Situation
Honey Creek Mall is a powerful retail draw for nine counties in west central Indiana and east central Illinois. Nearly three-fourths of the area’s population visits the mall at least once a month. Local research shows that customers want their regional mall to be more than just a shopping center. They expect an entertaining experience and family oriented activities. They are Internet-savvy and will read eMessages from the mall.

Problem
Honey Creek Mall faces competition from local super stores and strip malls, as well as from malls and stores in Indianapolis just 60 miles away. Established business goals from the mall’s management company are to aggressively grow sales and maintain market dominance. This has translated to goals of creating a new image/brand, increasing sales per square foot, increasing sales in the food court and building additional sources of revenue, which have necessitated reevaluation of the mall’s traditional print and broadcast advertising and in fact the mall’s entire culture.

Solution
As a first step, through an exercise called Unlocking the Power of Your Pledge®, MillerWhite helped mall management develop a pledge that led to the creation of a new tagline, jingle and creative direction. The pledge exercise analyzes responses to several questions about the mall’s benefits, customers and competition. The pledge that emerged was, “Honey Creek Mall pledges to make each shopper’s visit an experience that is entertaining, family oriented and one-of-a-kind,” and the tagline that was created was “It’s All About You.” That new brand/image became a part
of the mall’s marketing.