Author: Hayley Hatherell

How to Choose the Right Location for Your Brand Activation

Posted on by Hayley Hatherell

A successful brand activation starts with the right location. The strongest campaigns do not simply appear in busy places. They appear in places where the right people are already spending time.

Whether you are launching a product, running a sampling campaign, building brand awareness or generating customer leads, choosing the right space can influence how many people engage with your campaign and how effectively you achieve your objectives.

At Signature Spaces, we help brands find promotional and experiential spaces across the UK, from shopping centres, retail parks, supermarkets, transport hubs and destination venues.

Here are the key factors to consider when choosing your next activation location.

Start with your campaign objectives

Before choosing a venue, define what success looks like.

A campaign focused on product sampling may require a location with high customer flow and enough space for meaningful interactions. A customer acquisition campaign may prioritise audience quality and opportunities for conversation.

Consider:

  • Are you trying to increase awareness?
  • Do you want product trials or sales?
  • Are you collecting customer data?
  • Are you targeting a specific demographic?
  • Do you need national reach or local engagement?

Your objective should guide your location choice.

Understand your audience

Footfall matters, but audience relevance matters more.

A busy location does not automatically mean it is the right location.

For example:

  • A family-focused product may perform well in shopping centres with strong weekend footfall.
  • A commuter service may benefit from transport hubs.
  • A food or drink brand may find opportunities in supermarkets or retail destinations.

Understanding who visits a location, when they visit and how they behave helps ensure your campaign reaches the right people.

The best promotional spaces balance strong footfall with audience relevance. A successful activation depends on choosing a venue that supports your campaign objectives, whether that is increasing awareness, generating leads or encouraging product trials.

Consider dwell time

Dwell time refers to the amount of time people spend in a location.

Spaces where customers naturally pause or browse often create stronger opportunities for engagement than places where people are simply passing through.

Different venue types offer different opportunities. Shopping centres may provide longer browsing periods, supermarkets can support regular customer engagement, while transport hubs can connect brands with large volumes of travellers.

Shopping centres, retail parks and leisure destinations can provide valuable moments where customers are already open to discovery.

Choose a space that supports your activation

The physical space needs to work for your campaign.

Consider:

  • How much room do you need?
  • Will you have staff, displays or sampling equipment?
  • Do you need power or storage?
  • Does the location allow your planned setup?
  • Is the space visible from key customer routes?

A well-positioned space can help your activation feel natural rather than disruptive.

Think beyond one location

For many brands, a successful campaign is not about one activation. It is about reaching audiences consistently across multiple locations.

A UK-wide roadshow, sampling campaign or product launch can combine different venue types to reach customers in different environments.

A strong location strategy can help brands build recognition while adapting to local audiences.

Finding the right activation space

Choosing a location requires more than finding an empty space. It requires understanding your audience, your objectives and how people interact with different environments.

Signature Spaces works with brands to identify promotional and experiential opportunities across the UK, helping campaigns reach customers in relevant, high-footfall locations.

Looking for the right space for your next campaign? Explore our promotional spaces across the UK or contact our team today to discuss your requirements.

Does Experiential Marketing Still Matter? The Role of Physical Brand Experiences

Posted on by Hayley Hatherell

It’s all about the people behind the campaign…

By Catriona Pope, Director of Signature Spaces

I started working in experiential marketing around 15 years ago through a direct sales company. Back then, the campaigns were simple: brands in physical spaces talking to customers directly.

What struck me early was that the difference between campaigns that worked and those that failed rarely came down to the concept. It came down to the relationships behind them.

The best campaigns relied on strong partnerships with venues and teams who understood how to engage people properly. So, when that foundation wasn’t there, the activation struggled.

Over time I built relationships with venues across the UK and eventually reached the point where I had the confidence to start my own business.

The company began life as Blythswood Events and after two or three years we rebranded as Signature Spaces. The new name reflected a bigger ambition and a broader direction. It also signalled a move beyond Glasgow and into a national market.

It’s no secret that retail has been transformed by ecommerce, automation and self-service. Love it or hate it, most customer journeys now start and end online.

Yet brands are investing more in real-world experiences than at any point in the last decade. The reason is simple: human interaction still builds trust faster than any digital channel.

And there is research that backs this up. 85% of consumers are more likely to buy after attending a live brand experience, according to Team Tecna (2025). Experiential campaigns also generate an average £4.60 return for every £1 invested, based on analysis by Pearl Lemon Experiences (2025).

For brands navigating crowded digital markets, those numbers explain why face-to-face engagement remains powerful.

 

How Retail Changed the Industry

The retail environment today looks very different from when I first entered the industry. For starters, shopping centres once provided consistent footfall for brand activations with many campaigns focused on customer acquisition in busy retail hubs. Since then, ecommerce has completely reshaped how people shop.

We’ve seen it in the news and in our communities: footfall in traditional retail locations has declined. This means that many venues have had to reinvent themselves as destination spaces, adding entertainment, hospitality and events to attract visitors.

