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Feature Article, May 2005
Creating A Love Center
The founder of The Lab and The Camp, America's “anti-malls,” fills us in on how shopping centers should be created — from the heart.
Shaheen Sadeghi
Let's face it, American consumers don't need more material things. We have all the things we need to live our lives. So what's driving us to shop? And how did we get the Olympic gold medal for consumption? The fact is that American consumption is not driven by “need,” but rather by “want.” So as we try to market even more products to this massive, oversaturated audience, how do we tap into what the consumer “wants?”
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Do you have plants on the roof of your shopping center? The Camp does.
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Human attention has become a major currency. Marketers vie aggressively for every spare moment of our time. We now have TV screens on airplanes in the hopes that as we're riding through turbulence and suffocating in the middle seat, we may break down and charge something on our credit card. Only later, when we're more “grounded” do we question why we needed that battery operated remote control tie rack. On my last trip to New York, I was confronted by a TV screen hawking products in the confines of a restaurant bathroom. There truly is no escape. Sitcoms become product placement havens, our e-mail is attacked by spammers, dinner is interrupted by telemarketers and the doorbell more often than not signals a Girl Scout selling diet destroying cookies. How do we meaningfully approach and connect to a modern consumer who is fast becoming numb to our sales pitch bombardments?
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The common area at The Camp.
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Retail is a social function. Shopping is not just about buying stuff. It provides the social and cultural connection that people are looking for. Developers have become locked into formulas that don't account for important elements such as quality of life, culture and emotions. The shopping experience must encompass the body, mind and the soul. It's now less about selling and more about creating a cultural connection and a people's place of commerce. It's no longer just about Gen-X, Gen-Y or the baby boomer. Culture is the new instrument of measure. It's the new demographic and blind to age.
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The Camp's tenant directory.
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We are consumers by nature. I have fond memories of spending time with the Inca Indians in Machu Pichu years ago. People there still grow their own food, make their own clothing and build their own homes. While extremely self sufficient, each Friday the entire village gathers in the town center wearing their best clothes for a bartering celebration. The corn farmer trades for a sweater, the ironsmith trades for shoes, and there is conversation and food for all. It is a social function in its purest form. Emotion is the driving force of our lives. We all have emotions. They affect the way we interact with each other, make decisions and, yes, shop. If you look at any successful brand, it has made an emotional connection with its customer. Apple Computer is an excellent example. A computer is really just a bunch of chips jammed into a box. Apple made a beautiful box that captivates its customer and developed a marketing story that makes its customer feel special and unique. It also carried the love to its retail presence. Apple did it again with the iPod. That emotional connection sent Sony, the inventor of small music boxes, into a spin. Sony had the technology but didn't make the emotional or the cultural connection. No matter what the product is, you need to make this connection.
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You've heard of soft seating areas, but The Lab has an entire living room in its common area. .
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Where is the love? Consumers everywhere are coming to expect love from their brands — to know them intimately and individually. Love and respect can't be bought — it must be earned. Real love takes time and is not a formula. “Love centers” are retail centers that create their own innovative culture and make an emotional connection with their customers. We now see a global consumer with very different values, origins and aspirations than previous generations of consumers. We have a maturing and sophisticated audience. While the demographics continue to evolve, it's still that primitive tool of emotions that allows us to connect to this new era consumer. It's an unlimited resource, which if we take the time to understand, can give us a great direction straight to the consumer's heart. Whether you live in Machu Pichu or Michigan, you need love.
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Not your everyday water feature — this one at The Lab is made of recycled steel drums.
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So next time you begin to develop a shopping center, think of love before you think of tenant mix. Think of people and their culture before you think of the building style. Let's create “love centers” to replace “the mall” — a place that addresses our “wants” through love and a warm, cultural connection. Think of the Los Angeles Farmers Market. Ask the consumer if they love this center. I think you will get an overwhelming “yes!” Think of the local performing arts centers and their dedicated patrons. Think of the neighborhood restaurant where they know you by your first name and where you like to sit. It's not just about selling people stuff. It's about meeting the cultural needs of the new American consumer.
Homogenization is for milk, not for retail. Love is in the air.
Shaheen Sadeghi is the founder and president of The Camp and The Lab, two anti-malls in Orange County, California. He can be reached at shaheen@thelab.com
©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
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