National brand and digital marketing agency DS.Emotion has launched a new division dedicated to delivering bespoke place marketing strategies for its property, retail and estates management clients.

Headed up by Katie Bibby at the Manchester studio of DS.Emotion, the ‘place activation’ service is designed to maximise community engagement across commercial and residential developments or destinations and help to create a strong sense of place. Bibby says, “DS.Emotion has a strong reputation in the property market and we identified place activation as a natural step in completing the lifecycle of effective place marketing.”

“Our service also links intrinsically to the ultimate value for occupiers. Place activation has a positive ripple effect on the people who work or live at these properties, as well as landlord and business owners. It supports increased employee productivity and concentration, heightened job satisfaction, encourage interaction and networking opportunities as well as improvement of corporate image for businesses.”

The service delivers events themed around health and fitness, entertainment, participation, seasonal celebration, sensory and bespoke for business as well as place.

Matthew Milroy, at Kennedy Wilson Europe (KWE), says, "Our health and wellbeing programme for tenants brings the community of towers together and the response has been fantastic. We are delighted that the residents will be continuing with the fitness programme which DS.Emotion have helped us implement.”

Whilse DS.Emotion has been successful in delivering events to encourage maximum on site engagement, it also helps to exploit ‘meanwhile’ uses for estates that might be under development or pending consent for redevelopment, ultimately injecting vitality to redundant spaces. 

DS.Emotion can design and curate a place activation strategy that is fit for the place and the people who occupy it.