Stockland's S Connect Initiative: Connecting brands and communities – wherever they are

Stockland’s S Connect has been connecting its town centre shoppers with brands and businesses for years through in-centre pop-ups, advertising takeovers and brand partnerships.

This year, there’s been an exciting step change for S Connect with augmented reality experiences, scalable sustainability partnerships and expanding the initiative to customers where they live at Stockland’s residential communities.

The evolution of S Connect across the Stockland enterprise has enabled us to pursue strategic partnership opportunities that are aligned to the needs of our residents, resulting in a measurable impact to the liveability of our new masterplanned and Halcyon communities.

Imagining with Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Australia teamed up with Stockland’s S Connect and Marketing teams for a five-week campaign to celebrate the release of the film, IF (Imaginary Friends).

The tiered campaign was rolled out across Stockland’s entire town centre portfolio with Stockland Green Hills, located near Newcastle in NSW, hosting an interactive ‘Magic Mirror’ experience where customers could get their photo taken with one of the film’s IF characters, thanks to a unique augmented reality platform, and receive fun IF mementos.

Michelé Pirozzi, Head of S Connect, said “Stockland is a key destination for family shopping and entertainment, and Paramount Pictures was able to tap into the high-value family segments in our trade areas to increase engagement during the release of its film IF.

“Our goal is to create memorable moments for our customers, and the cinematic magic of the IF campaign resonated with our customers – young and young at heart. 
“For Stockland, Paramount Pictures helped to build our credibility as a local entertainment hub and expand our membership to benefit future family-focussed campaigns,” said Michelé.

Other campaign elements included exclusive movie screenings for Stockland Members, a competition to win a family trip to London, in-centre print and digital screen advertising, and other digital and paid media.

Powering up with Ampol 

Earlier this year, the S Connect team forged a new partnership between Stockland and Ampol to roll out an extensive network of fast and ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure across our retail town centres.

This collaboration represents one of the largest EV charging networks in Australia and is in line with Stockland’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and its focus on innovation, scale and economically sustainable solutions.

Michelé said providing accessible and convenient EV charging facilities at our centres is crucial to supporting our customers’ journey to a lower carbon future through their growing adoption of EVs and makes good business sense.
“Ampol’s EV chargers will enhance the overall shopping experience for customers, allowing them to fully charge their EVs in the time it takes to do the weekly grocery shop and have a coffee.

“The partnership also provides an opportunity for us to expand the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure across our workplaces and communities in the future, making it easier for people to charge their vehicles wherever they live, work, socialise or shop,” said Michelé.

The EV charging infrastructure will be installed across Stockland’s town centres over the next 18 months, with the number of charging bays per centre ranging from six to 12 based on current customer demand.  

Connecting community and business

In an exciting move for the S Connect team, Stockland and the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to provide the Aura community on the Sunshine Coast with regular farmers and twilight markets.

Already home to more than 10,000 residents, Aura is Australia’s largest masterplanned community, and the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce boasts more than 22 years’ experience operating markets in the region.

Michelé said it was exciting to draw on the strengths of Stockland and the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce for a unique opportunity that expands the S Connect offer beyond our typical shopping centre walls to a dedicated space at our flagship community, Aura.

“The opening of the markets builds on Stockland’s legacy of creating places and spaces full of energy, soul and life.

“The Aura Farmers Market and the Aura Twilight Market are designed to connect the growing community with local businesses on the Sunshine Coast, including producers, artisans and specialty food vendors,” said Michelé.

Launched in June, the Aura Farmers Market is held every Saturday with more than 50 stallholders providing fresh local produce, gourmet delicacies, food trucks, beverages and live music. The Aura Twilight Market operates on the same site, featuring a bar, food trucks and entertainment, on the first Friday of each month.

Stockland's collaborations with Paramount Pictures, Ampol and the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce exemplify the power of strategic partnerships.

By fostering partnerships, embracing sustainability, and enhancing customer experiences, Stockland continues to shape the future of Australian shopping centres, and now residential communities.

As Michelé Pirozzi aptly puts it: "S Connect is more than a program; it's a bridge that connects retailers, customers, and communities."