The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) announced the winners of the 2022 SCCA Marketing Awards at last night’s Gala Dinner, with QIC’s Grand Central Shopping Centre ‘Butterfly House’ campaign awarded the top honours as the Sabina Rust Memorial Prize for ‘Campaign of the Year’.

Hosted by Sylvia Jeffreys, Channel 9 journalist and news presenter, the special occasion held at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney was the first time in two years the industry has been able to come together to celebrate the Awards that acknowledge the ‘best of the best’ shopping centre marketing campaigns.

Sylvia Jeffreys, Channel 9 journalist and news presenter

The entry with the highest score, regardless of the category entered, is awarded the Sabina Rust Memorial Prize for Campaign of the Year. The winner receives $15,000 from the SCCA as a contribution towards professional development in the marketing area.

Anthony Mellowes, Chairman, Shopping Centre Council of Australia said, “I congratulate this year’s nominees, finalists, and winners. It’s incredibly important that we also reflect on the huge milestones delivered and resilience shown by the shopping centre industry over the last couple of years.”

“Amongst our nominations, I’d like to extend congratulations to the team at QIC’s Grand Central Shopping Centre, who the External Judging Panel awarded as the winner of this year’s ‘Sabina Rust Memorial Prize for Campaign of the Year’ for its ‘Butterfly House’ marketing campaign.

External Judging Panel: Claire Fabb – Chatime, Aimee Lynch – Timezone and Paul Pozzobon – NAPA Centre

“I’d like to thank my colleagues on the SCCA Board and our Marketing Awards Committee for their ongoing dedication and commitment, and to making our Award’s program an ongoing success. I also extend my sincere thanks to our external judging panel; Paul Pozzobon – Managing Director/CMO, NAPA Centre, Claire Fabb – Head of Marketing, Chatime, and Aimee Lynch – Head of Marketing, Timezone. Aside from the independence of external judges, we are incredibly fortunate to have external experts consider and critique our industry’s campaigns,” said Mellowes.

Winning Campaign: Butterfly House
School holidays at Grand Central historically are a key period of increased visitation as families seek opportunities to entertain children – providing Grand Central with an opportunity to capture leakage from customers travelling to other metropolitan competitors. Like most centres, pandemic implications significantly impacted Grand Central both from a sales and traffic perspective, but also the community’s capacity to confidently return to centre events.

The activation of a bespoke Butterfly House, specifically designed to keep local butterfly species, provided a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience for the regional target market, reconnecting Grand Central with its community through family engagement.

Commenting on the winning campaign, the judges said: “A simple concept, executed beautifully to engage with customers to create long-lasting memories.”

AMP Capital’s Macquarie Centre’s ‘Sending the Love’ campaign was the Runner Up of the Sabina Rust Memorial Prize for Campaign of the Year and they will receive $5,000 as a contribution towards professional development in the marketing area. The campaign, at its heart, was to acknowledge the challenges Macquarie Centre retailers, customers and in-centre staff have faced throughout the COVID lockdowns. With the prolonged COVID impacts, mental and emotional health continued to grow with 44% of its customers stating it was their main concern. The campaign encouraged people to connect and engage with friends or families who mattered most.

The Shopping Centre Council of Australia will also donate $5,000 to each of the four community charities or groups nominated by the community category winners.

A full list of all the 2022 Award Winners can be found here 

“I’d like to thank our 14 sponsors. Without their support, this night would not be possible. This support is a wonderful acknowledgement of the key role that marketing plays in the success of our industry, and the need to celebrate this success. I wish you all the very best for the remainder of this year and look forward to a successful Christmas and 2023,” Mellowes concluded.

As the official media sponsor of the SCCA Marketing Awards, SCN will also be showcasing the winning campaign and category winners in the next issue – Little Guns edition.