Initial response? A flat no
"When we were planning the 45th anniversary celebration of the Oasen last year, we wanted to do something a bit bolder than your traditional campaign with special offers, glitter and balloons," explains Margareth Kristiansen, marketing coordinator at the Oasen Storsenter.
The centre just happened to have a store manager at Kappahl who was also turning 45, so the marketing campaign came up with a campaign called the 'Elisabeth Days', named after the store manager.
"Elisabeth was also part of the marketing team that needed to approve the campaign concept, so it was fun to watch her facial expression as we started presenting the idea. Her initial response was a flat no, but she eventually agreed to it on the condition that she would get to approve all elements of the campaign," says Centre Manager Dag Einar Solberg.
Elisabeth turned 45 in all channels
During the campaign, huge pictures of Elisabeth were posted around the centre and in social media, together with the message 'Elisabeth is turning 45 (and as it so happens, so is the Oasen)."
"We held a contest where customers could win Elisabeth's dream chair and throughout the week, we also had a daily music quiz on the local radio station that focused on Elisabeth's favourite music," says Solberg.
He believes that the theme and design of the campaign fit the Oasen like hand in glove.
"It reflects exactly what we stand for each and every day. Our focus is on people and community."
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The campaign also included a chance to win Elisabeth's favourite chair. The picture is from the campaign. PHOTO: Oasen Storsenter -
A proud group of team members from Oasen accepted the Marketing Activity of the Year award.
Campaign leads to record turnover
Thomas Rønning, head of the shopping centre division in the Olav Thon Group, is impressed by the creativeness of the Oasen campaign.
"We generally have lots of clever and creative people at our centres, so I think we'll definitely benefit from the results of this teamwork."
The Oasen Storsenter is located in Karmøy just outside of Haugesund and achieved a turnover of over a million Norwegian kroner in 2022.
Centre Manager Solberg says that the 'Elisabeth Days' definitely contributed to total turnover.
"The last time we posted record sales during a single week was in 2019, and we beat that record by over a million kroner this time."
He hopes that Elisabeth at Kappahl will keep doing her job for quite a while longer.
"After all, we'll be celebrating our 50th anniversary before long," he concludes with a smile.
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