London, 2016-Nov-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — British Land has launched one of the UK’s largest ever augmented reality games in retail property. Freezy’s Christmas Adventure is being rolled out at 21 local and regional centres across the company’s multi-let retail portfolio. The app based children’s game which is downloaded onto mobile devices encourages families to follow a five step virtual present hunt, helping snowman Freezy overcome obstacles and gather gifts for Santa. This focus on customer experience supports the company’s vision to create Places People Prefer.
The campaign, which runs until 24 December, will help to drive footfall, dwell time and brand loyalty as well as increase sales for occupiers. The marketing initiative responds to the changing way people live their lives by harnessing technology to enhance and enliven the consumer experience and engage with them in a new and innovative way. Recent research undertaken by British Land shows that events can increase dwell time by 41% and a recent enlivenment campaign increased footfall by 180bps ahead of the portfolio average.
Ben Dimson, Head of Business Development for British Land, said: “Consumers want places where they can shop, eat and be entertained. We put our customers at the heart of our offer and Freezy’s Christmas Adventure will give families visiting our centres a fun and memorable experience. Our scale enables us to invest in innovation and industrialize successful technologies across the business.
“We have a loyal customer base who often shop with their children (18.3% compared to the national average of 14.8%) so we think a family game that can be safely uploaded and played again and again is perfect for our customers and their children.”
The present hunt is aimed at children aged between three and nine. It is compatible with all handheld devices, is downloadable from the device app store and does not need wi-fi to run. British Land’s retail portfolio reaches 60% of the UK population meaning the game can be downloaded once and then played near home or at any other participating British Land centre while visiting family and friends over the holidays. A competition forms part of the campaign with a range of prizes on offer including iPad Minis and toys.
The game is the first of a four campaign partnership between British Land and augmented virtual reality specialist Harmony Studios. The initiative follows app and gamification trials at three centres throughout 2016 as part of British Land’s commitment to embrace technology to enhance the in centre experience.
The game is available to play at most regional and local centres including: Beaumont, Leicester; Broughton, Chester; Crown Point, Denton; Drake Circus, Plymouth; Ealing Broadway, W5; Eden Walk, Kingston; Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh; Glasgow Fort; Inverness; Meadowhall, Sheffield; New Mersey, Speke; Nugent, Orpington; Old Market, Hereford; Orbital, Swindon; Serpentine Green, Peterborough; SouthGate, Bath; St Stephen’s, Hull; Surrey Quays, SE16; Teesside, Stockton; Tollgate, Colchester and Whiteley, Hampshire.
About British Land Notes to Editors
We are one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies. We own, manage, develop and finance a portfolio of high quality commercial property, focused on retail locations around the UK and London offices. We have total assets in the UK, owned or managed, of £20.0 billion (of which British Land share is £14.6 billion) as valued at 31 March 2016. Our properties are home to over 1,200 different organisations ranging from international brands to local start-ups. Our objective is to deliver long term and sustainable total returns to our shareholders and we do this by focusing on Places People Prefer. People have a choice where they work, shop and live and we aim to create outstanding places which make a positive difference to people’s everyday lives. Our customer orientation enables us to develop a deep understanding of the people who use our places. We employ a lean team of experts, who have the skills to translate this understanding into creating the right places, and we have an efficient capital structure which is able to finance these places effectively.
Retail assets account for 50% of our portfolio which is well matched to the different ways people shop today. We are focused on being the destination of choice for retailers and their customers by being the best provider of spaces and services. Comprising over 20 million sq ft of retail space across multi-lets, superstores, department stores and leisure assets, the retail portfolio is modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats.
Our Office and Residential portfolio, which accounts for 48% of our portfolio, is focused on London. We have an attractive mix of high quality buildings in well managed environments and a pipeline of development projects which will add significantly to our portfolio. Increasingly, our Offices are in mixed-use environments which include retail and residential elements. Our 7.5 million sq ft of high quality office space includes Regent’s Place and Paddington Central in the West End and Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share).
The remaining 2% of our portfolio is at Canada Water where we have a 46 acre redevelopment opportunity in our medium term pipeline. Our industry-leading sustainability strategy is a powerful tool to deliver lasting value for all our stakeholders. By supporting communities, improving environments and growing economies, we create Places People Prefer and enhance long term returns.
In April 2016 British Land received the 2016 Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday honours. The Award is the UK’s highest accolade for business success and is given to companies which bring major economic, social and environmental benefits through their own business success. It was awarded to British Land for continuous achievement in all these areas over the last five years.
Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com.
[1] Data taken during Eats from the Street events which took place over 10 consecutive weekends (during August – October)
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
Jonathan Rae
British Land
020 7467 2938
Media Relations:
Pip Wood
British Land
020 7467 2838
Jackie Janssen
British Land
020 7467 3449
Emma Hammond
FTI Consulting
020 3727 1227
Gordon Simpson
Finsbury Group
020 7251 3801
Source: British Land