Stamford Town Center

Stamford Town Center (STC) is a recently acquired indoor mall in downtown Stamford, CT. As the new owners were trying to sort out a new vision and value proposition, they were also dealing with the ongoing fallout from COVID and its impacts on brick -and-mortar retail. High vacancy rates and the accelerating cultural shift towards e-commerce put the mall and its brand in a difficult place. While the owners knew a brand campaign alone would not fix the business fundamentals, they approached Riley Group Inc. to design a modern, uplifting campaign that would set the stage for the new direction of the mall.

Our goal was to focus on embracing the very unique cultural moment the Stamford community (and the world) was living in post pandemic, but to do it in a way that captured the enthusiasm we all felt as the world started to re-open. We knew the brand voice had to be relatable, authentic and inclusive. Part of the authenticity meant not trying to over-sell or make the mall into something it could not live up to. It is not a flashy, high-end mall, but has been a mainstay in the community for nearly 40 years. Therefore, our aim was to bring the community back inside, allowing them to celebrate their new found freedom while also getting back to the “retail therapy” they had missed so dearly.

And from that, our concept for “Stampede Town Center” was born.

• The campaign features a series of shopper portraits representing a diverse community - a “herd” of uncaged suppressed shoppers ready to breathe some energy and excitement back into the mall.

• The under-shopped are long overdue for some retail therapy

• They are ravenous for that food-court fuel.

• The time has come to make up for all that lost shopping.

#NowWeShop.

Materials developed included printed posters and ads, barricades for tenant vacancies and web, email and social media graphics.