MARK 3301 CASE

Zhi Peng Gong
Case Study
MRKT 3301-N2
Nov 13, 2013

1. Why has Mall of America been such a marketing success so far?

The reason why the Mall of America has been such a marketing success so far, especially from the marketing perspective, is the Mall not only as the largest shopping paradise, but a tourist attraction that provides unparalleled shopping and entertainment experience like no other place and give customers drive to come again.

2. What (a) retail and (b) consumer trends have occurred since Mall of America was opened in 1992 that it should consider when making future plans?

The key trend that has revolutionized the retail industry in all these years is the advent of internet as a major shopping channel. The traditional brick and mortar stores and the mall experience are getting negatively affected by the increasing use of internet as a shopping medium. To overcome the threat of ecommerce and online retailing, Mall of America's marketing team should make more efforts to continue their brand positioning of MOA as a unique tourist attraction and just not another shopping mall. In making future plans, the MOA's marketing team should try to distinguish themselves by providing new and unique experience to its visitors by continuously innovating and offering value added features to the mall. Further, internet should be extensively utilized as a tool to market the mall to consumers from outside the region.

3. (a)What criteria should Mall of America use in adding new facilities to its complex?(b)Evaluate(i) retail stores,(ii) entertainment offerings, and (iii) hotels on these criteria.

(a)The criteria for the new facilities of the Mall of America should be advanced, high-level, unique, safety, and not a duplicate of what they have. For the retail stores, the merchandise does not have to be expensive, but memorable or interesting or something related to the Mall. For the entertainment offerings, the safety becomes the most important thing. Base on the safety, creating some new playing method will be more attractive. For the hotels, they have to be comfortable and give customer the feeling like going back to their home.

4. What specific marketing actions would you propose that Mall of America managers take to ensure its continuing success in attracting visitors (a) from the local metropolitan area and (b) from outside it?
Keep the mall fresh and exciting. To keep the local metropolitan area resident exciting about visiting the mall, managers should look into extending the rail service all the way to the mall area without raising the price of the fare. Local resident prefer to have stores that are trust worthy and have good quality, the mall should offer a early-bird special at the movie theater. For the first time visit from outside, there should be a tour guide of the mall to show them around so that they are not confuse and a food voucher should be included at one of the restaurant within the food court. They should also receive a goody bag with all the stores and information about the stores and the mall within a whole. Because of the diverse this mall has a lot to offer for everybody.