From "Identity Crisis"
to "My Favorite Place"
The higher purchasing power of Filipinos amid a vibrant economy has new malls being built leftand right, with competition that is as tighter than ever.Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC)’s Commercial Centers Division, more popularly known as Robinsons Malls, rose up to the challenge by building malls in new areas, and fast. But by 2014, Robinsons Malls realized it had hit an identity crisis.To address this, the company embarked on an ambitious rebranding journey to chart the direction for its future malls: tagging each mall as “My Favorite Place.” But the company soon realized that new branding required a deeper, more collaborative approach to achieve the overall goal.Robinsons Malls then enlisted the help of management consultancy firm Management Strategies to develop the Branded Culture program, aiming to align this vision with the people and the culture from the inside.Along with the Branded Culture program was the Brand DNA workshop for leaders, and the Brand Culture Survey for select staff to measure leaders against the brand values and leadership key actions developed during the workshop. But while these seminars boosted morale and created a solid culture of innovation and collaboration, by 2017, Robinsons Malls hit another snag: aligning with “hardware” or infrastructure transformation.It was at this point that the Branded Leaders Refresh program was created, a 16-week journey with Action Learning sessions intended to review existing ideas and take action on infrastructure. A significant action step was opening doors to present to top management, to fast-track innovative ideas and projects. The AL strategy was so successful it even earned Robinsons Malls the WIAL Best Application Award in Shanghai this year. To date, Robinsons Malls is still in the process of transforming its malls into “My Favorite Place”, but there’s no doubt the small wins have already seared this title into the leaders’ hearts.