TUTUBAN CENTERMALL'S NOTABLE MOMENTUM

With its redevelopment plans in full swing, Tutuban Center’s expansion is indeed gaining notable momentum. On track to further serve and satisfy its thousands of patrons, the historic mall is set to build a three-star hotel, refurbish its food court and open a zoo within its premises.

“Some of these initiatives may be outside of the usual redevelopment efforts we usually see in malls. Our location is very strategic. Opportunities are aplenty. Tutuban Center is not just a shopping destination, it is an experience, a tradition, a lifestyle,” explains Ernie Hilario, AVP for Marketing & Business Development of Tutuban Properties, Inc.

One of these developments is the soon-to-rise, 41-room Orion Hotel, which will definitely change the look of the Divisoria skyline in Manila. Consisting of about 13 standard rooms and 27 deluxe single/deluxe twin rooms and one junior suite room, Orion Hotel is targeting transient travellers who wish to explore the beauty of the shopping district of Manila. Aside from that, traders from afar may also wish to stay at Orion Hotel for more convenience in the conduct of their business in the Divisoria area. 

This new and convenient haven for tourists and out-of-town shoppers will be glad to note that it will have basic hotel amenities such as a cable-ready 32-inch LCD TV, hot & cold shower, a Left Luggage room, Key Card room access and free Wi-Fi service for the digitally inclined guest.

Orion Hotel’s doors are expected to open to the public by the 4^th Quarter of this year.

The famous Food Street and Food Court in Tutuban Center will have their facelift as well, to give both these food areas more flavour and outlook.  Both Food Street and Food Court are poised for fun and enjoyable but economical dining experience. 

As if these shopping and dining options are not enough, Tutuban Center is set to unleash a Virtual Zoo, an interactive entertaining concept aimed to attract the typical Filipinos and their great passion for picture-taking and photos. The former cinema area is to be developed into a major destination for fun and recreation for the whole family.

A unique visual attraction, the kid-friendly and tech-savvy zoo is basically a collage of 3D photos mounted on the blank walls of the cinema lobby. The 3D photos will focus on interesting and popular animals, thus, will transform the entire cinema lobby into a virtual zoo. Each wall is a photo booth open to the public.

“This is an incredible and exciting time for Tutuban, and we are just starting!” adds Hilario.

Reference: Joel Navarro

AMPR Publicity and Communications, Inc.

0917.8165635

PARADIGM SHIFT: CONSUMERS AS SHOPPERS

Manila, Philippines—The growing number of competing brands, coupled with an increasing number of critical thinking shoppers, is one of the current challenges marketers and business owners face. According to an official of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA), knowing one’s consumers is just the beginning. To weather these challenges, it is necessary to go beyond knowing and understanding how they behave as shoppers.

“If you are selling in a retail setting, you must be aware of the behavior of your consumers when they shop. Discerning why consumers buy, what influences them, what hurdles their purchase, where they buy, is vital information in successfully achieving your sales targets,” explains Donald Patrick Lim, Overall Chairperson of the Asian Marketing Conference.

Lim is referring to a discipline called “Shopper Marketing,” which is described as brand-marketing for retail, focusing on consumers as shoppers. It looks at a market as active shoppers rather than passive consumers.

While this trend has been utilized by multi-national companies such as P&G and Wal Mart, convincing key decision-makers in the Asia-Pacific region of its importance remains a challenge. According to Lim, there are some hesitations and misunderstandings of the concept since adopting it would require a reinvention and retooling of earlier applied strategies.

As an organization that aims to enable Filipino marketing professionals to become global marketers, the Philippine Marketing Association holds a yearly National Marketing Conference. But for this year, it has been upgraded to an Asian Marketing Conference entitled “Asiannovation2: Unleash the Asian Marketing Masters” and happening on July 19-20, 2012 at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La.

 “This is a great opportunity for Filipino marketers and key decision-makers to gain insights and a better understanding of emerging theories and practices in marketing such as Shopper Marketing. We are glad that Michael Robinson, a Shopper Marketing expert, will be among the speakers,” says Lim.

Robinson has been actively engaged in Shopper Marketing in the Asia Pacific Region, serving as the South East Asia Managing Director and APAC Shopper Marketing Director of Momentum Worldwide.

His business at Momentum Worldwide has produced several customized shopper behavior studies to enable understanding of the roles that various channels play in a consumer’s decision-making process with the goal of producing creative solutions. He co-created Momentum Asia Pacific’s Shopping Lab – a suite of proprietary tools that track shopper behavior to reveal everything from Point-of-Sale (POS) effectiveness to media Return on Investment (ROI).

“There are a lot of challenges to businesses today and we can’t hold ourselves back. We should always be equipped with new knowledge, skills, and tools to achieve successful business strategies and marketing campaigns. There’s still a lot to learn,” advises Lim.

For more information on registration details about “Asiannovation2: Unleash the Asian Marketing Masters,” contact the PMA secretariat at 634-5722, 634-4890, 638-7700, 0927-715-6676, 0917-881-8PMA (672), email asianmasters2012@yahoo.com, or visit www.asianmarketingconference.com.

Reference: Nadine Tan

AMPR Publicity and Communications Inc.

706.1971