Imagination creates innovative navigation for luxury mall
HONG KONG, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Swire Properties, working with Imagination, a global communications agency, has introduced 10 interactive digital directories (IDDs) for shoppers at its flagship mall, Pacific Place. The IDDs are part of the Pacific Place Contemporisation Project, a major undertaking by Swire Properties to ensure that the mall continues to set the standard for high end shopping in Hong Kong. The project involves major interior and exterior refinements and significant changes to the mall's mix of shops; the addition of the IDDs has dramatically improved the self-service experience at customer touch points.
Swire Properties appointed Imagination to develop an interactive information resource for visitors to the mall, centred on an intelligent way-finder which provides easy navigation to stores and restaurants within the mall and the nearby Starstreet Precinct.
The way-finder takes account of where the shopper is currently standing, in order to provide them with the shortest and most convenient routing to their destination. Pacific Place is the first mall in Hong Kong to offer this service.
Imagination was responsible for the design, scope, software development, build, testing and installation of the touch screen IDDs. Renowned British designer Thomas Heatherwick -- whose work includes the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo -- designed the external casings for the IDDs, which echo his fluid architectural vision for Pacific Place.
By the end of the year, a total of 13 IDDs -- including nine 46-inch screens and four 32-inch screens -- will be installed throughout Pacific Place. The IDDs are designed to be as intuitive and user-friendly as possible, with their touch screens using up-to-date swipe functions that are increasingly common on mobile devices. The IDDs offer English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese language options and real time updates on mall events and in-store promotions. A direct link to the Hong Kong Observatory provides live weather warnings as well.
"Providing an easy way for shoppers to find their way around our mall is an essential component of our customer service experience," said Chris Heywood, Senior Portfolio Manager, Swire Properties. "As well as making major improvements to the environment in our mall, we have tried to reimagine the shopping experience. Together with the enhanced interiors and enriched retail mix in the mall, the IDDs form one of the highlights of the Pacific Place Contemporisation Project that brings a total, refreshed shopping experience to our visitors."
Imagination's CEO and Global Creative Director, Douglas Broadley, highlighted the need to balance form and function: "Our challenge was to create a usable object of beauty that exploits the best technology, provides more to the user than just information and fits perfectly within its environment, thereby enhancing customers' premium shopping experience."
About Swire Properties
Incorporated in 1972, Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use development in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. The Company's investment portfolio in Hong Kong totals approximately 17.8 million sq ft (approximately 1.66 million sqm)* of gross floor area, with Pacific Place, Island East and Festival Walk as its core holdings. In addition to Hong Kong, the Company has a presence in Mainland China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
In Mainland China, Swire Properties has a portfolio amounting to approximately 12.9 million sq ft (approximately 1.20 million sqm)*, the majority of which is under construction. The five projects consist of mixed-use developments in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, with Sanlitun Village and The Opposite House hotel in Beijing being the best-known among them.
In 2008, the Company formed Swire Hotels to create and manage intriguing urban hotels in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the United Kingdom, aimed at providing an exceptional experience for travellers who seek individuality, style and personalised service.
The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly-listed Swire Pacific Limited whose businesses are grouped under five operating divisions -- property, aviation, beverages, marine services as well as trading and industrial.
Visit Swire Properties' website at www.swireproperties.com.
* Gross floor area in respect of 100% of the properties excluding car park areas and not on an attributable basis.
About Imagination
Launched in London in 1968, Imagination is an independent communications agency whose roots lie in non-traditional, live, experiential marketing. Imagination has fifteen offices around the world, and the full complement of in-house talent, from brand consultants to architects, advertising specialists to interior designers, retail specialists and event producers to direct marketers and digital experts. This unique offering enables Imagination to approach every problem from broader and more unanticipated angles, build solutions from the ground up across all channels, and deliver insights aligned with the way people wish to interact with brands. Imagination transforms business through creativity. Imagination's clients include Aston Martin, Guinness, oneworld global alliance, Disney, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Shell and Samsung. In 2011 Imagination was declared number one in Design Week's UK Top 100 Design Agency survey.
For more information please visit: www.imagination.com
For media enquiries, please contact:
Antonia Au
Imagination Asia
Tel: +852-3513-1342
Mobile: +852-6051-6762
Email: antonia.au@imagination.com
David Anthony
Imagination
Tel: +44-207-323-3300
Email: david.anthony@imagination.com
