A kaleidoscope of iridescent butterflies has fluttered into St Christopher’s Place, just in time for Pride and the Paris 2024 Olympics…
With our Activate Placemaking team putting the iconic destination front and centre of so many summer shopping lists, the butterfly installation added a rainbow shimmer to the boutique retail haven, making it a perfect stop-off for selfies and social media sharing opportunities.
Our Activate team are constantly striving to put retail destinations at the heart of their communities, while also attracting engagement from all quarters.
No Glasto? No problem. At Croxley Park, Croxchella is coming to save the day.
Croxley Park’s Croxchella Festival event has been devised by the Activate team, which manages the Park’s events programme, focusing on 12 large events per year, working closely with the on-site team to develop concepts and oversee the delivery of each event.
Croxchella is designed to help employees, their friends and family, and the local community, get together in a celebration of summer. The mini-festival will take place on 31st July, when for one big day, Croxley Park will be transported to the Colorado Desert (home of the Coachella festival) for a festival-packed experience of music, dancing, eating, and chilling.
Open to all, the event will feature a giant Ferris wheel, glitz and glam in the form of glitter artists, airbrush artists, hair braiders, body marbling, live entertainment & DJs on the main stage, a silent disco, food trucks, Aperol Spritz Bar, giant festival flags and dressing, festival giveaways and so much more.
As guests flood into the festival field, giant colourful C-R-O-X-C-H-E-L-L-A letters will set the stage for this show-stopping and social-snapping festival, providing an Insta-worthy selfie-opportunity.
Giant 6m high silk flags will fly high above the bustling crowds and entertainment, creating a rainbow of colours and drawing attention from far away, helping revellers find their way to the festival grounds.
Our Emma Henson, Activate’s Place Marketing Manager, said:
“As our largest workplace engagement initiative yet, we’re excited to see Croxley Park buzzing with even more energy and joy. Our commitment to bringing workplaces to life continues to grow, with Croxchella being a shining example of how we create memorable experiences for communities.”
(more…)Moretown’s 2024 Summer Social was a huge hit!
The event was held as part of the Activate team’s placemaking programme at the central London scheme, which is managed by our Welcome Offices Property Management team.
Occupiers at the site were invited to enjoy a slam dunk, funfair games, food trucks, and pop-up bar, all designed to encourage people to socialise.
Find out more about Activate’s Placemaking & Destination Marketing in workplaces and retail spaces here.
Our Activate Placemaking team supported the annual Port Solent Comic Con in June. The event was a massive hit, with more than 13,000 fans arriving for a day of character-inspired fun, putting the Portsmouth Harbour retail park at the heart of its community.
For one day only, Port Solent retail park was transformed into a haven for pop-culture enthusiasts, offering an array of attractions that delighted attendees of all ages. Highlights included the Jurassic Park Zone, where visitors came face-to-face with prehistoric giants, and the chance to meet Jedi Masters showcasing their lightsabre skills.
The Joker Squad added a hint of chaos to the event, while fans were thrilled to step inside the iconic DeLorean. Meanwhile, the ever-vigilant Ghostbusters not only safeguarded the convention from otherworldly dangers, but also raised more than £2,000 for Cancer Research UK.
Our Activate Placemaking team invited occupiers at the Quadrangle to an unforgettable Summer Social event last month – it was an evening of fun, food, laughter, and connection.
Activate is increasingly applying its enlivenment skills to workplaces, from large business parks such as Croxley Park, to central-London multi-occupier commercial spaces such as Moretown and Smithson Plaza, to smaller more boutique office developments including the Round Foundry in Leeds, and The Spark in Newcastle.
A core Activate principle is to create a joined-up approach with the onsite team, increasing quality and efficiency, both of planning and at the point of delivery.
Online services: Activate’s destination marketing specialists are not only skilled at enlivening physical spaces like Moretown and Smithson Plaza, they’re experts at creating a buzz online too.
Over the past year, a growing element of the team’s destination marketing service has involved supporting many of our clients with online services such as web development, design, and user experience requirements.
