I recently had a conversation with a company whose marketing team was feeling defeated. Their leadership had unrealistic expectations, and the team struggled to explain the true benefits of marketing to internal stakeholders. My recommendation? Reposition how marketing is viewed within the company.

Many teams running asset-level marketing strategies face a common challenge: proving how marketing directly drives ROI and sales to tenants. Capital Markets, Leasing, and Asset Management often ask, “How many sales did this concert series drive?” and feel disappointed when marketing can’t provide a clear answer. So, what’s the solution?

In my experience, the key is repositioning marketing as a strategic support tool for Leasing, Asset Management, and Property Management. Marketing drives ROI in ways that aren’t always immediately measurable, but still significantly impactful. Educating internal teams on how property-level marketing affects the bottom line requires rethinking its purpose and strengths.

Here’s how property-level marketing drives ROI, and what I encourage teams to focus on when developing marketing budgets for assets:

Tenant Support

One of marketing’s primary roles is to support the tenants at the center and help drive traffic. Marketing can attract people to the site with events and activations, but it’s up to the tenants to convert that traffic into sales. Here’s where marketing can truly add value:

• Brand Awareness: Marketing should focus on increasing tenant visibility through both print and digital advertising, as well as extra exposure during events by featuring tenant-specific activations. This strengthens tenant relationships and builds traffic flow, but it also shows the tenants that the landlord is actively working to drive foot traffic.

• Tenant Satisfaction & Retention: When Leasing teams are touring new tenants, they’ll ask current tenants how they feel about the center, the landlord, and the support they’re receiving. A busy center with activations can impress prospective tenants, showcasing the landlord’s commitment to driving traffic. Similarly, tenant satisfaction plays a major role in the asset’s performance during a sale. When the property is on the market, tenant feedback will be a part of the due diligence process, and it’s vital for tenants to feel supported by their landlord.

• Supporting Tenant Openings & Struggling Tenants: Small tenants often don’t have the time or budget to market their openings or improve sales. Marketing can step in to fill this gap. By supporting tenant openings with promotional efforts and focusing on struggling tenants with tailored marketing strategies, you can significantly improve the performance of the center as a whole.