​Westfield launches new UK ‘Come Together’ Christmas campaign

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Nov 10, 2021

Combine tradition, nostalgia and excitement and you have all the ingredients for the new Westfield Christmas ‘Come Together’ campaign.

Launched across Europe, major malls owner/operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is “re-embracing traditional Christmas messaging to re-engage customers and celebrate the joy and excitement of the festive period following a very different Christmas in 2020”.  

It said the integrated campaign is built on the insight that Westfield is a place where people “can come together - from couples, friends, families and reunions”.

Photographed by France’s Cédric Viollet, the creative uses the long-standing tradition of illumination including candles, LEDs and Christmas lights “to evoke a warm and a festive atmosphere”.

Messaging threaded throughout the campaign show that Westfield centres “offer truly memorable experiences that encourage communities and visitors from further afield to come together to enjoy the unique festive activations at Westfield’s shopping, dining, entertainment destinations across Europe”.   

In the UK, the creative promotes Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City’s 2021 Christmas programme and offers which centres on family, kids, fashion, Black Friday shopping weekend, late night shopping and its gift card. 

The creative will be amplified by a unique Instagram ‘sparkle’ AR filter to encourage Westfield’s social audience to elevate their Christmas pictures with a filter that captures #ThatWestfieldFeeling. 

Attractions at both centres running in tandem include a 'Meet Santa' experience that will run from the 9-24 December. It includes a new digital and physical winter woodland experience whereby guests are led by an elf to Santa’s Lodge to meet Santa. 

The physical experience will "cleverly offer a digital element" whereby friends or family at home will have the opportunity to watch the experience virtually, allowing them to watch their loved ones enjoy the once-in-a-year moment of visiting Santa if they are unable to join in person.

In addition to these leisure experiences, retailers will extend their opening hours to 10pm from 13 December at Westfield Stratford City and 18 December at Westfield London. 

Caroline Puechoultres, Chief Customer Officer – Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “The Christmas period is always a key time for our centres, retailers and customers, particularly this year after a stilted and uncertain festive season last year. 

“We have developed a programme which continues to position our centres across Europe as the ultimate retail and leisure destination for Christmas. As physical retail has suffered with closures over the past 18 months, our ‘Come Together’ campaign supports the widely held sentiment that ‘Christmas is back’, while capturing the multitude of experiences found at our centres throughout the season.” 

‘Come Together’ will be live until the 24 December at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, and will sit across paid media, in-centre, digital and press partnerships.  

It’s the first European wide Christmas campaign to launch since the rebranding of six assets in four European markets as Westfield destinations in September.