At The Quadrangle, a four-storey mixed-use site in Cheltenham including a roof-top restaurant, the team is currently collaborating with retailers to roll out a refreshed digital communications and enlivenment programme. Meanwhile, there is plenty planned for office occupiers at the site, including a website refresh to encourage community building and boost occupier engagement.
Return on client investment
The Activate team are experts in social media communication, which they closely track, measure, and analyse for effect on sales, footfall, and occupier community building, to demonstrate return on our clients’ investment.
For The Springs shopping centre in Buxton, the team launched a new website just in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, across four South Street Capital-owned and Workman-managed retail parks, the Activate team has boosted social media engagement, aiming to enhance the local visibility of the retail park, and resulting in increased customer engagement.
And it doesn’t end there, photography and videography play an increasingly vital role in our online services showcasing the facilities and occupiers within retail spaces and workplaces alike. Recently, the Activate team refreshed the on-site videography at Putney Exchange to showcase the scheme’s independent occupiers, key facilities, and the café culture in the local area.
How can we help?
To find out more about how Workman’s Activate Placemaking and Destination Marketing team can support retail and workplaces both digitally and physically, please contact Emma Henson.
Working across four South Street Capital-owned and Workman-managed retail parks, Activate has boosted social media engagement, and worked with the owner to support footfall, sales, and customer engagement, aiming to enhance the local visibility of the retail park.
Emma Henson, Place Marketing Manager at Activate, Workman’s Placemaking team, said: “We have seen positive outcomes over the past 18 months, and are excited to collaborate with the client and Workman property managers at South Street Capital’s retail parks to generate a consistent level of engaging content, through special promotions, seasonal offers and unique initiatives.”
South Street Capital has instructed Activate to provide destination marketing activity, which encompasses seasonal giveaways throughout the year, promotes local events and those of retailers on site, and uses updates on the parks’ social media channels to increase awareness and reach. To deliver this, the Activate team also utilises paid media to increase audience reach, resulting in a wider base for retailer content.
What’s the impact so far?
Activate’s Destination Marketing service has positively impacted the South Street Capital retail park portfolio to date, with a combined digital reach of 211,680, engagement of 20,424, and 10,190 website visits.
Broken down at each of the four sites, here’s what’s been achieved:
Reach: 31,102 people in 2023
Engagement: 974 engaged users on social media content – liking, sharing and reacting to posts.
Followers: 637 across social media channels
Website visits: users increased 66% over the past quarter and continue to rise.
Ashton Retail Park, Ashton Under Lyne
Reach: 12,000 people in 2023
Engagement: 600 engaged users on social media content – liking, sharing and reacting to posts.
Followers: 200 across social media channels
Website visits: users increased 23% over the past quarter and continue to rise.
Reach: 17,231 people in 2023
Engagement: 1,070 engaged users on social media content – liking, sharing and reacting to posts.
Followers: 135 across social media channels
Website visits: users increased 66% over the past quarter and continue to rise.
Blyth Valley Retail Park, Blyth
Reach: 17,915 people in 2023
Engagement: 1336 engaged users on social media content – liking, sharing and reacting to posts.
Followers: 181 across social media channels
Website visits: users increased 16% over the past quarter and continue to rise.
What’s next?
The Activate team have planned giveaways on social media during 2024 to raise awareness of the retail parks’ social media channels, where regular retailer content is posted to promote occupiers.
Throughout the year, one of our Activate team will be visiting each retail park, as we continue to promote local events to create community-led social media accounts, increasing our follower count and reach of occupier brands.
Read more about the Activate service here.
Andrew Sparrow, Director of Activate – Workman Placemaking is featured along with other industry experts, in ACROSS Magazine’s outlook 2024 special edition.
In the piece, Andrew discusses how placemaking continues to play a key role within the real estate industry, with social value delivery and measurement fundamental.
This article originally appeared in Across.
St Christopher’s Place is a vibrant urban quarter, featuring high-street and independent boutiques as well as eclectic dining options. Discovered via a narrow alleyway off Oxford Street, the piazza and its surrounding streets are full of shops and restaurants, with a buzz that’s more local than tourist. Close to Selfridges, it is perhaps London’s best-kept secret, and benefits from a busy West End.
