Image Credit : Portfolio imagery: Amanda Prior
Project Overview
Large corridors with cold white floors, bright lights and for sale signs. Each square metre designed to make money. Zombies of mindless consumerism moving through the space on autopilot.
How did one brand on the rural outskirts of Melbourne completely disrupt the way the Australia views the traditional shopping mall?
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Creative Director: Mary Talato
Lead Designer: Graziela Machado
Designers: Caroline Hunter, Giulia Baldini, Sarah Nguyen, Lisa Pogossov
Account Director: Kristina Granberg, Liz Keene
Print Production Manager: Lindsay Cheek
Copywriter: Emma Shane, Julie Faktor
Campaign Photography: Steven Chee (fashion) and Dieu Tan (still life)
Video: Alexis Ayala
Project Brief
In response to the rapidly changing demands of lifestyle driven consumers, QIC Global Real Estate has a new vision to build and develop not simply places to shop, but platforms for personal expression. Creating centres that connect communities and to celebrate authentic relationships.
Located in the East of Melbourne, Eastland offers the best in international retailers and conceptual dining experiences and art spaces. QIC relaunched Eastland in 2015 as one of the first expressions of its philosophy, repositioning the centre as a magnetic destination tying together a multitude of interactions, experiences, and emotions.
eskimo was tasked with creating a new brand identity and launch campaign that would champion contemporary thinking and design-led innovation, moving the sector into unchartered territory. The role of the brand was to disrupt the preconceptions of the community, and to position Eastland as pioneers in their field, communicating QIC’s vision. Under the creative platform ‘Coming Together’, our brand expressed this in all facets.
Project Innovation/Need
In direct contrast to the expected design cues of the sector, our campaign approach was based around the notion of ‘Eastland Encounters’ and takes a close-up view of the individual experiences that the new Eastland facilitates. Visualising a moment, and inviting the audience to indulge in the prospect of a heightened state of life. This concept was expressed through our poetic, ethereal tone of voice, vibrant and engaging colour palette and experience-led photography of captured moments. The objective was to create a mood and evoke emotions depending on the stories we were telling.
Design Challenge
An inherent challenge with our brief was society’s preconceptions — not only of what a shopping mall is to the community, but also the specific legacy of Eastland itself as a rural and spiritless place, detached from any kind of global trend.
Our communications had to work very hard to reposition Eastland to a more elevated standpoint. Going from being perceived as behind the times to being at the forefront, our aim was to change the sector, reposition Eastland as the thought leaders and bring new ideas to Melbourne. All while educating the public to the specific experiences that have never before been available at shopping centres, but were now at Eastland.
Effectiveness
Eastland launched its new brand campaign to the public three weeks before opening.
The early scepticism of whether Eastland could become an experiential destination soon turned into to eager anticipation.
"With only days left to wait, the excitement is palpable." - Herald Sun.
Facebook and instagram membership soared, and click-throughs to the Eastland website from our online advertising was unprecedented.
Across the first 4 days of opening, traffic increased by a phenomenal 49.8%.
The launch was featured in local and national press, and social media was flooded with references to Eastland, it's offer and atmosphere.
"Eastland reinvented as a high-end fashion frontier" - The Age
"Hundreds of frenzied shoppers queued to get a first glimpse of the redeveloped centre" - Herald Sun
Graphic Design - Identity and Branding
This award celebrates creative and innovative design in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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