Scentre Group has released its official Christmas campaign, ‘The Night (way) before Christmas’, as the countdown to the festive season and Santa’s early arrival next week, begins.

Coming to the end of what has been a difficult year for many, the campaign acts as a reminder for customers that the magic of Christmas will come to life at Westfield Living Centres across Australia and New Zealand this year.

“We feel encouraged by the growth in consumer confidence as we adapt to a COVID-safe normal and are gearing up for a safe, easy and festive Christmas this year,” said Phil McAveety, Scentre Group, Director, Customer Experience. “The TVC is just one part of the campaign that lives and breathes across our centres. We’ll be inspiring customers and supporting our retailers with a true Christmas experience including festive events, Elf on a Shelf activations, an expanded Black Friday platform and, of course, the decorations we are known for.

“Our customers are telling us Christmas will take on even greater importance, and we are looking forward to making Christmas magical at Westfield, whilst prioritising the wellbeing of our customers, retail partners and employees during this critical trading period.”

This year alone, more than 2,000 Christmas elves are spending over 1,000 hours installing Christmas decorations in the darkness of night across Westfield Living Centres. The integrated campaign will launch across 42 Westfield centres in Australia and New Zealand as well as earned, owned and paid channels, including:

• TV advertisements will feature across all major metro and several regional networks across both Australia and NZ
• Broadcaster VOD will extend the reach of the campaign in Australia
• Radio will be used to promote services and opening hours closer to Christmas
• Broadcast across the Westfield SmartScreens and SuperScreen network – more than 1,500 screens
• Digital buy across YouTube, Mobile Display and Facebook
• PR and social

The in-centre experience at Westfield includes:

• Santa’s arrival | Reindeer Rescue: To coincide with Santa’s arrival on November 7, Westfield will launch Reindeer Rescue, an augmented reality game that encourages customers to find Santa’s missing reindeer. Those who play will have the chance to win a Westfield Digital Gift Card.
• Santa photography: Customers visiting their local Westfield Living Centre can book in to have their annual photograph with Santa, with centres across Australia and New Zealand offering the full suite of Santa photography options, including Sensitive Santa and Pet Photography. Customers should plan ahead and book online this year with limited walk-in spaces available. Physical distanced waiting bays will be in place for those who have made a booking. Bookings are now open and can be made online
• Elf on the Shelf: 12 days of Hide & Seek, the crowd-favourite The Elf on the Shelf ® is back. There are also plenty of other fun activities to get families in the Christmas mood this holiday season including craft workshops, online competitions and in-centre photo moments.
• Tell them thanks: Leave no one in need this Christmas with the Westfield Wall of Thanks. Customers are invited to take a minute to give thanks to someone in their community this year on a specially created Westfield Wall. For every message written, Westfield will donate $1 to Lifeline.

Scentre Group’s operational update announced 5 November: 

• All 42 Westfield Living Centres continue to remain open and trading with the highest level of health and safety standards implemented. 
• 92% of retailer stores are now open and trading (including Victoria), with more stores in Victoria to reopen over the coming weeks. 
• During the 10 months ended 31 October 2020, the Group has collected $1,621 million of rent, an increase of $746 million since 30 June 2020. 
• The Group has collected $187 million and $203 million of gross rental billings in the months of September and October respectively. 
• The Westfield Plus membership program now has more than 750,000 members (an increase of 250,000 members since 30 June 2020). 
• In September, the Group issued $4.1 billion of subordinated hybrid notes, further diversifying the Group’s sources of capital and strengthening the Group’s credit metrics. 
• In September, the Group announced the intention, subject to unforeseen circumstances, to pay a distribution in early 2021 from surplus net operating cash flows received during the 2020 year. 

Customer visits during the September 2020 quarter were 90% of the same time last year across the portfolio (excluding Victoria). Portfolio occupancy was 98.4% at the end of September 2020. 

Year to date 2020, the Group has completed 1,395 lease deals (renewals and new leases), representing approximately 167,000m2 of gross lettable area. 

Additionally, the Group has reached agreement regarding COVID arrangements with a total of 3,187 retailers, representing 89% of the 3,600 retail brands across its portfolio. This includes agreements with 2,299 SME retailers under the Commercial Tenancies Code of Conduct. The percentage collected is calculated based on gross rental billings before the application of any abated or deferred rent arrangements.