St Johns Student Shutdown

01 / The brief

The challenge and objectives

I acted as the strategic group lead on the consultancy project for St Johns Shopping Centre. The brief described a monthly footfall decline after the Liverpool City Council market closed in March 2024. Working within a maximum proposed budget of £4,000, our team explored how St Johns could attract nearby university students and encourage repeat visits.

02 / Audience strategy

Audience strategy

We focused on students aged 18–25 at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University. The proposal prioritised three nearby student accommodation sites—The Lantern, Grand Central and Horizon Heights—identified in our project research as being within roughly a five-minute walk and representing an estimated 2,200–2,700 students.

The hyper-local approach was chosen because our team understood student routines and the area through our own university experience. It also gave the campaign a practical way to connect digital promotion with a physical participation mechanic.

03 / The loyalty mechanic

The loyalty idea: shop, stamp, win

The loyalty cards would be distributed directly to participating student accommodation sites, where students could collect one. Students would receive a stamp for every £10 spent in a single transaction at a participating store. An official St Johns stamp would help prevent misuse and verify each purchase. Completed cards would be submitted to branded collection boxes in accommodation reception areas. At the end of the six-week period, all completed cards would be entered into a prize draw. Five winners would receive prizes funded by the allocated budget, potentially including a one-month membership at XF Gym and a £100 voucher to spend at a store of their choice in the centre. Winners would be announced on St Johns’ social media channels. The accommodation block with the most entries would also receive a group prize, such as entry to a selected club or a free drink for participating residents. The concept aimed to combine a repeat-visit incentive with friendly competition and a shared identity among accommodation residents.

04 / Digital campaign

Digital campaign and RACE framework

A seven-week digital plan was proposed to connect the physical loyalty scheme with social content and campaign updates.

05 / Marketing theory

Theory behind the idea

• Operant conditioning: Use positive reinforcement through rewards to encourage participation.
• Habit formation: Encourage regular visits through a repeated weekly routine.
• Social identity: Give accommodation groups a shared challenge and reason to participate together.
• Social proof and word of mouth: Use student content, visible progress and peer participation to support awareness.

06 / Measurement

Measurement and evaluation

We delivered a final pitch presentation to the client, earning a 78.21% grade for the project. In our proposal, we emphasised evaluating campaign performance through business-focused metrics rather than social engagement alone—specifically tracking overall centre footfall, sales stabilisation among independent retailers, review volume and sentiment, and ROI over a period of one to six months. As this was a project proposal, these measures remain suggested KPIs rather than achieved post-campaign outcomes.

07 / Reflection

My learning

This project helped me connect audience insight, behavioural theory, loyalty mechanics and digital content into one campaign journey. It also reinforced the importance of working within a defined budget, choosing a reachable audience and selecting KPIs that relate to the business challenge. The strategy was developed collaboratively as a university team project.