Mall of America, the largest shopping center in the United States, tapped Knowledge Marketing for its e-mail marketing platform.
The Bloomington, MN-based mall uses e-mail marketing to communicate to the consumers, tourists and business partners that contribute $1.8 billion in spending for the state of Minnesota.
“E-mail provides a cost-effective way to communicate messages that are relevant to our consumers’ interests,” said Michelle Ashley, general manager at Knowledge Marketing, Plymouth, MN.
“With a channel that provides targeted messaging, we receive higher response rates than other advertising mediums and the platform provides us data on how messages are received,” she said. “That data becomes invaluable in our marketing efforts.”
Mall of America houses more than 520 stores, 20 sit-down restaurants, 30 fast food restaurants, 36 specialty food stores and 14 movie screens. The mall employs more than 11,000 people year round and 13,000 during summers and holidays.
Key attractions include The Park at MOAT, Underwater Adventures Aquarium, Lego Imagination Center, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation, NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Sears.
Knowledge Marketing lets the mall manage its e-mail program with production, distribution and tracking of e-mail newsletters. It also lets the mall process requests for tourism brochures online, and process data for its coupon book.
Mall of America also uses search marketing, direct mail, banner ads and mobile marketing to target consumers and retailers alike.
According to Ms. Ashley, the marketing trend is moving toward consumer-directed advertising, giving consumers the information they desire when they want to receive it.
“E-mail is the best option for this medium as it not only gives the consumer what they want, but gives the advertiser real-time feedback,” she said. “The e-mail marketing industry is merely in its infancy, and the technological advances to come will only serve our needs more completely.”
