Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 20, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 9 FOCUS PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Bloomfield Fire Department | Bloomfield, Connecticut PDS acted as General Contractor to complete renovations to the Bloomfield Fire Burn Building. PDS installed new fire resistant steel shutters, hollow metal doors and gauge gutters. The project was completed on time and within budget. 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com DESIGN BUILDERS • GENERAL CONTRACTORS • CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS SPOTLIGHT ON: Public Safety PDS ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. THINK • PLAN • BUILD WINNERS FROM OUR PAST ClassES! Dr. Shelley Best Jody Ferrer Susan Herbst Jill Hummel Paddy LeShane Bonnie Malley Kristen Roberts Doris Sugarman Nancy Wheeler Teresa Younger NOMINATION DEADLINE: February 6th, 2018 ISSUE DATE: April 2nd, 2018 EVENT DATE: May 10th, 2018 LOOKING TO DISCOVER OUR NEXT CLASS 2018 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN go to www.HartfordBusiness.com/ourevents, click on Women in Business to submit your nomination. Contact Amy Orsini at aorsini@hartfordbusiness.com or 860-236-9998 X134 with questions. overarching strategy of being a complete support system, offering a customized, di- verse retail experience; affordable course materials; and innovative technologies that enhance the student and faculty experience. Q. What's the outlook for the upcoming holiday season? Is Barnes and Noble as dependent on the holiday season as much as other retailers? A. We are looking forward to our first holiday season with the UConn com- munity in Hartford. Because the UConn bookstores are primarily college stores, their busiest seasons occur during the beginning of each school semester. Q. What kind of a threat do online book sales pose for Barnes and Noble's brick- and-mortar locations? A. At Barnes & Noble College, we try to gain a competitive advantage by acting as a complete support system for the students, faculty and communities we serve. In addition to providing students with their course materials, we also offer clothing, gifts, technology and other mer- chandise that promote the strong brands of our campus partners. Barnes & Noble College bookstores aim to ensure that the right textbooks are on the shelf when students need them. This commitment to service includes stocking every book that is requested for every class, even obscure foreign lan- guage books, customized course packs and loose-leaf format textbooks. Online textbook competitors do not provide that type of guarantee or level of commitment and service to campus-specific textbooks — or accept financial aid. The bookstore continually looks for ways to offer savings to our students. Our commitment has always been to ensure that our students can access everything they need to succeed in the classroom. The price match program is another example of the bookstore's latest efforts to ensure students are prepared for the first day of class, with the correct learn- ing materials — at the most affordable prices. The program is very popular with students. ues. "It's critical to connect with people in places where they want to be connected, which helps drive brand impact." And numbers show that people — from baby-stroller moms to senior citizen mall walkers — like to connect at West- farms. While many malls nationwide have seen steep declines in visitors in the age of Ama- zon, Westfarms customers have remained reliable. The mall draws more than 16.5 mil- lion visitors a year — including more than a quarter (4.5 million) expected in November and December alone. Visitors spend an average of two hours and 22 min- utes on-site. And it's not just consumers that advertisers are connecting with. They're also con- necting with each other. "We look for ways for our partners to create mutual benefit," Lamoureux said. For example, Hartford HealthCare airs a health segment Sunday mornings on NBC, which also gets aired throughout the following week on the two-sided TV in NBC Connecticut's Relax and Recharge lounge outside Macy's, which includes a phone charging station to attract and serve consumers. The lounge area features a prominent NBC Connecticut escalator graphic and second-level glass graph to reinforce the NBC brand. Sponsors, at times, are in turn help- ing the mall's retailers, too. NBC Con- necticut's annual toy drive with drop-off locations throughout the mall not only brings foot traffic to the mall during the holiday season, but also retail activity. "Of- ten times people will buy the items they donate at our retailers," Lamoureux said. "That's the perfect marriage of driving traffic, sales, and helping a great cause." Not for everyone While Westfarms — which includes a unique assort- ment of high-end retailers — has found success with activation cam- paigns, Jeff Mard, vice president of innovation and business develop- ment at Glaston- bury ad agency Cronin, cautions that not all malls are ripe for them. "Malls are trying to innovate, but it's important for the consumer to see value in the innova- tion," he said. He notes that con- sumer tastes and expectations are constantly evolving, especially Millenni- als and members of Generation Z, or those born in the mid- 1990s to mid-2000s. "People are still expressing an interest in shopping in physical stores; the virtual and physical worlds are increasingly inter- twined," Mard said. "Consumers don't simply want to buy something; they want to buy into something; that's where they find value." Although multiple sponsors — includ- ing the Hartford Yard Goats, area auto dealers and Cirque du Soleil — have worked with Westfarms to create custom engagement plans, Lamoureux said the mall would like to see more revenues from activation campaigns. "Many businesses think of traditional media like radio, television, billboard and digital," he said. "Our job is to show that our [activation] platforms can help break through the clutter." NBC Connecticut and Hartford HealthCare are currently running activation marketing campaigns at Westfarms mall.

• Cover