From RAGGS TO RICHES

RAGGS Kids Club Is A Big Hit In South

 

Here’s A Traditional Mall Marketing Strategy That Really Works

 

by Judi Biederman

 

It’s a fact of life for mall marketing directors-- in today’s market, with multitudes of shopping venues available to an ever-more-savvy buying public, retail shopping facilities need a lure to draw people into their premises. Mall operators across the country are seeking new ways to pull people in, encourage them to stay, and convince them to come back. Customer loyalty programs are an old stand-by strategy, as are kid’s clubs. See, for example,  E.S.P. Fax Bulletin No. 5, March 5, 1999, for in-depth coverage of Simon Property Group’s massive “brand name” mall campaign.  Many industry insiders think these media strategies are ho-hum, has-been hooks. But a new kid-based customer-relations program is sweeping across the Southern U.S. and shows signs of soaring across the country--and maybe even further.

 

The  RAGGS Kids Club™ program is a significant success for the 10 malls that have signed up for it. The customer loyalty program, based on a stylized dog character named RAGGS, was developed for Eastland Mall of Charlotte, North Carolina about two years ago by Steedman Communications, also of Charlotte. In that two years, Eastland has drawn 6,000 children to sign up for the program, and although children don’t spend dollars in retail settings, the adults that bring them do. During RAGGS events at Eastland, it has been estimated that mall-wide sales jump 10-25 percent.

 

The success of the Eastland RAGGS Kids Club prompted Steedman to open the program to other malls. Nine more have signed up. Also in North Carolina is Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville. In Georgia: Savannah Mall, Savannah; Northlake Mall, Atlanta; Greenville Mall, Greenville. In Virginia: Cloverleaf Mall, Richmond; Valley View Mall, Roanoke; Manassas Mall, Manassas. In Florida: University Mall, Tampa; Orlando Fashion Square, Orlando. Several verbal commitments are pending and Steedman estimates that as many as 15 more malls will sign up by the end of the year

 

At the Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond, Marketing Director Chris Ruth says of the program, which just started there in mid-February, “We have had a very favorable response to RAGGS as a character and to the kids club as a whole.” She notes that 750 kids joined the mall’s club within two months of the program’s start, most of them drawn in by the appeal of the colorful dog character. “Having a mascot takes  the concept of a kid’s club to a whole new level,” Ruth says. “The kids just  love RAGGS. They think he’s really cool and fun.”

 

In fact, RAGGS has become so popular that some toy industry analysts have tapped the canine character to become the next “Barney.” A RAGGS line of toys and kids’ paraphernalia debuted and was a hit at the recent International Toy Fair in New York, and a host of companies, including media producers and book publishers, are interested in the character as well.  New Jersey-based Stone America Marketing is the licensing agent for RAGGS.  The Mango Teddy Bear Company manufactured the RAGGS toy line introduced at the Toy Fair.  Mango also is the manufacturer of McGruff the Crime Dog, Babar, and BIG DOG, the mascot of Big Dog Sportswear of Santa Monica, California--a popular mall retailer with innovative marketing strategies that was featured in the April issue of E.S.P. News.

 

Toni Steedman, owner of Steedman Communications, thinks that one of the reasons the RAGGS figure has been such a hit is that it allows malls, which are more and more being looked upon as the centers of community activity,  to set a good example and offer a message of caring and support. The dog’s name is actually an acronym for Retail Associates Giving the Gift of Service. Steedman writes in the program’s catalog, “While RAGGS does not represent one particular charity or organization, he can work with a mall and their charity of choice for additional benefits. RAGGS can also visit schools to promote literacy, sharing, or just being a good citizen and friend.”

 

Ruth notes that the Cloverleaf Mall has experienced great public relations benefits within the local school system because its RAGGS Kids Club has chosen child literacy as one of its causes. “A lot of times schools are reluctant to get involved in supporting outside activities. But a recent library publication that was distributed in every school has a whole page on RAGGS.” That was, Ruth says, publicity for the Cloverleaf Mall that couldn’t have been purchased.

 

The initial sign-up cost for malls to participate in the RAGGS Kids Club program is $5,000. That gives the designation as an official mall and offers: five years of exclusive use of the RAGGS character and the RAGGS Kids Club logo within a 50-mile radius; the right to use RAGGS on all mall promotional materials or advertising within a market; graphics kit containing door signage, photos, and ad slicks; a web site listing on the RAGGS homepage, www.RAGGS.com; a regular newsletter; and a product catalog. To maintain membership, there is a $1,000 annual fee.

 

Other display and promotional items are available, including a mascot costume, in-mall promotional banners, an in-mall display and photo station (yes, it’s a dog house), membership cards, a jingle and song package for radio and TV promotions, and floor decals. A new, high-tech form of the membership card that is gaining popularity is the Graphicard™, a computer-based, interactive plastic card that members “swipe” when they come into the mall. Its surface is a rewritable magnetic screen that gets something new, like a game or rewards information, printed on it each time a kid uses it. Additionally, a whole line of sales promotion items is available, including plush toys, T-shirts, goodie bags, play tattoos, stickers, photo frames, book covers, birthday cards, and kids jewelry.

 

Many of the participating malls consider the mascot to be the most valuable component of the program because of its high visibility and mobility-- it can stroll through the mall, visit schools and attend community events and parades, offering great PR benefits. Ruth says she realized the power of a mascot and the appeal of RAGGS in particular as a defining moment occurred at the Cloverleaf Mall this past Easter. She watched a child come face to face with the choice of the Easter Bunny and the mall’s RAGGS mascot. “It was a Kodak moment,” she recalls. “This child’s eyes lit up and she got the biggest smile on her face. Then she ran right to RAGGS and hugged him.”

 

So it’s true-- the younger generation is going to the dogs. And parents are following their kids  into the malls that have adopted one named RAGGS.

 

For more information on the RAGGS Kids Club program, contact:

Toni Steedman, Steedman Communications, Inc., 888-472-2035. Toni will be available for meetings at the ICSC Convention in Las Vegas; she will not be in a booth, so call in advance to set up an appointment.  Visit the RAGGS homepage, www.RAGGS.com