Attending the ICSC Las Vegas 2023 Conference was most definitely a good decision and a positive experience, despite initial skepticism about commercial real estate at the time I registered (mostly news instigated).
According to a recent ICSC Committee meeting I attended, ICSC Las Vegas attendance was up by 10% this year compared to the previous year, though no ICSC RECon in its heyday when the peak attendance was roughly 48k in 2006. But energy was high and people wanted to be there.
Some themes for the show from my point of view, being a CRE marketer in the industry for 17 years, included: AI, doing more with less, branding – a little goes a long way, the importance of social media and trusting your team.
Leaning into AI
Artificial intelligence was one of the most talked about topics across the three day event. Almost every session and every conversation I had included something about AI – particularly ChatGPT. While it was recognized that ChapGPT has significant potential for assisting with everyday tasks like fitness routines and grocery lists, caution should be taken when using it for industry-related content. The consensus was to lean into ChatGPT – use it as a tool but know you need the human touch to add nuances and business objectives. Additionally, there are potential copyright issues to consider. Make sure your head of marketing speaks with the company’s partners to ensure that they are on the same page regarding how to best use this new tech.
ChatGPT Screenshot
Doing More with Less
A growing trend seems to be doing more with less, sadly. Whether less people or less dollars. There was a panel dedicated to this very topic who shared a lot of company insight and tools they use to help get the job done.
Some tools and ideas that were mentioned included:
- Canva Brand Folder for keeping your brand consistent across a number of people creating content
- Amplify merchant events instead of programming everything on your own
- Use HubSpot for email marketing and be sure you’re constantly reviewing your non-open list so you can take them off and improve your analytics
- Don’t send ads via email, send information!
- Pocketstop – SMS marketing as well as center-wide emergency messaging
While there were many ideas mentioned to assist in marketing your company, shopping centers and tenants, the biggest challenge the owners and developers on this year’s panels are facing is marketing plans and strategy – something tech tools can’t fully assist with.
Doing More with Less Panel ICSC Las Vegas 2023
Branding – A little goes a long way
One of the most fun sessions I attended was with Chad Cress, Chief Creative Officer of DJM Capital. Chad’s major point at his session on Tips for Placemakers, was a little goes a long way. He talked about things you can do at your centers to include digital and physical foot traffic. He works with tenants to create repeatable activation at their centers. It’s all about knowing the individual community and what they care about, he said. Some of their ideas included: run clubs, cars and coffee, markets, movie nights, and even vintage surfboard swap meetups! Aside from events, he said even murals help – why not turn your customers into your biggest marketers?!
Branding – A little goes a long way – DJM Capital – ICSC Las Vegas 2023
A lot of what they do can’t simply be covered by triple nets, you need to hire local talented staff and have a robust social media team.
Wow, are they doing something right! Their marketing and branding was impeccable. I even noticed their photography on the show floor in their booth, it was so different and eye-catching from the rest of the imagery on the show floor.
ICSC Las Vegas 2023 – DJM Capital, City Center DC booth graphic
Social Media
There is always a lot of talk about social media at the show. Who’s doing it, who’s doing it well and who’s doing it…weird. Time and time again it was said that social media is a full time job, and it truly is. Even with my own business, Rumphius Marketing, it’s extremely difficult, almost impossible for me to handle it myself. Tools like Canva and ChatGPT certainly make it easier but it’s really the strategy, ideas, scripts and descriptions that take up the most amount of time. It’s especially important to know your analytics – you might learn that you get more referral traffic on a social platform you don’t even have a profile on vs. one you’re investing staff time on. Make sue you know where to invest time and resources. Rumphius Marketing Instagram shown below. Follow here.
Trust Your Team – CEO Insights
“Trust your team” was a key theme throughout the CEO Industry Insights panel at the brand activation area. “Leadership is what happens when we’re not there,” mentioned one of the panelists. Throughout the pandemic it was understandable that we were all working from home but what CEOs didn’t realize was that the pandemic was going to change the workplace forever – employees didn’t want to come back to the office full time and as one CEO mentioned, they got a lot of pushback from their teams – people wanted more flexibility. One CEO mentioned they let their teams decide how to be most productive, you must trust your team.
One CEO said he thinks “hybrid work will be no longer and it will go back to the way it was in the next few years.” If you know any Gen Zers, I’d beg to differ. In my opinion, there is no way you’re going to get things “back to the way it was,” especially as the Boomers transition out and the younger generations take over. We’ve all had a glimpse at what it meant to be a better family member and not just a workaholic and we’re not going back. They did admit that “the new generation is wired differently, we need to understand how to make them engaged”.
I also sensed a bit of fear from the group around AI, which is completely warranted. They mentioned “AI can’t replace brokers or leasing folks, they just have to become next level advisors.” I’d agree that AI can’t replace the broker but it sure can enhance their capabilities by leveraging this technology.
Thought this group of CEOs did a great job. However, I was pretty disappointed and actually found it sad that they didn’t have a woman CEO or President on the panel.
I didn’t attend but heard the keynote, Andy Reid, NFL Coach spoke all about teamwork and leadership as well. (I’ve never been a fan of sports keynotes at ICSC unless they actually have experience in the industry.)
ICSC Las Vegas 2023 – Diana Perry & Deb Hazel
Things I learned
- New Term – “Over employed” – When someone is doing three jobs at the same time utilizing AI
- ChatGPT Security – Don’t include the name of any of your shopping centers!
- Quote – “If you’re not at the table you’re on the menu” – Angela Sweeney, CRRP of Imaginuity/Pylot mentioned this in her session, Doing More with Less. Originally by Michael Enzi. Kind of a creative slap of reality…I liked it.
- Email Marketing – The average open rate for CRE is 12%
- Organized Crime – There is more organized crime happening than I realized (especially after attending a panel discussion about it). Awesome retailers in locations that need them are shutting down because it’s becoming unsafe. Ulta mentioned their concern isn’t even financial, it’s emotional – making sure people have the resources they need after an incident has happened…sad
- Take Chances – On three occasions I rode taxis with strangers and had really good conversations that might lead to us working together.
My Conference Recommendations for ICSC
- Include a major keynote on the last day of the conference so people stick around to the end
- Change sessions to be on Mon, not Sunday, no one wants to go to a conference on a Sunday
- Make sure you always have at least one woman on every panel
One thing this industry never forgets is the power of meeting face to face. See ya next year ICSC Las Vegas!
