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The CentrO is the largest shopping complex in continental Europe according to the German National Tourist Board. There are 200 shops and the complex attracts more than 20 million visitors every year (http://www.germany-tourism.de/ENG/destination_germany/master_tlshopping-id1159-fstadt_topshopping.htm). Their impressive lineup of sponsorship programs revolve around beverages, ice-cream sales, telecommunications, energy, banking and children's products and generated $3.12 million of annual income in 2006.
They have identified different niches that can be served more effectively. Partnership agreements have been created that specifically target these markets to enhance their shopping experience. The Coca-Cola-sponsored food court targets teens that tend to spend a lot of time hanging out at the mall, improving the teen mall experience while stimulating sales. Another key demographic is the parents with young children that are prone to become fussy and cause parents to leave the mall too quickly, thus limiting sales opportunities. To address this phenomenon the mall has implemented a sponsored child-care center, allowing parents the opportunity to shop in a more relaxed manner that improves the shopping experience and increases the time spent at the mall which translates into more sales. Furthermore, there are sponsored closed-circuit cell phones parents may use to keep in touch with their kids in the child-care center while they shop which further encourages parents to use the service. The tenants of the mall is another niche that is served through sponsorship programs. The mall purchases energy directly at a discounted price and resells it to tenants, which generates additional revenue for the mall while still offering lower energy prices to individual tenants. The different sponsors allow the segmentation and targeting of different markets while capitalizing on the core competencies of all of these companies. Now is the time for shopping centers to seriously consider integrated, relevant, and synergistic sponsorship programs that enhance the shopping experience while generating additional revenue and benefits.
A summary of their long-term sponsorship programs:
(to read the full ICSC articles please visit http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0504/page189.php and http://www.icsc.org/srch/education/awards/maxi2006/RI1mil_1399CentrOCorpPartnerProg.pdf)
Food court/beverages: Coca-Cola Oasis
- Logo appears on everything from signage to cups and food trays
- Video wall broadcasts sponsors’ (purchased) messages
- Branded in-house venue for concerts, fashion shows and other promotional events
- Exclusive rights to sell its products in most of Centro’s venues
- Comprises 97 percent of all beverage sales in CentrO, making this mall its biggest point of sale in Germany
Coffee, ice cream: Nestlé Schöller
- Exclusive supplier rights for coffee and ice cream sales in common areas
- Naming rights to the family-oriented Nestlé Schöller Adventure Island in the CentrO leisure park
Telecommunications: Vodafone
- Sales and promotion rights, POS ads, sponsorship of events
- Test market for new technologies
- CentrO is often the first to get new Vodafone technologies
Energy: CentrO buys at reduced price and resells to tenants
EVO, an Oberhausen-based regional power supplier
- Exclusive power supplier
- furnishes the center with Christmas lighting.
e-on Ruhrgas, Europe's biggest gas company
- Portable propane heaters on terraces of eateries replaced with permanent heaters connected to new gas pipeline
Child-care
The Pritt Co.
- Sponsors Pritt Kinderland, a child-care center
Düsseldorf-based ISIS
- Provides closed-circuit cell phones to parents whose children are in the child-care center, so they can keep in touch while they shop
Banking: Citibank
- 9 ATM machines and a kiosk
