Round table discussion presented at the 2015 International Council of Shopping MOCIAL+ conference in San Francisco, CA.

2. SOURCE OF INSIGHT
2
Tim O’Connell
Retail Properties of America, Inc.
AVP, Director of Digital Marketing & Communications
TOConnell@rpai.com | T 630.634.4294 | @RPAI_REIT
Tim O’Connell is the Assistant Vice President, Director of Digital Marketing &
Communications for RPAI where he is responsible for the Company’s marketing, advertising,
public relations and market research initiatives. He played an integral role in the Company’s
re-branding initiatives as part of the company’s IPO in 2012.
He leads RPAI’s charitable giving including a partnership with The Wellness House,
employee engagement and overall marketing initiatives. He works collaboratively with the
executive management team to develop and implement key messages supporting all investor
information and presentations to the board of directors, shareholders, investors and rating
agencies. Tim is an active member with International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
and was the recipient of the ICSC 2011 US Silver MAXI Award for an inter-disciplinary
campaign and the ICSC 2012 US Silver MAXI Award for New Media Excellence within
Emerging Technology.
In 2011, Tim was also honored with the ICSC John T. Riordan Professional Education
Scholarship Award. He received his B.B.A. in Marketing from Benedictine University in Lisle,
Illinois, where he is an active alumni member for the College of Business.

3. THE DIGITAL CLIMATE
 Challenges Facing Marketers Today
– Too much content to monitor
– Limited staff = lack of time to track and report
– Difficult to stay engaged with digital audience
– Inability to quantify data and demonstrate a return
on investment
 Objectives for Today
– Clarify and align objectives/tactics
– Prioritize meaningful metrics
– Explore tools and practices to simplify measurement
3
Understanding the existing outlook to pinpoint future objectives

4. RETURN ON INVESTMENT (“ROI”)
4
The basic formula to quantify success
ROI =
(Benefit or Gain – Cost of Investment) x 100
Cost of Investment
 ROI can only be calculated after
the investment has yielded a return
and it cannot be estimated before
you have completed your program
 Values used in the ROI equation
are non-variable
 All resources utilized in a
campaign have a value
The Basic Rules of ROI
300% =
($2,000 – $500) x 100
$500

5. STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
5
Laying the foundation to deliver measurable results
1. Gather Business Goals
2. Define Mission/Purpose
3. Develop Program Goals
4. Select KPIs
5. Tactics
6. Metrics
Who?
Why?
What?
How?
Source: Content Marketing Institute

6. 1. GATHER BUSINESS GOALS
6
What aspect of the business does your program support?

7. 2. DEFINE MISSION / PURPOSE
 Create a digital mission statement that captures the vision of
your business and addresses the goals of your program
7
Laying the foundation for your program’s goals
Example: Develop a group of advocates who in turn help strengthen,
promote and maintain the mission and position of the brand.

8. 2. DEFINE MISSION / PURPOSE (Cont.)
 Utilize digital media to engage with shoppers by sharing
information about our retailers, promoting special events and
creating stronger consumer outreach and feedback
opportunities to drive traffic to our centers
RPAI’s Social Mission
 Through the use of digital media, we will
continue to build our brand by putting a face
and personality to RPAI, thus keeping us…

9. 3. DEVELOP PROGRAM GOALS
Business Objectives
Program Mission / Purpose
Goal A
Depth goal Depth Goal
Goal B
Depth Goal Depth Goal
Goal C
Depth Goal Depth Goal
9
What you look to accomplish
 To adequately measure ROI, all of the
time associated with program
development must be recorded
 If your output doesn’t align with a
program goal, it should not be included
within your strategy
 Strategic Planning:
Cost-Benefit Analysis (Pre & Post)
– Labor
– Tools & Software
– Conversion
– Advocacy / Satisfaction
Sample chart was curated from Angie Schottmuller, Marketing Optimization Advisor

10. 4. DEFINE YOUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Objective KPI Measurement
Awareness % share of voice for online mentions
Consideration # of total “social” interactions
Leads / Sales # of conversations driven from social media
Retention # of repeat visitors
Advocacy # of total positive mentions, reviews or shares
Innovation $ saved or generated as a result of social feedback
Market Research # of social support inquires resolved
Customer Service # of social support inquiries resolved
Social PR
# of negative brand mentions solved
(Bonus: # converted to positive mentions)
HR Recruiting # of candidates driven from social media
10
Measuring the success of your campaign
Note: KPI’s are examples. Metrics should be indicative of the progress for your organizational goals.
Sample KPI’s were curated from Angie Schottmuller, Marketing Optimization Advisor

11. 5. SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS
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Value-basis for comparing tactics
CONSUMER
DRIVEN CREATIVE
Develop consumer
driven creative that
generates both short
term and long term
revenue from multiple
sources
USER
ENGAGEMENT
Drive user engagement
and promote content
contributions
Listen  Interact 
React  Share
OFFLINE
EVENTS
Offline events are
excellent ways to
capture additional
content to submit
through your digital
market channels
EDITORIAL
CALENDAR
Seasonal cues will
drive users to the web.
Develop a strategic
calendar that supports
seasonal cues, national
and local events
REPURPOSE
CONTENT
Bring new life to your
content by repurposing
your work internally and
externally

