While Fashion's Night Out events were going on around the country, the über-mall Forum Shops at Caesars celebrated until 11 p.m. in Las Vegas with a host of celebrities, designers, and entertainers on hand for activities, in-store events, product demonstrations, and promotional giveaways in support of the global shopping initiative. Personalities on board to draw the crowd included Harrah’s headlining comedian Rita Rudner, Pussycat Dolls founder (and producer of the Caesars show by the same name) Robin Antin, designer Donald J Pliner, and—for an only-in-Las Vegas touch—the hunky Australian cast of the “Thunder From Down Under” show at Excalibur. Maureen Crampton, director of mall marketing and business development for the Forum Shops, oversaw the marketing and coordination of the program.
"Las Vegas has really become such a terrific shopping destination, one of the top three reasons for visiting the city, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority studies," she said of the tourist draw that made the approach different from other cities'. "Our focus is on the collection of specialty shops that enthusiastically leapt in on Fashion's Night Out. More than 45 retailers hosted in-store events, offering gifts with purchase, discounts, new products, and food and drink, with the evening really centering around the consumer. In addition, we received a great response from local talent, who visited a variety of shops, interfaced with customers, chatted, and added that personal touch a shopper would not generally experience."
Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, Agent Provocateur, Anthropologie, Armani Exchange, David Yurman, DKNY, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Judith Ripka, Juicy Couture, Lacoste, Stuart Weitzman, Tiffany and Company, and Y-3 were among the participating retailers. Forum Shops restaurants like Spago and Sushi Roku also joined the festivities.
As for marketing the program, Crampton said the approach was broad and multipronged. "We developed this campaign in conjunction with Fashion's Night Out New York, of course, a combination of multimedia, including newsprint, social media, hotel customer check-in, electronic, direct mail, email blasts, print collaterals, guerilla marketing efforts, and the support of all of the participating retailers, who reached out to their individual clientele," she said.
"We had lots of meetings and continual communication," she said of the process. "We began in July, thinking that we would investigate any interest in participation among several key retailers. We started with 10 shops, and it blossomed from there. The Forum Shops marketing team consists of three individuals, but all departments had a hand in this event: housekeeping, maintenance, security, concierge, valet parking, our PR firm, WJA Agency, and our partners at Caesars Palace. This type of orchestration really does depend on a group of supportive professionals."
