One Sweet Food Court Offer

As the fifth biggest shopping centre in Portugal, Centro Comercial Parque Nascente in Rio Tinto knows a thing or two about using marketing to influence shopper behaviour. This year, however, the centre is taking on a bigger challenge: changing Portuguese consumers’ lifestyle, particularly when it comes to eating.
"The Portuguese normally [dine out] when they are on holiday, but not during the rest of the year," says centre manager Pedro Barbosa.
If he has his way this will all change, at least as far as his own clientele is concerned.
This year, Parque Nascente is introducing 365 nights of Animation: Hard to Resist, a comprehensive marketing programme created to bring footfall to the centre, invite people to have dinner outside at no cost and make the centre more palatable to upscale customers—this, without abandoning the economically diverse clientele that Parque Nascente attracts as a regional centre.
The programme offers a mix of entertainment and promotions in a roster that looks like this:
Mondays the centre will hold: a weekly contest for the best idea on how to improve the shopping experience at the centre (e.g. new shops, customer service, traffic management and special events). Anyone who dines at the centre can participate and the best ideas receive free airfare for two to European destinations such as London, Paris, Barcelona and Milan.
Tuesdays will see buskers entertain the crowds with magic shows, mime performances, pyrotechnical performances and more.
Wednesdays is concert night with three partnering companies sharing the stage. Some weeks, there will also be yoga demonstrations.
Thursdays are dedicated to theatre, with events taking place in the food court.
Fridays and throughout the weekends, visitors will take in painting exhibits with more than 150 painters contributing their works to the project.
On Sundays, Parque Nascente plans to help its customers relax to the airs of a piano concert before getting ready to tackle yet another week of activities.
Parque Nascente hasn’t forgotten children either. On weekend mornings, they’ll be entertained on the centre’s three playgrounds, and there will also be plenty of outdoor events and exhibitions year-round.
Barbosa says he hopes that the sheer number and variety of events will create positive word-of-mouth—the programme launch was an eye-catching one with 70 tenants and members of the press enjoying a boat ride on the river.
Still, the centre isn’t taking any chances with its promotion.
Most of the programme’s advertising will use indoor media vehicles and, on occasion, flyers, drop mail and outdoor.
The centre may even experiment with viral marketing to make its programme even harder to resist.