From immersive settings to ephemeral concert halls, shopping centers and merchant associations do not hesitate to pull out all the stops to attract customers and retain them. A look behind the scenes of these installations with a single goal: to consume on site.
A beach in the city center, a petanque competition with mittens, or even majestic decorations for Christmas, businesses are fighting with great entertainment to attract more people.
Behind the installations are event agencies, the little hands who take care of everything, even “the” good idea. “We generally provide them with ‘turnkey’ concepts, all they have to do is sign the quote” explains Dylan Rozay, director of the company LS events.
The teams of these companies are therefore constantly looking for what will work best.Christmas is an important period for us, but so is Black Friday, since it has become part of the customs of the French“.
LS events also offers “an annual formula, on which we have identified all the most important moments“. Some traders are, however, on already established lines. By betting on Halloween for example, or more on Mardi Gras. And often, decorations accompany the events.
“We necessarily have our own equipment, with fir trees and other cobwebs.” explains Dylan Rozay, “but when we want to make a zombie walk around, we have to find it, so we work with outside artists“.
Elise Allard is one of these independent artists. Self-employed since 2022, she specializes in the world of princesses. Most often, she takes on the features of Elsa, the Snow Queen, but not only: “those that come back quite often are also the Little Mermaid or Rapunzel“.
This princess lover knows that parents’ favorite animated films are passed on to children, and bringing a little magic into shops or private homes works.
She then matches the features of each character, puts on a wig, a costume, and uses her talent as a singer to transport the little ones into a world that they usually see behind a screen.
The primary target, to get wallet holders to consume, is children. “Especially during the Christmas period, we keep them busy, while their parents do their shopping.” specifies Dylan Rozay. It is also the youngest who are the most sensitive to advertisements on social networks or in the street. They then drag their parents to the stores. Competitions and other activities will do the rest.
On the contrary, some recipes have been abandoned “like the animations during sporting events” relates Christophe Jouvin, director of the Pamo company. The current Euro football tournament, for example, is not popular with the centers “since it is often teenagers who come to participate. They are independent so they no longer come with their parents, but they also do not have a big budget“.
Sometimes, Christophe Jouvin’s teams launch risky proposals”like organizing a women’s race on a Sunday“The stores are closed, and traders are nervous to see so many investments in vain.”It was a success since at the last edition we had 8,000 registered. The shopping center was talked about before the event, but also after“. And the traffic followed. It was the health crisis which finally stopped this race.
At the Rives de l’Orne in Caen, the summer activities are centered around “Caen Plage”. An event that seems to be working since it has been renewed for the 7th year. The summer of 2024 is centered around beach games, with tournaments of “beach volley, beach soccer, beach handball et de beach rugby” specifies the shopping center on its website. Here too, “Above all, it allows us to bring visibility and flow through bringing people in” explains Alexia Torretti, director of the shopping center.
As when Vitrines de Caen organizes the “world championship of pétanque with mittens”, these events aim to build customer loyalty and attract new ones who come to spend their budget in partner brands. And why not, in the process, attract the local press. With one stone, several calls.
