For Maynineteen family events account for 50% of business and this year they noticed clients were investing even more of their budget into events with a strong family appeal.
Katie Coombes, Director says;
“Everyone is experiencing a squeeze on their family budget during the current economic climate and shopping centres are responding by creating lively and fun family destinations that offer loads of free events and activities for children.”
One such event was Summer Camp at Golden Square. Maynineteen transformed The Old Market Place into an American style ranch. The custom build was tailored specifically to fit the space, with rustic fencing surrounding three distinct activity areas covered in natural bark chippings and grass. Hand crafted wood tables and chairs furnished the set alongside a giant, hand painted tipi. Children were invited to explore the varied space and participate in multiple daily activities scheduled throughout the summer months. Sporting activities included; archery, tennis, fencing, football, bouldering wall, basketball and crazy golf. There was storytelling, a live reptile corner, circus skills and craft workshops, face painters, plus an inflatable planetarium and dinosaur dome.
Jo Prosser, Marketing Manager said;
“During school holidays shopping centres are looking to increase dwell time by keeping the children in families occupied. Getting creative and making the space appealing to them as a day-trip destination can be a challenge. Golden Square Summer Camp was a huge success and with 400-500 daily registrations the centre has already re-booked the event for 2013.”
Family brands are also keen to be involved, bringing centres alive with one-off experiential events. Increasingly Maynineteen is being approached directly by these brands to create bespoke events for specific marketing activities. Responding to a request from Disney, Maynineteen mobilised a team of entertainers in themed costume to encourage children to discover their inner Merida and participate in a prize archery tournament at Westfield Derby to support the launch of the new Disney/Pixar animated film, Brave.
Chris Laws, Regional Marketing Manager at Disney said;
“Maynineteen put forward an excellent proposal supporting all our other marketing activities. I was really happy with the results and the event was a huge success.”
Lego contacted Maynineteen to organise a memorable event celebrating the grand opening of their new store in Manchester Arndale. Maynineteen created ‘The Lego Lounge,’ an area directly in front of the store decorated with colourful soft flooring and furnishings, encouraging visitors to linger a while and participate in the amazing Lego free build event. The store saw a huge increase in sales over the 2 day event.
