CapitaLand Investment receives accolades at Real Estate Asia Awards

It has cultivated new customer segments and extended consumer experiences with its year-long activations and digital innovations.

Global real estate investment manager CapitaLand Investment clinched two major titles at the coveted Real Estate Asia Awards 2024 for its largest Disney-themed festive celebration and year-long activations, as well as its 24-hour metaverse festival, CapitaVerse.

For its year-long activations, CapitaLand aimed to transform its malls into vibrant lifestyle destinations that offer memorable experiences, capturing the attention and interest of today's discerning shoppers and cultivating new customer segments in collaboration with Disney.

For the Lunar New Year festivities in 2023, CapitaLand unveiled a refreshed look for the life-sized installations across 16 malls. The multi-sensory Mickey Mouse & Friends in a lion and dragon dance showpiece moved between three malls: Bugis+, Plaza Singapura, and IMM. It also featured specially curated scents by a local perfume lab.

CapitaLand malls saw a marked 35.6% year-on-year increase in the breadth of campaigns and events in collaboration with Disney. In particular, during the campaign period of Christmas 2022 and Lunar New Year 2023, sales grew by 10% YoY. The CapitaLand x Disney events that were integrated with gamification elements, eVouchers redemptions and promotional tie-ups also led to strong growth for the digital platform.

The two major brands also collaborated for the launch of Mandalorian Season 3 with a screening event at Golden Village Funan for Star Wars fans and key opinion leaders (KOL) in March. CapitaLand organised a ‘May The 4th Be With You’ event at Funan starring Asia’s first-ever vertical skirmish, featuring a lightsaber duel on the rock climbing wall of Climb Central, LEGO mini-build activities and build-your-own saber workshops.

Media and KOLs were also invited to cinematic adventures at CapitaLand malls with installations of Marvel Studios’ Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3, Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, as well as Disney and Pixar’s Elemental.

The campaign created much buzz and delight amongst fans of Disney with a media value of S$858,000, achieving a 25% growth YoY from its integrated media and PR strategy. It also achieved 23.9 million impressions and a healthy social media engagement rate of 4%, exceeding industry benchmarks.

“The year-long activations were successful in driving buzz amongst media, KOLs, and shoppers, creating a strong brand association of CapitaLand malls as vibrant lifestyle destinations for shopping, dining, immersive experiential events and enticing rewards,” the company said.

This initiative received the Marketing & Brand Initiative of the Year - Singapore category win.

Meanwhile, in launching CapitaVerse, the company sought to revolutionise retail by embracing digital innovation and extending consumer experiences beyond traditional constraints. The metaverse festival aimed to merge physical and virtual realms, and reinforce the company’s position as a leader in retail experiences, and cultivate brand affinity with the next generation of shoppers.

Through CapitaVerse, CapitaLand brought together like-minded partners, as well as popular brands to create specialised showcases within the metaverse.

The company implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy spanning social media, metaverse platforms, PR outreach, and influencer engagement to maximise visibility and attendee engagement. It targeted its loyalty platform members with personalised communications, ensuring widespread awareness and participation.

The heart of the event experiential strategy laid in crafting engaging and interactive experiences that resonated with the target audience. This included curating new shopping and entertainment experiences through a blend of comedy, music, and interactive games. Every element was designed to immerse users deeply into the CapitaLand brand universe.

Interactive games, virtual galleries, and 3D product displays also enhanced engagement, whilst partnerships with industry leaders and retail partners added depth to the event's offerings and facilitated brand discovery.

The campaign garnered 8.5 million impressions, 1.97 million video views, and 52,000 engagements. Media coverage also earned a value of S$1.13m, with 133 coverages. It also drove a significant increase in shopper traffic at 24.1% and sales performance at 9.4% for CapitaLand malls and tenants, highlighting the metaverse’s commercial viability.

Moreover, the attendance reached 2,000 users, attracting visitors from 10 countries and addressing physical and geographical limitations.

This innovation received the win in the Digital Initiative of the Year - Singapore category.

The Real Estate Asia Awards is a prestigious programme designed to honour outstanding real estate projects, developments, and companies throughout Asia that consistently redefine the standards of excellence in the industry and push the boundaries of innovation to make a long-lasting impact on the community.

The Real Estate Asia Awards is presented by Real Estate Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's exceptional projects or initiatives in the Real Estate industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].