During a 15-year partnership, O&G led all PR efforts for Aventura Mall and helped navigate one of the most ambitious expansions in the property’s history. Their team of skilled professionals excelled at building widespread industry awareness and securing high-profile media coverage that kept the property at the forefront of the industry. They were a dedicated group that truly understood the nuances of brick-and-mortar retail and community relations.
Yamila Garayzar,
Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sponsorship & Retail, Turnberry
Aventura Mall
OVERVIEW
For 15 years, O&G led all local, national and international PR efforts for Aventura Mall, one of the country’s largest and highest revenue producing shopping centers. In 2015, the mall’s ownership, led by Turnberry CEO Jackie Soffer, embarked on an ambitious 315,000 sq. ft., three-level expansion wing to include retail shops, chef-driven restaurants in an outdoor courtyard, a stand-alone Foster & Partners-designed Apple store, experiential art by Carsten Höller (93-foot tall slide) and The Haas Brothers (Gorillas in the Mist fountain), a food hall, and a rooftop event space. Designed by Carlos Zapata, the new wing would reflect Soffer’s vision of creating a dynamic new indoor-outdoor gathering space for locals and tourists.
Approach
- Developed and implemented comprehensive public affairs plan to address the two-year construction project, which would include closing the food court, relocating the county bus terminal, eliminating hundreds of parking spaces, and more.
- Built national and international pre-opening buzz to support leasing efforts.
- Liaised with key constituents, such as Soffer, Zapata, Höller, and the Haases to ensure their concepts were accurately positioned to media.
- Established new wing as the ultimate destination for culture-seekers, trendsetters and culinary enthusiasts.
- Showcased Aventura Mall as the new wave in brick & mortar retail, an anomaly in the shopping center industry.
O&G Impact
- O&G and the Aventura Mall team minimized neighborhood concerns, supported existing retailers and restaurants during construction, and partnered with Miami-Dade Transit to ease the new bus terminal transition.
- O&G built widespread industry awareness by securing significant media coverage from an array of retail trades such as Shopping Centers Today, highlighting announced tenants, including Apple, Zara, Tesla and more.
- The wing opened in November 2017 with tremendous media coverage, including an array of broadcast stories and a Miami Herald business cover story.
- PR efforts culminated in a January 2020 New York Times feature story, Dying Malls? This One Has Found a Way to Thrive and subsequent July 2020 Urban Land profile piece.
