CBD Revitalisation Brief Information 2022

CBD Revitalisation Brief
Landscape Overview and Background
Footfall and patronage in Sydney’s CBD is down. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have
a devastating impact on our communities and economy.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic output in the City of Sydney’s local area was
$140 billion per year with an estimated 1.3 million people in the city centre every day. The
economic output of the City of Sydney local area is forecast to fall up to 15.8%.
Workers and visitors make up over 80% of the number of people who are in the city every
day and account for over 80% of expenditure in the local government area. Currently it is
estimated 59% of workers have returned to the CBD. Visitors to CBD are down 40%.
Target Audience
Young people
(looking for a night out, something to do on weekends)
Core Objectives
Primary
Get residents, workers and intra-state visitors (when practicable) back into the city and
reframe it as a place of discovery; eat, drink, dwell, see (both day and night).
Secondary
Support uptake and use of free footway dining, showcase array of cultural programming
(live music, art) along with the other ‘fine-grain’ opportunities.
Lastly
Build consumer confidence – the city is safe and open.

Buyer Behaviour Analysis
Young people can be identified collectively as members of Generations Y and Z, otherwise known as
Millennials and Pivotals, the two generational age cohorts of adults in their late teens to early thirties
who “share similar early life experiences that shape their values, preferences, and behaviours
throughout their lives” (Hoyer, MacInnis & Pieters, 2018, p. 323). These cohorts are “young, well
informed, and they have money to spend” (Lobo, 2014). “They share a love of social media, extensive
friend networks, and visibility into the lives of others. They both desire active participation and
cocreation with brands, and pledge to make a difference in the world.” (Fromm & Read, 2018, p. 7).
“A population segment has members who share distinguishing patterns of behaviour” (Quester et al.,
2013) and in Sydney, the geo-demographic groups within Australian society populated by young
people (figure 1) also reflect the characteristics of their lifestyles (table 1) that are another “important
factor that influences consumer decision-making processes” (Quester et al.).
Figure 1
Sydney Metropolitan Area geo-demographic groups
Note. From Consumer Behaviour: Implications for Marketing Strategy by Quester et al., 2013
(http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=5471315). Copyright 2008 by Pacific Micromarketing.

Table 1
MOSAIC Australia group summary descriptions
Group Segment Snapshot
C
Young Ambition
Educated, high-earning young singles and sharers in the inner suburbs
• Mainly singles, couples and sharers, aged 20-34
• 40% born outside Australia, often in Asia and Britain
• Highly educated professionals and managers
• High earnings / high rents and home repayments
• Exercise, going out and technology are common interests
G
Learners and Earners
Students and professionals living in high-density, lower cost suburbs
• Culturally diverse young singles and homesharers, aged 20-34
• Over a third of all students are attending university or TAFE
• Educated professionals working in finance, leisure or tech
• Students have little income / workers earn an average wage
• Least likely group to own a vehicle
• Busy social lives, interest in world affairs and technology
Note. Adapted from MOSAIC Group Summary Descriptions by Pacific Micromarketing, 2012
(https://creative.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/powerpoint_doc/0009/56538/MOSAIC_Groups_Slides.ppt).
However, “the city is very different now than what it was pre-pandemic” (Argyrou, 2021) and the City
of Sydney (2020, p. 26) recognises the impact the “loss of social connection through social isolation,
physical distancing, closure of community facilities, cancellation of events and community forums, loss
of volunteering opportunities, and not being able to participate in social, cultural and religious
practices” has had on young people living through lockdown. Nearly half would say “they feel stressed
all or most of the time” (Deloitte, 2021, p. 12) and “still fear that both personal and societal situations
will get worse before they get better” (Deloitte).
Because “human beings are fundamentally and pervasively motivated by a need to belong”
(Baumeister & Leary, 1995), the government regulations restricting movement and gathering have
forced young people to behave in ways contrary to their “deep-seated human instinct to connect with
others” (Baumeister & Leary).
“A less tangible but potentially more powerful impact of the pandemic is the sense of solidarity that
has emerged” (Deloitte, 2021, p. 8) with young people finding “they feel more sympathetic to those
in their communities and have taken actions to help those in need” (Deloitte, p. 8). History shows that
“major shifts in viewpoints and behaviour inevitably form from collectively experienced events”
(Baker, 2020) and today, “community consciousness is a defining characteristic” (Fromm & Read,
2018, p. 30) of young people who have developed a sense of shared identity and concern for others
from the shared experience of living through this disaster (Cocking, Drury & Reicher, 2009, pp. 66-95).

Having “regularly avoided shops, public transport, and other crowded places … these generations are
eager to regain the freedoms lost during the pandemic” (Deloitte, 2021, p. 9) with “a strong appetite
for ‘going out’ and pursuing the experiences these groups value” (Deloitte, p. 9) now that the stay-at-
home health orders have come to an end.
Being “driven by a need for social recognition” (Fromm & Read, 2018, p. 27), young people are
“collectors of experiences and use it to further their social currency with friends and people in social
circles” (Cox, as cited in Fromm & Read, 2018, pp. 28-29). “Young people have the tendency to
participate in activities with their peers” (Cormack, 1992, p. 7) and as they emerge from lockdown,
they will “seek out opportunities to be seen doing fun and exciting activities, like attending concerts
and sporting events, going out to eat, traveling, or just hanging out in trendy places with their friends”
(Fromm & Read, pp. 27-28) however “most people indicated that it would take longer for them to feel
confident going to indoor cultural and community events” (City of Sydney, 2020, p. 14).
The functional theory of attitudes helps explain how the attitudes held by young people facilitates
their social behaviour. The concept of a hierarchy of effects (figure 2) further aids in understanding
the interrelationships between how young people think (cognition), feel (affect) and behave
(behaviour) in response to the attitudes they hold about returning to the City as the pandemic ends.
Figure 2
The low-involvement hierarchy of effects
Note. Adapted from Three Hierarchies of Effects by Solomon, M. 2017.
In order to build consumer confidence and persuade young people back into the CBD, in line with our
campaign’s objectives, it is important to understand which cognitive processes will be activated in
response to our campaign’s messaging. Recognising that “people are frequently motivated to
conform to others' beliefs and behaviours in order to enhance, protect, or repair their self-esteems”
(Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (figure 3) incorporates the hierarchy of
effects above and suggests that the peripheral route to persuasion taken with low involvement
processing, using peripheral cues based on the basic psychological principle of consensus, will be an
effective method to extrinsically motivate young people and influence the behaviour of our target
audience.

