Interview: Why the O2’s new retail identity is the ‘natural next step’

World-famous London venue The O2 has realigned its outlet shopping brand identity, simplifying ‘Icon Outlet at The O2’, to ‘Outlet Shopping at The O2’_.

In a world where ‘brand update’ failures can often seem to be more numerous than success stories, The O2’s decision to embark on a realignment project for its retail offering was not taken lightly. Yet there are high hopes for the pivotal decision made by the team, led by marketing and brand director, Robbie Balfour, who joined The O2 just over a year ago.

So what drove The O2 to reshape its shopping destination image? In an exclusive interview, Marketing Beat sat down with Balfour for a peak behind the scenes at the motivations behind The O2’s latest announcement.

The story behind the change

It was after observing visitors increasingly enjoying more than just The O2’s shopping facilities, Balfour revealed, that the team had the idea: combining the aim of aligning the brand identity to communicate the venue’s multifaceted offerings while better utilising the global fame of the iconic building.

“It was quite simply, the natural next step in a journey that can be traced back to the introduction of outlet shopping to The O2 in 2018,” said Balfour.

“Since then, outlet shopping has gone from strength-to-strength, growing alongside a hugely expanded leisure and entertainment offering,” he continued, before noting the brand alignment’s coincident with the Outlet’s fifth anniversary.

“What better time to mark the next chapter in our destination strategy than by bringing all our distinctive assets together in a simplified brand architecture?” Balfour added.

Behind the scenes, he explained, the realignment project, had been over a year in the making, allowing for the team to learn from the pitfalls of other brands’ identity endeavours, ensuring “meticulous” attention from consumer research to creative design.

It’s not something, Balfour warned, you can rush if you “want to do it right”.

Strong performance in a declining market

“As you might expect,” begins Balfour, “there’s not one single reason behind our recent strong performance, in what has been a tough year for consumer and businesses.” So, what is The O2’s secret?

“The unique breadth of our offering and the value that delivers customers in each and every trip to The O2,” suggests Balfour.

Listing the venue’s multifaceted appeal, he points out how consumers can engage a number of different activities – a factor at the heart of the name change, in an attempt to realign all the key aspects of the famous destination.

But the strength of The O2’s brand line up is also a key factor. Recent additions, like French Connection and Le Creuset, alongside established brands, such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, have bolstered the venue’s retail credentials and performance.

This is a crucial element in sparking customer interest and increasing sales and footfall – which is currently up 23% from 2022 and up 54% from 2019. This has led to like-for-like YTD net sales up 17% compared to the previous year, while categories such as confectionery, sports and beauty have increased by 41%, 33% and 25% respectively.

What The O2 realignment means for shoppers and retail brands

Balfour clarified that while the physical experience at the venue won’t undergo a “drastic transformation”, a more seamless integration of retail, leisure and food/drink will be achieved through the name change and key assets – including the simplified logo, which incorporates The O2’s iconic tent shape.

“We all know that shoppers lead busy lives and their time is at a premium, so this name change will make The O2’s comprehensive offering clearer and more compelling, reducing the choices visitors have to make with dining, entertainment, socialising and shopping all available under the same roof, ” Balfour explained.

“This will ultimately, allow them to get more out of their shopping experience.”

This new logo, Balfour noted, taps into the widespread recognition of the iconic building, amplifying Outlet Shopping’s communications.

The importance of marketing for retail destinations

Marketing – from a strategic and tactical sense – and brand communications are imperative for retail destinations and in that sense, The O2 is no different to any other product or service category, Balfour says.

However, while they clearly play a key role that does not mean they are “immune to budget pressures”. In challenging times, Balfour’s reaction is two-fold, he says.

“Firstly, to ensure that my team, as a marketing function, can demonstrate to the business the short and long-term impacts of the marketing spend to the bottom line. And secondly, to avoid the temptation to cut investment in longer-term brand building in favour of short-term tactical spend which will have a significantly negative impact on the business’s long-term health.”

How marketing allows Outlet Shopping at The O2 to stand out

Outlet shopping at The O2 is home to designer brands that consumers love as well as a blend of retail and leisure facilities.

“Where other destinations are looking to introduce these elements into their destination, leisure and entertainment have always been core to The O2’s offering,” Balfour says.

His job is to strike the balance between showcasing the “seemingly” endless propositions of the destination, while clearly communicating the key points that matter the most to consumers.

The channels Balfour uses vary. For example, for driving awareness of Outlet Shopping at The O2, the team uses a consistent presence in channels known for their upper funnel success, such as out-of-home (OOH), radio and partnerships.

Whereas for tactical footfall, driving communications are focused at key retail periods and in channels such as social and digital audio. When asked which channel he has found to be most effective for the business, Balfour reiterated that different channels have different roles to play.

“Rather than comparing each, it is better to consider them together in an integrated plan,” he says.

“It’s also all about capitalising on this change in a new, creative campaign launching in the fourth quarter, ahead of the busy festive retail season.”

Ultimately, says Balfour, the realignment is seen as key step in growing the awareness of Outlet Shopping at The O2. By contributing to its destination strategy, the hope is that it will give more consumers more reasons to visit The O2.