BRANDING: Raffles City revamps with experiential sell.

A 'travel guide' concept is being used to position the mall as the place for fashionistas and lovers of the arts, due to its location near the historical City Hall and the city's newest culture and theatre venue, The Esplanade on the Bay.

Raffles City has printed thousands of leaflets, which look like covers of a travel guide for distribution to shoppers on site and at rival shopping areas, including Suntec City, Takashimaya and Tanglin. The leaflets proclaim the centre as "the next best city" to London (for the arts), Bangkok (for shopping) and Milan (for fashion) and were created by Ogilvy Action.

The design and template will lend itself to below-the-line collaterals and tactical press campaigns which are expected to follow shortly, according to Ogilvy.

The brand campaign, launched on February 20, covers print and outdoor to target an islandwide audience. Tourists will also be targeted using ambient media such as t Map of Singapore.

The campaign was based on consumer perceptions of Raffles City as both a shopping mall and a meeting point/destination, due to the close proximity of the City Hall urban railway station.

Another insight was its cultural heritage - its location in the city near the Esplanade, site of much of Singapore's early history.

"By fusing 'destination' and 'cultural melting pot', we conceived the travel guide concept," said Laura Gordon, senior account director of Ogilvy Action.

"An interactive direct response mechanism also allows Raffles City to send tailored updates on forthcoming events, in addition to building their customer database.

"Retail ads for malls are often tactical; you lose the opportunity to build an identity for the mall itself and they become androgynous. How often have you skimmed through press and not considered the advertising at all?"

Raffles City's senior advertising and promotion manager, Mun Ling Lee, said: "This new brand campaign is a refreshing one as the creative is a departure from the usual 'one woman' icon that is prevalent in local shopping centre advertisements.

"The travel guide concept is an 'experiential' approach (to show that) Raffles City is more than just a place to shop, but it is a retail experience that is engaging, fun and rewarding."