South African society. It was officially launched in 1991 to advance the country’s retail and retail property sectors. By contributing positively to issues within the industry and providing an effective platform to exchange ideas and share knowledge, SACSC promotes the interests and growth of the industry locally and internationally. In this way, it enhances the success of its members and highlights the role of shopping centres as significant contributors to all communities in South Africa.
For a complete list of the SACSC Footprint Marketing Awards presented in 2022, please visit www.footprintawards.co.za
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Issued by the South African Council of Shopping Centres
Amanda Stops, CEO, SACSC
Tel: +27 (0) 10 300 6096
For more information or to arrange an interview, kindly contact Bronwen Noble at 083 453 6668 or bronwen@catchwords.co.za.
