The business challenge

Attract new customers to an emerging retail category

Camberwell, an affluent suburb located in Melbourne’s inner east, has not historically been perceived as a health and wellness destination. However, the increasing demand for these services and products has resulted in a number of health and wellness businesses opening their doors in the Camberwell Junction shopping precinct in recent years.

Camberwell Centre Association, which represents more than 700 retail and professional service providers in the precinct, wanted to attract new customers to the precinct while supporting these emerging businesses.

The association was searching for a way to promote their diverse health and wellness offering and encourage increased collaboration between these traders.

The insight

Retail is most effective when experienced

With the rise of online shopping, experiential retail has seen exceptional growth. In addition to hospitality, health and wellness is one of the fastest growing categories, with the global wellness economy valued at $4.5 trillion in 2018 and growing (Global Wellness Institute, 2018).

The affluent Camberwell community presented the perfect opportunity to encourage uptake of health and wellness products and services, which naturally appeal to people with high disposable income. However, the vast geographical spread of these traders, many of whom were located in low footfall areas or premises that were not highly visible, meant there was difficulty in promoting their services collectively within the precinct.

The unique and experiential nature of many health and wellness businesses created a compelling and appealing proposition to a diverse range of audiences. The best way for consumers to connect with the brands is to actually experience what they have to offer.

With the category populated with newer, highly motivated businesses, these retailers were eager to get involved in promotional activities and showcase their unique offerings.

The idea

Drive consumers directly to the doors of health and wellness businesses

Working closely with Camberwell Centre Association, Assemblo developed a day-long health and wellness festival, branded as the CamberWELL-BEING Wellness Trail.

Consumers were invited to spend a day in Camberwell experiencing health and wellness businesses throughout the precinct. Wellness Trail participants visited these businesses to join a free fitness class, listen to a health talk by practitioners, try out equipment, and take advantage of exclusive offers only available on the event day. Directional A-frame signage provided a clear path to help participants navigate the event, as well as lead other customers in the area to investigate.

We incentivised visitation across the category by asking consumers to collect stamps in a branded passport from at least five traders, to attain eligibility for a competition that would give them the chance to win from a pool of prizes valued at more than $6,000. Participants picked up and returned their passports from CamberWELL-BEING headquarters in the precinct, and on completion could get a professional photo taken at a branded photo wall, as well as enter the competition.

Participants were encouraged to pre-register for the event. These pre-registrations were handled through a custom website integrated with the Eventbrite ticketing system. This website also showcased special promotions from participating traders throughout the precinct for the whole month. A targeted digital advertising campaign, posters, and almost 30,000 flyers delivered to local homes and business, drove people to attend on the day. Other promotions included tree surrounds across Burke Rd and Camberwell Junction, articles, email newsletters, social media posts and engagement, and branded bags for participates to take around as they visited businesses along the trail. Entertainers and promoters roamed the streets handing out flyers and drumming up even more interest.

This resulted in a very attention-grabbing event that generated a lot of buzz in the lead up to and during the event.

The impact

The CamberWELL-BEING event has been a massive success since it’s debut in 2018, and has continued to run every year with ever-growing engagement from traders in Camberwell Junction, and the community who attends the event.

As of 2023, the campaign has achieved fantastic results, including:

• High trader involvement and engagement providing experiences, special offers and prizes
• More than 500,000 unique users reached on Facebook and Instagram
• An increase of thousands of new followers on Facebook and Instagram
• More than 600 unique pre-registrations for the events, with thousands of attendees on the event days
• Positive feedback from traders and consumers alike, with a strong indication of repeat participation in future iterations of the campaign.

Additionally, Camberwell Junction’s health and wellness traders were educated and empowered to collaborate more closely to achieve greater collective growth and awareness. As a whole, Camberwell Junction was successfully promoted and positioned as one of Melbourne’s leading health and wellness destinations.

The campaign had such a great impact on the community that Camberwell Centre Association made the decision to run the Wellness Trail as an annual event. Not only does this allow them to continue promoting new health and wellness traders in the precinct each year, but it has also helped to fill a crucial mid-year gap in their seasonal events calendar.

Visit the CamberWELL-BEING event website here.