Figure 3
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) peripheral route to persuasion
Note. Adapted from The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of Persuasion by Solomon, M. 2017.
Recommendation
“Events provide a sense of togetherness because of their inclusion of people from all different
backgrounds” (Derrett, cited in Hixson, 2014, p. 1) and “business, the cultural community and local
residents liked the idea of a community celebration as an important step in recovery. Using public
outdoor space was identified by arts organisations and businesses as an alternative to indoor venues
and a way to build confidence and bring people back.” (City of Sydney, 2020, pp. 15-16).
We propose that the City of Sydney stages a series of new and different festivals each and every week,
running both day and night throughout Summer, to “reactivate the city with a range of activities”
(Argyrou, 2021) that provide “different opportunities for different audience types” (Argyrou) and will
promote the CBD as a destination; “a place that is a really great opportunity for people to discover –
either something new or something old” (Argyrou). Under the name and tagline ‘FESTEVER’,
combining the first letters from the words ‘festival’ and ‘every week’ together and using the sound
symbolism of ‘best ever’ to influence assumptions about what the term ‘FESTEVER’ describes, the
series of festivals would be run in collaboration with local charities and community organisations, with
a unique and different focus for each week’s event, to highlight their individual causes and to
showcase the array of cultural programming Sydney has to offer. The festivals would also invite local
cafes and restaurants to provide catering for these events, as a means of further promoting and
supporting the uptake and use of free footway dining.
While the City of Sydney has been “looking at lots of different opportunities to draw different people
in at different times” (Argyrou, 2021), the council has found that “if we focus on this night-time
economy and showcase the fact that the CBD does have an amazing offer in the evenings then that is

actually then shared across the week and weekends” (Argyrou). With this in mind, our campaign will
primarily use evening and night-time imagery within the marketing of the campaign.
Unlike older generations, young people “do not as frequently use traditional channels of
communication such as television, radio, and the press” (Nikodemska-Wołowik, Bednarz & Foreman,
2019, p. 14). Having “grown up with unparalleled access to social media, smartphones and digital
universes” (Nikodemska-Wołowik, Bednarz & Foreman), young people have become “addicted to the
peer connection and affirmation they’re able to get via social media” (Underwood, cited in Fromm &
Read, 2018, p. 41) so much so that it has become the most effective way to communicate with this
target audience (Debevec, Schewe, Madden & Diamond, 2013).
Instagram is where young people “go to be inspired” (Fromm & Read, 2018, p. 45) and is the preferred
platform used for “creating the most aspirational versions of themselves” (Fromm & Read, p. 45).
Consistent with the images and messages they post online, young people “demand advertising serve
as a reflection of their lifestyle” (Fromm & Read, p. 41) and the “information needs to be direct, quick,
and simple” (Fromm & Garton, 2013, p. 54) as they “definitely prefer shorter forms of communication
that are full of graphic elements” (Nikodemska-Wołowik, Bednarz & Foreman, 2019, p. 14). “What
works best is, unsurprisingly, speed. Hence the importance of visual assets. Images. Short, punchy
text.” (Fromm & Read, p. 51) delivered through authentic “content more in line with their day-to-day
life” (Fromm & Read, p. 14).
Figure 4
Ferris wheel symbology
Symbolic associations can communicate semantic meanings, drawing on
episodic memories to create personal relevance.
“The ferris wheel is usually the most visible element of a fair that can be seen
from a distance” (Lennox) and “is associated with fun and excitement” (Amar).
Understanding the emotional and psychological associations we have with colours and the
corresponding meanings they communicate (Vos, 2020), the banner background is coloured dark blue
because “when you want to be viewed as trustworthy and cool, blue is the colour for you” (Morris,
2013) with the font green as it is “warm and inviting, lending customers a pleasing feeling. Second, it
denotes health, environment and goodwill.” (Morris).

Considering that “persuasion can be increased … by matching perceived activity level to a particular
emotional state” (Rucker, Petty & Briñol, 2008), our social media campaign to promote ‘FESTEVER’
(figure 5) will best capture young peoples’ attention by using sensory appeals delivered through
images posted on Instagram of similar young people happy, having fun and enjoying themselves, at a
festival, in the evening, with a ferris wheel as a symbolic visual asset, accompanied by minimal text.
Figure 5
Mock-up images for festival promotion on social media

References
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https://kaltura.uts.edu.au/media/City+of+Sydney+-+Chat+with+Olga+Argyrou/1_88fl3j93
Baker, P. (2020, March 31). We can’t go back to normal: how will coronavirus change the world? The
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Derrett, R. (2003), cited in Hixson, E. (2014, October). The impact of young people's participation in
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Underwood, M., cited in Fromm, J. & Read, A. (2018). Marketing to Gen Z : The Rules for Reaching
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