12. 5. SOCIAL MEDIA TACTICS (Cont.)
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The 70+20+10 principle and the importance of experimenting
70%
20%
10%
Tried & True
Touch Points
Emerging Trends &
Technology
Experimental

13. 6. ANALYZING AVAILABLE METRICS
13
How can you measure the success of your campaign
Awareness ROI Calculator (multiply figures less cost)
Market size 1,500,000
Awareness change 3.00%
Purchase intent 10.00%
Sales conversion 75.00%
Unit profits $75
Awareness value $253,125
Cost of awareness work ($15,000)
Awareness value less costs $238,125
ROI =
(Benefit or Gain – Cost of Investment) x 100
Cost of Investment
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Social Media Correlations

14. ROI EXERCISES &
BEST PRACTICES
Prepare your team members and
provide them with the tools they
need to maximize opportunities

15. CUSTOMER PERSONAS
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Defining your primary customers
Source: Content Marketing Institute
IDENTIFY
Personas;
define concerns,
drivers, roles, etc.
1
QUESTIONS
What do your
personas ask at
each stage of the
buying process?
2
ANSWERS
Answer the
question your
personas ask.
3
MAP
Map content
available to
answer the
questions asked.
4
IDENTIFY
Holes
Where are you
missing content?
5
SCHEDULE
Who is writing
the content and
when is it
published?
6
CREATE
Content to fill in
the holes.
7

16. CUSTOMER PERSONAS (Cont.)
16
Defining your primary customers
Source: Content Marketing Institute

17. CONVERSATION KIT
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Creating content for team members who represent your brand
Interview Guide
•Develop a sample guide
for your team to discuss
opportunities with your
tenants, customers, etc.
Flow Chart
•Create a flow chart that
plots your customers
position relative to its
peer universe for a few
key indicators
Track Your
Results
•Remember to always
track your results
•Every piece of data will
support the benefits of
your program
Summary Sheet
•Build a summary sheet
for your executive team
and share the outcome
of your program
Question: Does your content truly help front-line executives sell your brand?

18. CONVERSATION KIT (Cont.)
 Package your research results and success stories into white
papers, videos, blogs, social content, print collateral, etc.
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Creating content for team members representing your brand

19. GENERATE ROI FROM CONFERENCES
 Expose your social media
channels to the world
 Go behind the scenes
 Piggyback on the conference’s
social media frenzy
 Showcase your blogging skills
 Visually summarize presentations
 Create a webinar interview series
 Let your followers experience the
conference (e.g., Periscope)
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Capitalize on content marketing opportunities

20. CONTENT MARKETING
AUTOMATION
Easily track, schedule and curate
to generate ROI

21. HOOTSUITE
 Customizable interface
 Allows teams to collaborate
 Assign and manage tasks
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Social media management, simplified

22. HOOTSUITE
 Schedule updates
 Monitor mentions
 Track results
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Social media management, simplified

23. ENGAGE SCIENCES
 Schedule and post content
to multiple social profiles
 Utilize unit tags to boost
engagement
 Social campaigns for an
array of digital channels
 Harness data that can be
leveraged for targeting and
segmentation
23
Acquire, engage and inspire your followers

24. ENGAGE SCIENCES
 Build social profiles on your followers by connecting and engaging
them with the content they are seeking
 Establish brand advocates that share your content with their network
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Keep your finger on the pulse of your digital audience

25. ENGAGE SCIENCES
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Highlight brand advocates and showcase rich content

26. KEY TAKEAWAYS
There has never been a better time
for marketers. We now have greater
access, tools and ways to reach our
audiences than ever before.

27. HOW TO GENERATE A SUCCESSFUL ROI
1. Take Risks & Go Against the Grain
 Push the envelope and drive compelling stories
 Develop prevailing themes within your advertising that
force action
• Just Do It – Nike
• Think Different – Apple
 Our stories become richer when we step outside of
the box
27
Unique and consistent messaging will drive your brand

28. HOW TO GENERATE A SUCCESSFUL ROI
2. Be Authentic
 We are exposed to so much content every day
 Be honest and feed the expectations of your audience
• Builds loyalty among your customers
 Stay true to your mission and vision and you will
always generate followers
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Unique and consistent messaging will drive your brand

29. HOW TO GENERATE A SUCCESSFUL ROI
3. Audience
 Doesn’t matter what is behind the link if there is no
one there to click on it
 Give them a piece of content worth sharing
 Doesn’t matter if it’s a 6 second vine, a 3 minute
YouTube video or entire Netflix TV series…As long as
the content is good, you will have an audience
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Unique and consistent messaging will drive your brand