Savills to launch a new place-shaping and place-marketing service

Placemaking is a key buzzword in the commercial real estate industry and has grown to become a crucial strategy. This movement has quickly become essential for an asset to attract and retain tenants, enjoy repeat footfall and ultimately, grow and maintain value.

Assets are transforming into destinations people enjoy to live, work and shop, with strategies and campaigns being tailored around the social element of a physical construction. We’ve seen all components of asset management advance and diversify including operations, facilities management, marketing and everything in-between, the core focus has become the tenant/guest experience.

Last month, Shopping Centre Magazine re-branded to become ‘Retail Destination’. This name change is a fantastic example of how the market is shifting. Shopping Centres are no longer places where people go to make a simple purchase, they are destinations where guests have experiences, meet friends, eat dinner or enjoy a leisure activity.

This shift in the market has led to international real estate advisor, Savills, launch a new service: place-shaping and place-marketing.

This new service will see the merge of their CMS and POP Marketing functions to create a 60-strong team. The two functions both specialise in the consumer experience: CMS transforms town and city centres and POP Marketing provides events, PR, social media and marketing services.

Nick Herward, head of property management at Savills: “Savills Place Shaping & Marketing will complement our existing services by helping to transform what were traditionally thought of as spaces into places where shoppers, office workers, students, local residents or any relevant demographic group not only need but want to be.”

The commercial real estate landscape is changing and expectations are rising. Physical assets are being designed and developed around the social use, transforming assets into places people want to visit and stay, not because they need the facilities. Whether it be retail, student accommodation, office or leisure focused assets, the development and management are altering significantly.