Festival Place has been shortlisted for FIVE prestigious Sceptre Awards.
The Sceptre Awards celebrates and rewards excellence in the shopping industry and shines the spotlight on the country’s best management teams, retailers and suppliers.
The Basingstoke retail and lifestyle destination is vying for top spot in the following categories:
- Innovation of the Year – ShopKind initiative
- Diversity and Inclusion Scheme of the Year – for We Support Deaf Awareness
- Christmas Campaign of the Year
- Community Initiative of the Year South – Dog Friendly campaign
- Security Team of the Year
The shopping centre’s proud support of the ShopKind initiative has seen it shortlisted in the Innovation of the Year category.
The ShopKind campaign sees the retail sector acknowledging the important role of shopworkers and raising awareness of the scale and impact of violence and abuse against them.
Festival Place launched ShopKind in 2020 post-Covid with a number of measures and initiatives, and was the first shopping centre ShopKind champion in the UK.
In the Diversity and Inclusion Scheme of the Year category, Festival Place stood out for its backing of the We Support Deaf Awareness campaign.
Local deaf campaigner Simon Houghton set up #WeSupportDeafAwareness during the pandemic to help organisations better communicate with the deaf and hard of hearing.
Festival Place joined the campaign in January 2022 and has supported it ever since as they strive to create an inclusive environment for all shoppers. FP retailers have completed free training on how to communicate better with the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, with all participating stores displaying signs demonstrating staff awareness to customers.
In 2023, the shopping centre invited Simon Houghton into the centre as part of Deaf Awareness Week, to tell visitors more about his #WeSupportDeafAwareness campaign, as well as offering them the chance to learn some BSL phrases from deaf BSL signers.
Festival Place’s innovative 12 Days of Christmas bonanza also impressed judges, reaching the final of the Christmas Campaign of the Year category.
The shopping centre brought the festive song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ to life with roaming acts, community choirs and bands, family crafts, photo ops and face painters, and a craft room takeover ran for the five Saturdays leading up to Christmas.
The vibrant campaign increased both footfall and revenue, while supporting local charities including Basingstoke Foodbank, Besom in Basingstoke’s Christmas Hamper Project, and the centre’s charity of the year, St Michael’s Hospice.
The success of its dog friendly campaign has seen Festival Place shortlisted in the Community Initiative of the Year South category. As a true town centre-based scheme, Festival Place is closer to its local community than many other comparable shopping centres, and wanted to make life easier for visitors who were anxious about leaving their dogs behind on a day out. They were the first UK shopping centre to have more than 110 dog-friendly stores, with more joining monthly.
Finally, Festival Place is also in the running for the Security Team of the Year award, which recognises best practice in shopping centre security.
FP Head of Operations Gary Cooper said: “To be shortlisted for five prestigious Sceptre Awards is testament to the hard work of all those involved and highlights our support for our fantastic local community.
“We are so proud of all our teams involved as well as the great initiatives we have both set up and supported.”
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster, London, on Wednesday, October 9.
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