destination marketing Archives

Amy Young, Senior Account Manager at Activate gives her viewpoint.

Attending a recent Creatives & Placemaking event, and then seeing Mary Portas’ e-newsletter drop into my inbox on ‘What makes a place?’, made me ask myself, is the work we’re doing at Activate really making a difference?

Digging deeper into some of the projects I’ve been personally involved with during my nine months at Workman, the answer is clear, we are!

From literacy partnerships and youth focus groups to environmental projects, meanwhile use activation and creative arts – these initiatives all play a key role in the wider place and marketing strategies we’re developing for our clients.

The role of investment in placemaking

The Portas newsletter commentary highlights the growing investment in placemaking, something we’re seeing firsthand at Workman, both in the assets we manage and as part of property management tenders we are responding to. People, place and customer experience are increasingly at the centre of the scope of work.

From investment in customer experience and place audits to long-term place strategies, we’re increasingly seeing asset managers and building surveyors integrate placemaking services into their complete development lifecycles – whether at the early master planning stages, or through to business planning, build and operational stages.

One comment in the newsletter struck a chord, “We need fresh thinking, ideas and dedication to creating places people love to be in – not because they have to be, but because they want to be. Places that enrich and keep enriching life, evolving with the ebb and flow of culture.”

Bespoke and unique

We know that placemaking isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The work our wider team is involved in ensures we’re truly understanding what makes a place unique. How can we harness local insight, respond to real needs and bring this to life in ways that align with a place’s future aspirations. This all supports our overall approach to placemaking, focused on supporting assets to attract and retain their customers.

Recent placemaking highlights:

Manchester Fort Shopping Park
A shopping park located a few minutes’ drive from the city centre, Manchester Fort serves a diverse, hyper-local catchment.

Recent community highlights include partnering with a local charity to host a youth focus group, involving young adults from the area. This provided a valuable opportunity to listen to their views and better understand the needs of this audience.

The session has sparked wider conversations around employment opportunities, CV workshops and skills development. Reviewing how Manchester Fort can support young people during their visits, including opportunities for involvement in co-creating events.

Marshall’s Mill

A former spinning mill located in the Holbeck area of Leeds, the area is home to 85 companies, employing 1,800 people – making it a bustling business neighbourhood.

Working in partnership with the on-site team, Activate delivers an annual programme of events at Marshall’s Mill, including initiatives that bring occupiers together, as well as those designed to engage the wider community.

Up next is a four-week series of wellbeing workshops, part of Mental Health Awareness Week and co-hosted with one of the on-site occupiers. The events feature a variety of curated activities, including a sketch club, outdoor bootcamp and mini massage sessions – all designed to normalise conversations around mental health and support employee wellbeing.

And beyond the results, there’s something deeply rewarding about this work – knowing we’re making a real difference in helping communities and places thrive.

Want to carry on the conversation? View Activate’s latest brochure and highlights video below, or contact us to discuss how we can bring your space to life.

Source: Portas POV e-newsletter, ‘What makes a place’ – March 2025.

Croxley Park celebrated summer 2024 with its festival event – Croxchella – delivered 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 saw employees, their friends and family, and the local community, get together in a celebration of summer. The mini-festival took place on 31st July, when for one big day, Croxley Park was transported to the Colorado Desert (home of the Coachella festival) for a festival-packed experience of music, dancing, eating, and socialising.

Open to all, the event featured a giant Ferris wheel, glitter and airbrush artists, hair braiders, body marbling, live entertainment & DJs on the main stage, a silent disco, food trucks, an Aperol Spritz Bar, festival giveaways and so much more.

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.”

Croxley Park’s Croxchella event

Croxley Park Summer Festival 2024 - Croxchella

See Activate’s summer 2024 season showreel here:

To find out more, contact us here.

What a summer it’s been! Our team has been hard at work delivering unique and engaging events that inspire, excite, and unite communities across multiple destinations. From interactive installations to themed festivals, every experience we create is designed to drive footfall, increase dwell time, and foster lasting connections within the heart of each location.

Activate Summer Showreel 2024

At Activate, we specialise in transforming everyday spaces into immersive environments where people gather, explore, and enjoy. Our events are designed to make every moment memorable, and this summer was no exception.

Highlights from Activate’s summer 2024

A kaleidoscope of butterflies at St Christopher’s Place

Discover how we brought a dazzling, vibrant butterfly installation to St Christopher’s Place, captivating visitors and creating a colourful, Instagram-worthy experience.

Read more here

Amy Young appointed in newly created role of Senior Account Manager
Martha Parry and Hannah Baldwin-Quirk appointed as Marketing Assistants.
Placemaking on the rise as Activate picks up a range of new retail, leisure, and commercial instructions.
Activate now delivers Destination Marketing at more than 30 properties.

Specialists in Placemaking and Destination Marketing, Activate welcomes Amy Young in the newly created role of Senior Account Manager, along with Martha Parry and Hannah Baldwin-Quirk as Marketing Assistants.

Having worked in the retail sector for ten years, within marketing agencies including ICG, Amy’s experience includes account management of shopping centres and outlet scheme clients across the UK.

In her new role, Amy will create partnerships with on-site teams that enhance the offering and showcase the multi-channel Activate approach, while taking the opportunity to grow Activate’s services and team.
Martha brings experience as a social media community and influencer officer, for Transport for Greater Manchester, where she focused on community management, as well as building and maintaining influencer relationships. She is looking forward to applying her expertise in building and managing communities, whether online or IRL, to the benefit of Workman’s Activate clients.

Hannah is an experienced social and digital marketer, having managed multiple social media channels for firms including CKE Law, consistently ensuring brand voice, profile, engagement, and consistency.
Rapid growth for Activate.

The past year has seen Workman’s Activate team grow rapidly. The team is now engaging with occupiers at workplace and retail communities to drive footfall across more than 5m sq. ft of offices, business parks, and retail and leisure schemes across the country, including recent new instructions: Croxley park, Watford and St Pancras Campus.

Now celebrating its fifth anniversary since launch in 2019, the growing Activate team manages client marketing and placemaking budgets in excess of £1.4m. The team produces and publishes more than 4,000 pieces of social content every month, with average organic social media growth up by more than 50% year-on-year so far in 2024.

Emma Henson, Place Marketing Manager at Activate, said: “Our new team members join Activate at an exciting time for us, and will help drive the service on its rapid growth trajectory, supporting our clients as they look to provide valued places for people. In today’s market, where office and retail destinations must not only compete against one another, but also against homes and the screen in everyone’s pocket, I believe that places have a crucial role to play in building community, engaging occupiers, and delivering social value.”

Andrew Sparrow, Director of Placemaking at Activate, said: “We are aiming for our office instructions to achieve asset management objectives around increasing occupier satisfaction and retention levels. There is a competitive market in terms of where businesses now choose to take space, so occupiers will question the added value of each site, and what they and their employees stand to gain from it in terms of community, sustainability, and wellbeing.”

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.

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.

Moretown: Summer Social was a slam dunk

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.

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:

The Peel Centre, Bracknell

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.

Skegness Retail Park

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.

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

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.