The Avenue Fans Out

Retailers aren’t the only ones tapping social-networking sites to communicate with their target audience—shopping centers are getting in on the action, too.

The Avenue, an open-air regional lifestyle shopping center concept with eight locations (five in the Atlanta area; one in Viera, Fla.; and one each in suburban Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.) is using Facebook as a one-stop destination to connect with consumers.

The Avenue, introduced by Cousins Properties in 1998, debuted its ShopTheAvenue Facebook page for its Atlanta-area centers during the 2008 holiday shopping season to engage shoppers in a dialogue; translate its seasonal print ad campaign to a dynamic interface; and provide helpful information to consumers, including fashion tips and trends, retailer promotions, events and contests, and polls designed to gain insight into the shopping behavior of its core audience. It also used Facebook to promote affordable, last-minute gift ideas exclusively to its online Fans.

“Our primary objective was to engage brand advocates and drive new traffic to the Facebook page,” said Angie Leccese, senior VP corporate marketing and brand management for Cousins Properties.

After Facebook members became a “fan” and took action on the page, such as participating in polls or writing on the “wall,” these users were entered into an affordable luxuries contest.

The contest asked for gift ideas for her, him, kids, neighbors, teachers and colleagues, and the prize package provided a big incentive for member participation. The initiative, valued at more than $500, featured popular retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Gymboree, Victoria’s Secret and more. The company exceeded its goal of 1,000 fans by 30% in less than 20 days, Leccese said.

“Shoppers also posted photos of their favorite affordable luxuries and posted comments on the wall about where deals could be found at The Avenue, which increased awareness for our brand and retail line-up,” Leccese noted.

The Avenue also attracted media coverage in traditional print and online outlets, such as blog postings and event listings, which translated into nearly 225,000 impressions and more than $7,000 in ad-equivalency value. This essentially covered the cost of executing the program, said Leccese.

Even now, the page continues to attract new members; it hosts more than 1,500 fans. These members continue to interact with the site, writing on the page’s wall about topics from Valentine’s Day and wedding-gift ideas to deals on teen clothing and complimentary events, such as readings at Barnes & Noble.

To ensure that its Facebook page is kept fresh with relevant content to engage fan interaction, The Avenue marketing team works closely with c21, an Atlanta-based integrated marketing PR firm that manages the page’s content.

The Avenue is also exploring ways to attract new members on Facebook. A gift-with-purchase promotion exclusively for ShopTheAvenue Facebook fans was recently launched.

“Initiatives such as this help us understand and measure shopping behaviors of fans of the Facebook page,” Leccese said.

The Avenue also cross-referenced its Facebook fans with it’s A-List loyal shopper rewards program, and found that 70% were new to The Avenue audience.

“Our current A-List has 72,000 members portfolio-wide, but we hope to engage a new audience through Facebook and invite them to become A-List members,” Leccese said. “Our stretch goal is to increase our fans to 10,000 and our A-List membership to 100,000 over the next 12 months.”

The Avenue also plans to launch the Facebook initiative portfolio-wide to include its other centers in Florida and Tennessee in the near future.