Abstract:

Advertising in shopping malls offers an unparalleled opportunity to communicate to consumers when they are close to point of purchase and perhaps more receptive to the message. However, two principal issues limit demand for this medium. The first issue is a lack of tangible evidence that shopping centre advertising 'works', the second is no standard reach and frequency currency or any other simple media metric to allow for planning. Over two years Eye Corp has conducted several research projects on the effectiveness of shopping mall advertising across two different countries. This paper summarises the results from this considerable body of knowledge, clearly demonstrating shopping mall advertising 'works' in terms of raising campaign awareness. Factors shown to drive campaign awareness are also presented. Overall, results are shown to be consistent across Australia and New Zealand. Evidence for relevance as an important driver of shopping centre ad awareness is also presented. In conclusion the authors argue for media to be considered and selected not simply in terms of reach and frequency but with regard to the more powerful consumer motivations of relevance and recency.