Retail analysts see the same shift. Physical stores increasingly use experiences and in-store events to drive visits and engagement as online retail grows, according to reporting by Reuters (2026).

It’s no longer enough to be a shop; it’s the extras that can put you head and shoulders above your competitors. This means that naturally, experiential marketing has adapted alongside this change.

Our shopping centre venues excel at this – from Easter art workshops at Ryemarket centre to regular visits from Bristol DAWG rescue greyhounds at Clifton Down.

We’ve also grown our portfolio and developed a strong niche working with supermarkets and retail outlets. These environments reach people during everyday routines and allow brands to provide services or savings directly to a captured audience.

In some cases, stores initially see activations as a disruption. However in practice, many campaigns provide genuine value to shoppers. They offer advice or services people cannot easily access online.

So in an era where customer service is often automated, face-to-face interaction can feel surprisingly refreshing.

 

Why Experiential Marketing Still Works Today

Three factors explain why in-person campaigns remain effective:

1. Trust – People still trust real world conversations more than adverts. A short interaction with a knowledgeable brand representative in person can answer questions instantly and build credibility.

2. Memory – Experiences create stronger brand recall than digital impressions. A conversation, demonstration or interaction stays with people long after they leave a store.

3. Measurable results – Modern experiential campaigns can now be tracked more accurately. Brands monitor leads, conversions, and engagement to assess return on investment.

This combination of human connection and measurable performance explains why many companies continue increasing investment in experiential marketing even as budgets tighten.

Choosing the Right Agency

For businesses exploring experiential marketing, selecting the right partner matters as much as the campaign idea itself and there are a few clear warning signs that companies should look out for.

Firstly, poor customer service. It may seem obvious, but if communication is slow or inconsistent during early conversations, that often reflects how campaigns will be delivered later.

High staff turnover is another. Experiential marketing relies heavily on people. If a company struggles to retain team members, campaign quality usually suffers.

Finally, pricing can also signal problems. If the cost looks dramatically lower than competitors, it often means corners are being cut somewhere in the process.

There are also positive indicators which can be equally clear.

Firstly, experience matters. Agencies that have worked in the sector for many years understand the logistical and operational details that make campaigns succeed.

Making sure the agency has strong venue relationships is also critical. Long-standing partnerships help activations run smoothly and ensure brands are placed in the right locations.

Finally, look for long-term client relationships. Consistent partnerships suggest reliability and trust.

 

Building a Service-Led Approach

At Signature Spaces we focus heavily on service. This is a people-driven industry, so responsiveness and attention to detail matter.

Clients need quick answers, especially when campaigns run across multiple locations and weekends. Our team is always available, and speed of response is something we take seriously.

Our team culture also plays a major role. A supportive workplace and clear career pathways help us retain talented people. That consistency benefits clients because the same experienced team members manage campaigns year after year.

 

Looking Ahead

Retail and marketing will continue evolving. Especially as attention spans shorten and technology changes how brands reach customers. This will be bolstered by digital channels which will remain central to most strategies.

What has not changed in the past fifteen years is the impact of a genuine human interaction. People remember the brands that speak to them directly, answer their questions and treat them like individuals rather than data in a spreadsheet.

In my years of experience, I believe that in this industry, the quality of the people delivering the campaign is often the difference between average and exceptional results. That’s not changing any time soon.

Signature Spaces Expands UK Promotional Space Partnerships in 2025

Posted on by Hayley Hatherell

As the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting on an extraordinary 2025—a year defined by strategic growth, impactful client campaigns, and a renewed commitment to our team. Our mission remains clear: Connecting brands with audiences and transforming spaces into revenue-generating assets. Here’s a look at how we delivered on that promise this year and where we’re heading in 2026.

Partnership Power: Accelerating Growth with UK Retailers

In 2025 we’ve expanded our portfolio to become the trusted agency for many of the UK’s leading retailers, delivering a range of experiential marketing activities each week from product sampling to car promotions.

Our retail partners now include Asda, Asda Express, Iceland and the Food Warehouse and Poundland.

In particular, our partnership with Asda has flourished, bringing in charity bookings to the stores for the first time, with our campaigns delivering stronger in-store engagement and new revenue for the retailer.

This achievement underscores our ability to use our skills, experience, and network to help organisations make a difference through impactful campaigns.

 

How our venue partnerships help brands

The right location can make a significant difference to the success of a promotional campaign. Through our network of UK venue partners, we help brands access high-footfall spaces where they can connect directly with their target audiences.

From shopping centres and supermarkets to retail parks and transport hubs, we match brands with locations that support their campaign objectives, whether that is product sampling, customer engagement, awareness building or driving sales.

Our venue partnerships give brands access to established environments with existing customer footfall, helping campaigns reach the right people at the right time.

By managing the process from location selection and booking through to campaign delivery, we make it easier for brands to create meaningful face-to-face experiences.

 

High-Impact Activations: Our Client Success Stories

2025 saw us collaborate with an incredible portfolio of brands, helping them break through the noise of traditional advertising and connect directly with consumers.

A highlight of the year was working with Scottish Power on their eye-catching “pit stop” activation roadshow.

