Retailers to benefit from new campaign

SYDNEY: Sydney's key shopping precincts are getting a much needed marketing boost through two new initiatives by the City of Sydney.
Fashion retailers in both Oxford Street and the Sydney central business district will be the benefactors of a unique $1 million-plus advertising blitz aimed at rivaling Melbourne for the title of the country's "premier lifestyle shopping" venue.
A collaboration between 15 major CBD retail centres, the first campaign, dubbed "Fashion in the city", was rolled out late last month across out-of-home, print and consumer PR advertising.
A revamped website, sydney-shopping.com.au, attempts to communicate the individual selling points of each city shopping centre and also features a downloadable shopping map, an international size chart, parking and transport details, and information on tax-free shopping for overseas visitors.
Sixteen-year-old Sydney model Ellie Ross has been named as the face of the marketing program.
A second campaign, dubbed "Always fabulous" and involving a rebranding of Oxford street, was launched by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore last month to help promote the completion of a $24.4 million upgrade of the street.
Created by Sydney-based Design/Communication Associates and visual design firm There, the agency teams responsible were asked to come up with a new identity, as well as accompanying materials and a website - alwaysoxfordstreet.com.
Statistics supplied by the council show the turnover per employee or per floor area is significantly the highest among city core areas in Australia. Estimates have put current annual turnover as well in excess of $4 billion.
The figures also revealed that while Sydney's retail core has about the same number of employees as the Melbourne CBD, Sydney has about 20 per cent more shops and a 20 to 25 per cent higher turnover than Melbourne.
Each retail worker in the Sydney CBD sells, on average, 23 per cent more goods than those in other Australian capital city CBDs.