We choose innovation as our way to stay ahead and transform our destinations in an ever-evolving industry, and this applies to everything we do, including the partnership opportunities we develop for brands. The rise of new technology, combined with changing consumer expectations, has set the scene for a new era. The Group harnesses this to create unprecedented opportunities.

Key developments on commercial partnerships in 2021 included the following initiatives:

• Media – The trend towards experiential media continues, with brands investing in special sets and interactive digital out-of-home campaigns. The Group continued the roll out of programmatic “Drive to Store” technology in the UK, France and Spain, and launched new media products including the market-first 3D “Deepscreen” technology on large-format screens in the UK, Sweden, The Netherlands and France.
• Retail – There was ongoing strong demand for our kiosks, with a higher quality tenant mix, such as Google, which opened a pop-up store in Westfield La Maquinista. The shop offered customers demonstrations of all Google home automation products, including workshops on how to get more out of the devices.
• Brand Experience – There was also strong recovery in the second half of 2021 for brand experiences at our destinations, in particular around Beauty, with pan-European activations from Dior (Czech Republic, Poland, UK and the Nordics) and Paco Rabanne (France, UK, Poland and the Czech Republic). We also signed a long-term brand partnership with Afterpay in the US, and Clearpay and Disney in the UK, with plans to extend the partnerships into Europe in 2022.

Thanks to our efforts and consistent drive for innovation, the Group is proud to have played an integral role in notable commercial activation campaigns last year.