VOLUME 18 EDITIONS V & VI 2014
ALL EYES ON
THE AMERICANA AT BRAND
Uptown and H&M
Team Up
California shopping district takes up its city's PR cause with collaborative Hello Glendale ad campaign
Emporium by Baz
Chef Sevan Abdessian’s star rose a
little higher in late 2012, when he
became the first L.A. resident to
compete in The Food Network’s
NYC-based “Chopped” reality TV
cooking competition. The owner of
Recess Eatery on North Brand Blvd.
prepared for what would be a tough
battle by hosting four Thursday-night
practice dinners based on the show’s
premise. For $30, guests could enjoy a
three-course meal made with mystery
basket ingredients that the eatery’s
manager had picked. Six months
later, Chef Abdessian treated 140 loyal
customers to more of his creations
while they watched his “Chopped”
episode on two giant screens. The
Americana at Brand produced a
video to promote the event and aired
it on its YouTube channel; a mighty
generous gesture considering that
Recess Eatery is not even a tenant.
What gives? Strategy.
Last summer, Abdessian was
just one of several local business
owners—shopkeepers, restaurateurs
and service providers—to join
a consortium that center parent
company Caruso Affiliated created
to boost the City of Glendale’s profile
and generate shopper traffic. For
that, the city would need to shed its
enduring image of being, well, boring,
despite recent regeneration projects.
“LA’s perception of Glendale
remained the same. It was an
unknown and unexplored area with
incredible potential. It was a city on
the verge of becoming famous among
other popular neighborhoods in LA,
but it needed a push to get there. We
wanted to create the push,” explained
Sr. marketing and communications
VP Galit Shokrian, PR VP Liz Jaeger
and interactive marketing and media
VP Andrea Sirota in their ICSC
Award-winning brief.
Continued on page 5…
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Food Battle with Bite
page 12
Trends: Bikini Berlin
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Fashion's Night Out
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