As the shopping experience continues to evolve, shopping center owners are challenged with the ever-changing consumer, their broadening spending habits, and the trendy, cutting-edge competition. The key to appealing to consumers is providing a destination with amenities that take them on a journey, that fulfills all of their lifestyle needs and desires. Madison Marquette has developed a pioneering approach to redeveloping an asset, which the company refers to as their “playbook.” Like in football, Madison Marquette’s playbook is a strategy of tactics and a plan of action. When buying a property, most developers begin with leasing and then focus on a vision however Madison Marquette approaches this process more holistically; the five-phase playbook was designed specifically to create and drive value.

Vision

The playbook process begins with vision. This is the roadmap for the operations, experiences and marketing, and eventually describes what the property “wants to be when it grows up.” With a comprehensive understanding of the true trade area and the competitive landscape, Madison Marquette crafts a clear vision unique to each property. The vision defines the essence of what the asset strives to become, and that drives all future transformational initiatives including communications, merchandising, amenities, experience and design.

Branding

Branding differentiates and distinguishes an asset from its competitors. It’s the promise to consumers, tenants and the community to see the property through its transformation. Branding is also an “experience blueprint” — what consumers can expect to see during peak and non-peak hours at the property. Branding helps create a “leasing story” that appeals to potential, desired tenants, which can include a new logo, a fresh color palette, captivating tagline, or name change, if applicable.

Commitment

While vision demonstrates forward-thinking, a stated vision is not enough to ensure a successful execution. Many times, developers make claims that they are redeveloping properties but, often, the community sees very little action. When redeveloping a property, an owner must “move dirt” to show tenants they are willing to invest in the project. Demonstrated commitment signals to prospective tenants an owner’s desire and ability to achieve the vision, and it’s a way of showing an investment in the property’s future. Madison Marquette doesn’t see barricades or construction signage as negative publicity – these elements express to both the consumer and tenant a pledge to see the transformation from ground breaking to ribbon cutting. The promise of giving value to customer and tenant needs and lifestyle changes, such as adding multi-family units, new parking, upgraded common areas, or owner-investment in robust programming (i.e.: Maker Market programs), exhibits the worth a developer puts on a property, community and its inhabitants.

Activation/Promotion

Activation and promotion go hand-in-hand. These tactics include PR, social media, social influencers and getting the word out in a way that makes sense in that area. To be successful, activation must be strategic and flow directly from the vision and branding. The goal of an activation plan is to create a consistent rhythm of activity and buzz that generates traffic and will resonate with desired prospective tenants. Activation happens both on and off-site. It can include a well-curated specialty leasing program, common area and in-store events, outdoor events such as live-music, community and non-profit events, as well as property graphics and innovative social media and public relations campaigns. Promotion tells the story to consumers and the community. For example District LaBrea, a 85,000 square feet block and a parking structure located on the west side of La Brea Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets needed to stand out. The vision for this asset was to transform the property into a creative collective that incorporated a complimentary mix of retail, food and office by a shared creativity, design and style. The LaBrea team used events, the local art community and pop up stores to generate buzz about the project. LaBrea hosted many events, such as art gallery openings, block parties, seasonal tenants and food truck events to activate the site. To further extend the LaBrea brand repositioning, Madison Marquette identified a unique opportunity to partner with renowned urban artist Shepard Fairey to design and install a mural on the three-story parking garage. The mural reflects the vision of LaBrea and the artistic and creative landscape of the neighborhood

Leasing

Leasing may be the last phase, but it is an ongoing conversation throughout the playbook strategies. Ultimately, it’s the tenants that are the targeted audience of all of the phases. Curating the right mix of tenants drives traffic and sales. A clear vision, articulated brand, activated property and energetic buzz combine to define the leasing story, support the leasing effort and ultimately facilitate its success. While seemingly just another step in the process, leasing is what yields developers’ ultimate goals and creates a value that consumers and communities are searching for. Successful redevelopment strategies in an evolving retail landscape can be challenging. Madison Marquette’s proven and effective redevelopment playbook gives developers and owners critical skills to create quality retail assets that truly reflect the consumer, the tenant and the community.