Toronto’s Yorkdale scored big-name sponsors for its holiday activations in part by hosting a Champagne & Shopping event for marketing executives and brand representatives whose companies might become sponsors. The center’s marketing team handed out 50 gift cards worth $200 each at an interactive Q&A highlighting the sponsorship and brand activation possibilities. The event amplified Yorkdale’s pitch to Toronto’s media and experiential brand agencies and landed sponsors ranging from a Willy Wonka feature film to Cesar dog food and Dior.

Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, partnered with Visit Mississauga to target local and regional travelers. The move significantly boosted tourism spending, highlighting the power of collaboration.

In response to Maui's 2023 wildfires, Pacific Retail Capital Partners launched Extend Aloha, a campaign uniting its shopping centers to raise awareness and funds. Through Aloha Fridays with branded social media posts and fundraising, the firm reached more than 868,000 people and secured $25,000 to aid affected businesses and families.

Despite rising suicide rates and mental health issues affecting 22% of the population, only 17% of Americans knew about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. To address this gap, seven shopping center landlords launched a first-of-its-kind partnership, installing signs with the number in 1,450 centers across 40 states, reaching 42% of the U.S. population.

To raise money for local students, five Morguard properties in Canada united to create the School Spirit Showdown. Morguard awarded cash and supplies to the schools that received the most votes. The program raised $6,000 and generated positive publicity.

Cary, North Carolina’s Fenton marketplace and the local chapter of AIA put on a free, interactive event, Triangle Barkitecture, to raise funds for local animals. Architects, designers and creative minds throughout North Carolina’s Research Triangle were invited to compete to create unique pieces of pet architecture.

Stepping up as the central hub for the community after the Maui wildfires of 2023, Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center in Kahului, Hawaii, transformed into a critical resource center, hosting donation drives, partnering with organizations and uniting the island with a benefit concert.

Annapolis Town Center responded to a 12% rise in homelessness by converting a vacant storefront into a Shine Station, a donation dropoff and information center for local homeless prevention support center The Light House. The initiative not only supported the Annapolis, Maryland, community but also filled a vacancy.

A captivating marketing campaign at Sunway Velocity Mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, celebrated the cultural richness of Borneo. Tensions between the two locales date back decades. The Borneo Art & Culture Festival not only entertained visitors but also generated significant social media buzz, reaching more than 500,000 people.

Crabtree mall in Raleigh, North Carolina, remained relevant to its target customers and tenants even as a mixed-use project opened nearby and boosted competition. The center focused on charitable partnerships to deepen community relationships, provide guests and retailers opportunities to give back and earn favorable media impressions. One example was a gift-wrapping station run by a local charitable organization.

Jack London Square in Oakland, California, created a month-long Forget-Me-Not Alzheimer’s awareness program that raised money for a local Alzheimer’s nonprofit. Among the events, local artists painted on-site, and their creations were auctioned off. Using just 2.8% of the property’s 2023 marketing budget, the program also increased monthly Google searches.

SM Prime’s new media art exhibition at China’s SM Xiamen aimed to help the public recognize, interact with and integrate people with autism and help them socialize. The initiative aligns with the meaning of a forest: “Every tree is different, yet a common language of life is shared,” the marketing team wrote. The groundbreaking exhibit wasn't just a Community Category Gold winner. The judges also named it Best of the Best of all MAXI Award winners.

As part of the Sydney WorldPride 2023 celebration, an exhibition at Queen Victoria Building played on the property’s name to honor five LGBTQIA+ community members who have stood for change and pushed representation and equality forward over the past 45 years. One ad, for example, featured portraits of activist Ken Davis, with the name of the property altered to read “Queen Ken Building.”

To celebrate the start of the Year of the Rabbit and boost footfall, SM City Chongqing staged an exhibition celebrating cartoon rabbit Hangfook, a Chinese social media sensation.

In an effort to boost sales, management at Southcentre mall in Calgary, Alberta, transformed an existing Santa display into a Magical Wishing Tree for a month-long Halloween event. This family-focused campaign with trick-or-treating and other events boosted traffic and sales and raised money for charity.

The Toronto International Film Festival was lacking star power thanks to the actor’s strike, so Yorkdale flipped the script and hosted a month-long exhibit celebrating the man behind the camera, renowned red-carpet photographer George Pimentel. The event attracted 84,000 visitors, generated significant media coverage and boosted traffic.

To establish itself as a fashion leader, China’s Chongqing IFS partnered with a renowned artist to create Gathering Place, Asia’s first mirrored digital art installation. It led to massive media attention and a surge in high-end customers, many of whom converted into loyalty club members.

Beijing apm shopping center partnered with iconic cartoon cat Garfield to create an art exhibition promoting animal protection. The event attracted young consumers through social media and influencer marketing, resulting in a significant increase in traffic, sales and brand awareness.

To attract young shoppers, China’s SM City Tianjin created experiences with music festivals, trendy markets and sports competitions. They resulted in a significant increase in traffic, sales and brand awareness, solidifying the center’s status as a trendy destination.

For its 50th anniversary, STC in Scarborough, Ontario, capitalized on nostalgia by bringing back a beloved balloon art installation. This campaign drove a traffic increase and successful openings of Ikea and Decathlon stores.

Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, transformed a test kitchen in its food hall into a revolving, multicultural pop-up space called The District Kitchen. The program has generated a boost in sales, traffic and a new pool of potential permanent tenants.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s Pavilion Bukit Jalil converted untenanted spaces to host pop-up exhibitions that boosted traffic and drew press attention. From December 2022 to December 2023, the mall hosted nine such exhibitions, including Van Gogh Alive.