Hillside Centre in Trendz Magazine

Hillside Home Improvements

Shoppers, celebrities and corporate partners lend a hand to Habitat for Humanity Victoria

Michele Paget might need to make more room for birdhouses at Hillside Centre (Hillside) this spring. As the marketing manager for the Western Canadian mall, she’s already contacted some of her past media and corporate partners about Hillside’s second annual Birdhouses for Habitat campaign, which benefits Habitat for Humanity Victoria, and they were all quick to respond.

“Our promotional letters will be going out in early February, but we’ve spoken to some of our contacts and they’re really excited about the project. We’re getting questions like, ‘Are there any limits on size?’,” Paget said.

Friendly competition is a key motivator in this multi-media campaign, which Suburbia Advertising created under Paget’s direction. Birdhouses for Habitat centers on a display of birdhouses. Some are built and donated by various area businesses, some are designed by students from local schools, while others are creations of local celebrities.

The birdhouses will be displayed at Hillside in March, when shoppers will be invited to cast a $2 vote for their favorite professionally built birdhouse and enter for a chance to win it. The mall also plans to host a silent auction for the birdhouses built by students and celebrities, with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity Victoria.

Last year, the inaugural campaign was held April 18 through 26, and it enabled the mall to raise $5,500 for the charity.

“It was so popular and it was due primarily to word of mouth,” Paget recalls.
“As soon as we opened up the local celebrity category, people started getting into it. We were delivering pre-made birdhouses to the celebrities and they started talking about it on air. We even had Hudson Mack holding up his birdhouse in front of the camera to get viewers’ suggestions.”

Mack, the television anchor at A Channel, spoke about his creative endeavor during a prime-time newscast. Meanwhile, The Ocean 98.5 radio personality Dawn Kaysoe encouraged her listeners to head to Hillside and vote for the Ocean birdhouse during her “drive” radio segment.

The in-mall morning decorating session that Hillside held for celebrities on April 25 was also an effective traffic driver, as were the children’s decorating workshops. These were held in the early afternoon on April 19, 20, 20, 25 and 26, attracting 175 child participants.

To keep the momentum going and lay the groundwork for the 2009 campaign, Hillside decided to support one of Habitat for Humanity Victoria’s own programs.

During this past holiday season, the charity held a gingerbread house display at the Inn at Laurel Point in downtow Victoria. Hillside participated by preparing a promotional piece for the birdhouse campaign and handing it out to all of the charity’s attending corporate partners, including representatives from Lumberworld, Rona and Canadian Tire.

“We decided to reach out to them. They’re very loyal to Habitat for Humanity and there’s a real connection there. Having spoken to everyone at the black-tie event, we’ll be that much further ahead when I send out our letter for the birdhouse event. The birdhouses are also quite elaborate, so people do need the appropriate lead time.”

If the response is the same this year as it was last spring, it will have the dual effect of driving traffic to Hillside, while allowing the mall to fulfill its CSR mandate.

“Last year’s campaign was our first project with Habitat for Humanity, even though we’d had them on our list for a long time. We had originally hoped to tie in our expansion and redevelopment to the program, but there were delays. So we decided to just go ahead and try to develop a program,” Paget said.
“They’re an excellent organization and they have an interesting way to select recipients. The families have to put in their ‘sweat hours’ and work on the site, side by side with the carpenters and other contractors. This gives them a real sense of ownership. The organization not only helps people abroad in struggling countries, but also right here in Victoria. It has managed to come up with a formula that works in today’s world and economy.”

Hillside’s Birdhouses for Habitat will take place March 13 through 22.

Media Mix

Hillside used these vehicles to promote its Birdhouses for Habitat campaign:

• Print (newspaper)
• Radio
• Outdoor (transit)
• On-site (showcards and door signs)
• Web (www.HillsideCentre.com and Shop Talk e-newsletter)