A creative concept straight from Cali

Our task: create a coastal activation that gave the mall its moment in the sun. The popular Palm Cafe were the mall’s partners-in-caffeine, so we turned to California for inspiration and landed on the boardwalk. We explored names in the same beachy theme and landed on a moniker that conjured a salt breeze, then built out a visual identity that could be applied to the entire build. With that, Surfside at the Centre started to take shape.

The logo lockup highlighted the pop-up alongside its hosts Guildford Town Centre and the Palm Cafe. We drew inspiration from seaside days to design a playful colour palette, and included paint swatch codes to keep brand consistent everywhere from the physical space to marketing materials.

Building buzz from every angle

Guildford’s centre court is massive. As we ideated different elements for the pop-up, we considered how they’d work together to keep visitors flowing through the 1,500 square foot site.

A nearly life-sized lifeguard tower surrounded by fun, functional decor made for a 360-degree experience. Every detail mattered, from decorative wooden flags and colourful vinyl decals to the water storage and accessible ramp.

Stylized palm trees dotted throughout added to the California ambiance and created additional space for guests to linger and sip their lattes. The accompanying lifeguard chair and 10-foot high cresting wave made for the ultimate photo ops and consumer-generated content.

The beach is *that* way 

With the Surfside branding established, we built out a look and feel and supporting messaging for physical and digital assets. From billboards and programmatic ads to on-location signage, every touchpoint of the mall’s marketing plan pointed their target audience in the right direction. And what would a pop-up be without some good swag? Coffee sleeves, totes, tumblers and custom printed coffee foam let Surfside live on beyond centre court.

“Together, we made magic happen—driving successful results for the shopping centre, creating lasting memories for our shoppers, and setting a new standard for activations across our portfolio.”

—Kiran Deol, Marketing Manager
JLL | Guildford Town Centre

Partners

Build: Panther Group and Willow & Stump

3D Rendering: Christopher Spears

Photography: Treeline Visuals