Southlake Town Square launches Teen Advisory Board (TAB)

Shopping center uses Facebook to find fashionable teens for teen board

Business Wire

posted: 10 DAYS 12 HOURS AGO

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Southlake Town Square, an 800,000 square-foot premiere lifestyle center located in Southlake, Texas, has established a Teen Advisory Board (TAB) and kicked off a social media campaign in support of the new volunteer organization. Southlake Town Square is owned by Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc. (“Inland Western”).

The mission of the TAB is to establish and grow a dedicated group of high school trendsetters, committed to enriching the Southlake Town Square experience for their peers and the community. TAB members will interface directly with The Square’s marketing director and retailers.

The TAB will give teens an opportunity to develop a foundation for volunteerism, event planning, retail, marketing and public relations. Students will be chosen to serve a year-long term after an application and interview process, and will work to plan and execute projects and events related to community, fashion, retail, music and sports. This includes a 2010 Back-to-School fashion-show fundraiser to benefit the charity of their choice. TAB members were recently invited to the VIP Grand Opening of Metropark, a high-demand fashion retailer for the teen market at Southlake Town Square.

“The Teen Advisory Board is a natural fit for Southlake Town Square, and we see it as an excellent way to engage teens in the area and create dialogue with our retailers,” said Karla Chase, marketing director for Southlake Town Square.

Southlake Town Square utilized its popular Facebook page to recruit teens for the new TAB and will continue to use it to communicate news and information about the board and upcoming events. The TAB is also engaging teens in contests and giveaways via the social networking site. When Southlake Town Square launched its Facebook page earlier this year, it attracted over 5,000 fans in 60 days.

“The fans on the Southlake Facebook page are very active, and seem to really enjoy connecting with The Square,” Chase said. “We believe Facebook is an excellent tool to create a two-way conversation with teens. We are mentoring each other – Southlake is providing an opportunity for teens to develop teamwork and leadership skills, and the teens are sharing their ideas, insights and knowledge of social media. We are thrilled to be launching this program at Southlake.”

Inland Western has embraced social media marketing on both the corporate and individual shopping center levels. Last year, the company introduced Holly Green, their shopping, living and giving green guru ( www.hollygreenguru.com). The character, who shares ideas on how to save money and live an eco-friendly lifestyle, has her own blog, Twitter and Facebook pages, is featured in advertising, and makes “in person” appearances at shopping centers nationwide. She also gives away coupons, promotional items and even laptops.

“We focus our marketing efforts on utilizing the most effective ways to drive customers to our retailers,” said Cherilyn Megill, vice president of marketing for Inland Western. “Customers are much more value-minded today, and our social media efforts provide an effective way to communicate where the best deals can be found at our properties. They also provide a way to create a dialogue with our shoppers. We believe this interaction is adding value for our customers and tenants. The response to our programs has been impressive.”

Inland Western has partnered with the Dealey Group, a Dallas-based digital advertising, marketing and design agency, to work with Southlake Town Square on their teen advisory board. More information about the Southlake Town Square TAB is available on The Square’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SouthlakeTownSquare.

About Southlake Town Square

Southlake Town Square is an 800,000 square-foot lifestyle center with an upscale mix of local and national retailers and restaurants. Southlake Town Square is located on the corner of Southlake Boulevard (FM 1709) and Carroll Avenue in Southlake, Texas. Southlake Town Square is managed by Inland Southwest Management LLC and owned by Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc. For more information visit http://www.southlaketownsquare.com.

About Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc.

Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc. is a self-managed real estate investment trust that acquires, manages and develops a diversified portfolio of real estate, primarily multi-tenant shopping centers across the United States. As of June 30, 2009, our portfolio under management totaled in excess of 49 million square feet, consisting of 301 wholly-owned properties. We also have interest in 12 unconsolidated operating properties and 17 properties in 7 development joint ventures. For further information, please see the company website at www.inlandwestern.com.