Under Workman’s property management since December 2022, the onsite team has now expanded to deliver the scheme’s marketing programme in-house.
Our team, led by James Wall, General Manager for St Christopher’s Place, and new addition Marketing Manager Kate McDonald, supported by Activate and Emma Henson, Place Marketing Manager, will develop the yearly strategy for the scheme and roll this out across web, digital, PR, advertising, and enlivenment.
Emma Henson, Place Marketing Manager, Workman’s Activate team 
James Wall, General Manager, St Christopher’s Place 
Kate McDonald, Marketing Manager, St Christopher’s Place
Working closely with occupiers, cultural partners and the wider West End stakeholders will be fundamental to their approach. By bringing the management of the marketing programme in-house, Workman’s team will be responsible for the 360-delivery of the activity, with the addition of on-site resource to drive this forward.
James Wall, General Manager at St Christopher’s Place, said: “With a busy year ahead, collaborating and working in partnership with experts is a key part of our scope of work. This allows us to create impactful content, showcasing why St Christopher’s Place is a must-visit for consumers in 2024. Ultimately our focus is on increasing footfall, dwell time and spend for our occupiers, while of course maintaining the profile of St Christopher’s Place for Londoners and also those visiting the capital this year.”
Kate McDonald, who recently joined the team as Marketing Manager for St Christopher’s Place, said: “I’m fortunate to have joined the team at such an exciting time, and to be the first on-site marketing manager. Working with Activate and the wider Workman team will bring a tremendous amount of industry experience to how we deliver the marketing activity, especially given the full team of digital and marketing professionals who will be supporting me with strategy and delivery. I know that our one-team-approach will reduce costs and increase the efficiency of what we can deliver, supporting the activity we have planned for the year, while allowing me the time to focus on engaging with the brands and wider stakeholders on a daily basis.”
The team is particularly focused on building greater connectivity with office workers located around the scheme, and developing a community offer for the scheme’s residential occupiers. These were two objectives to emerge from the most recent occupier marketing meeting, and the team is keen to develop this with them over the course of the months ahead.
Activate, Workman’s Placemaking and Destination Marketing team, has been instructed to manage the events programme at Croxley Park in Watford.
The team will manage the Park’s events programme, focusing on 12 large events per year. Working closely with the on-site team, Activate will develop concepts and oversee the delivery of each event.
Planning is well underway, with events to include: Popcorn & Pictures Outdoor Cinema, Cinco De Mayo Mexican Festival, plus the ever-popular Oktoberfest.
Activate is increasingly applying its enlivenment skills to workplaces, from large central-London multi-occupier commercial spaces such as Moretown and Smithson Plaza, to smaller more boutique office developments including the Round Foundry in Leeds, and The Spark in Newcastle.
With over 60 businesses , employing over 1500 employees onsite, the Croxley Park instruction is Activate’s largest yet, and joins the team’s growing portfolio of workplace appointments, all focused around occupier engagement and place enlivenment.
A core Activate principle is to create a joined-up approach with the onsite team, increasing quality and efficiency, both of planning and at the point of delivery.
How social value drives occupier retention
At many office schemes, a client priority is to embed their property into the local community and contribute to social value initiatives within the area. Activate will not only look to collaborate with local businesses as suppliers, but will also consolidate the Park’s links with local community groups and the voluntary sector.
Andrew Sparrow, Director of Activate, said: “It may seem intangible, but for occupiers looking to take up space, social value is increasingly front and centre of decision making, as employers strive to consider the lifestyle and values of their employees. One of Activate’s key strengths is recognising the importance of social value, and the multifaceted return on investment that our clients derive from that, often through driving satisfaction and retention levels.”
Many occupiers are interested in the potential for employee-volunteering schemes or activities and networking events, which can be held on site.
“For our clients, we create strategies around embedding their schemes within the local area, often by shaping a programme of activity around that brings the community together with the commercial space,” Andrew says.
The Activate team, led by Andrew Sparrow and Emma Henson, Activate’s Place Marketing Manager, will deliver its first event at Croxley Park in Q1 2024.