The shopping mall, that most American of institutions — part bazaar, part boulevard, part climate-controlled escape from both weather and family — is trying to remind people why they used to go there in the first place.
Simon Property Group, which operates more than 200 malls and outlet centers and has long been the largest owner of such real estate in the United States, has begun what executives are calling one of the most ambitious campaigns in the company's history. The effort, built around the tagline "It's a Simon Thing," was created by Simon's in-house team rather than an outside agency, a choice that has become increasingly common among marketers seeking both cost savings and creative control.
The campaign is intended to run as a long-term platform rather than a seasonal push, according to Lee Sterling, the company's chief marketing officer. "We needed a platform to tell a broad story, not just about the mall but for all of our other properties," Mr. Sterling said.
That broader story, it seems, involves reminding consumers that malls exist not merely as collections of stores but as places where human beings occasionally encounter one another in physical space — a proposition that might have seemed self-evident two decades ago but now apparently requires advertising support. (The competition, after all, delivers packages to your door without requiring you to find parking.)
Simon has been working for years to reposition its properties as destinations rather than distribution points, adding restaurants, entertainment venues and other attractions designed to give people reasons to linger. The new campaign extends that effort to the realm of brand identity, attempting to create an emotional connection to the Simon name itself.
Whether American consumers can be persuaded to feel warmly about a real estate investment trust remains to be seen. But Simon, at least, is betting that the mall still has a story worth telling.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Retail Giant Simon Bets on Real-World Connection to Revive Mall Culture"