The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has launched the “Back. Together.” campaign, a marketing and branding initiative to help its members communicate with one voice about the importance of retailers and retail real estate during the COVID-19 recovery. The ICSC is providing its members with a media toolkit designed to highlight the relationship they share with consumers and their communities.
“Our members have faced incredible hardship over the past several months — and our communities are hurting because of it,” said Rae Logsdon, SVP, Communications, Marketing, Publishing and Research at ICSC in a statement. “‘Back. Together.’ appropriately balances sensitivity to potential consumer anxieties and optimism about reopenings and returning to our communities and centers. The campaign showcases the relationships and the experiences that our shops and centers bring to life, and marks just how integral retail real estate spaces are to our social fabric.”
The campaign, which was developed in partnership with Makeable, seeks to demonstrate why safely opening shopping centers and malls is about more than returning to “normal.” The toolkit focuses on the experience of shopping, dining and entertainment, and can be customized to emphasize either the physical or digital channels.
“We created the branding platform and creative campaign ‘Back. Together.’ for ICSC and its members to celebrate the community and relationships that exist within retail environments for shopping, restaurants, hair salons, gyms and more,” said Brian Flatow, Partner, Brand Innovation at Makeable in a statement. “‘Back. Together.’ is not about pressuring people to come back. It’s about saying, ‘we’re here when you’re ready and we’re doing things responsibly,’ and acknowledging we’ve been missing each other — maybe more than we expected.”
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“Back. Together.” follows the launch of the “Your Business” campaign, a national television campaign calling on elected leaders to create a COVID-19 Recovery Fund. ICSC also has formed the America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, a group of more than 100 industry and business organizations seeking federal action to distribute funds and liquidity to businesses from all industries impacted by COVID-19.