  • Centre:mk, Milton Keynes: This immersive experience included interactive games and a car giveaway, driving huge visitor engagement.
  • High Cross Shopping Centre, Leicester: A slightly smaller scale, high-impact version allowed visitors the chance to win a brand new MG and ask the team all their EV charging questions.

Both activations successfully drove high visitor engagement and delivered measurable, tangible outcomes for the brand.

 

Responsible Growth: Our Commitment to People and Planet

We welcomed a number of new charities to our portfolio this year, including Dog’s Trust, Lincs and Nott Air Ambulance through our fantastic relationship with Unique Fundraising.

We are proud to be able to use our skills, experience and resources to help these organisations make a difference through impactful campaigns at the best rates.

We believe commercialisation should be responsible, inclusive, and sustainable. In 2025, we increased our efforts to cultivate a strong workplace wellbeing culture:

  • Flexible Working: We implemented a flexible working model to support our staff in their commitments outside of work, such as childcare.
  • Early Career Development: We continued to provide structured early careers development opportunities, which saw one of our junior employees successfully progress into a more senior position through effective training and mentoring.

We are incredibly proud of how our whole team continues to grow and take on new challenges.

 

Looking Ahead to 2026: Transforming Spaces

As we look toward 2026, we are energised to continue our mission, building on the success of this past year. From major retailer networks to individual shopping centres, we are ready to help your brand secure prime promotional space and turn footfall into customers.

We are now actively booking prime slots for Q1 and Q2. Get in touch today to discuss your next brand activation campaign.

Why Experiential Marketing Campaigns Still Matter in 2025

Posted on by Hayley Hatherell

From the moment our phone alarms ring in the morning until we plug in to charge at the end of the day, it’s hard to remember how we did, well anything, before the digital age.

 

However, a growing number of people are experiencing ‘digital fatigue’, with 81% of Gen Z adults and 78% of millennial adults admitting they are getting sick of the endless scrolling (according to a February 2025 survey from Quad conducted by The Harris Poll.)

 

In an AI-driven world, the tangible, human connection of face-to-face experiential marketing is proving to be more valuable than ever. At Signature Spaces we witness the impact of these real-life connections on a daily basis.

 

The EventTrack 2025 report reveals a dramatic increase in the importance of live experiences within the marketing landscape. The findings, based on surveys of over 1,000 corporate event marketers and attendees across various sectors, revealed that 74% of Fortune 1000 marketers planned to increase their event budgets at the beginning of 2025. The signal is clear: physical experience is a top priority once more.

 

Face-to-face marketing was a prominent topic at the inaugural UK Insights Forum hosted by the Global Entertainment Marketing Awards in London in October. The session on this subject resonated strongly with attendees.

 

Mathias Upton-Hansen, CEO of Blacklist, stated: “There is no better time for face-to-face marketing. It creates depth, context, and cuts through the noise.”

 

The speakers highlighted a lesson relevant to all agencies: digital alone is not enough. Strategic, personal engagement is key.

 

In-person experiences build genuine, lasting trust that digital ads alone cannot. No app can replicate the experience of encountering a group of friendly guide dogs while browsing at Clifton Downs Shopping Centre, or being greeted at the supermarket by a smiling charity volunteer in uniform (Lincs at Notts Ambulance Service at Asda).

 

According a 2022 report by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, over 700,000 people in the UK pledged their support to a charity because of a conversation they had face- to-face with a fundraiser.

 

Donors who initially sign up with a face-to- face fundraiser also often go on to extend their support in other ways such as making a major donation in response to a specific campaign, or even leaving a legacy gift in their Will.

 

These interactions build stronger emotional connections which are crucial for long-term loyalty. We’ve seen the impact for ourselves through our charity partnerships at Asda. A representative for Dog’s Trust told us, “Face-to-face fundraising is vitally important for a charity. It gives us a chance to speak to people directly and if they’ve got questions or concerns, we can answer immediately ”

Choosing the right environment is a key part of creating a successful activation. Audience fit, footfall, dwell time and venue type all influence how effectively a campaign connects with customers. Read our guide on how to choose the right location for a brand activation to understand the key factors brands should consider before selecting a space.

Face-to-face events are also the ultimate engine for User-Generated Content (UGC), amplifying your reach far beyond the physical event.

 

People don’t just attend; they create content. The in-person activation becomes a physical asset for the brand’s digital campaign. We’ve seen this with our recent roadshows for Scottish Power. We helped them to create an impressive ‘pit stop’ station with a prize car, games and more at various UK locations. This led to high levels of visitor engagement in person and on social media.

 

In 2025, face-to-face experiences remain an important way for brands to build trust, encourage engagement and create memorable customer interactions. Signature Spaces helps brands find the right environments for their campaigns, from shopping centres and retail parks to supermarkets and transport hubs. Explore our promotional spaces across the UK or contact our team to discuss your next activation.

Ready to cut through the digital noise and connect with your customers? Contact us today to discuss securing the ideal promotional space for your 2025 experiential campaign