Melbourne Central Play Book
Into the hearts and minds of trendsetters
Brief
Melbourne Central is a shopping centre located above one of Melbourne’s busiest train stations. Being visionary and ahead of the curve has always been part of the DNA of this place. Since it was purchased by The GPT Group in 1999, the centre was reimagined as a quasi-cultural experience, gathering under one roof a broad range of specialty and niche stores. However, by 2019, Melbourne Central’s positioning and resonance with early adopter audiences had dissipated as it met success with mainstream audiences.
Approach
GPT approached Left Bank Co. to help them understand the early adopter mindset and how this should translate to a placemaking blueprint for the asset, guiding investment and activation decisions over the next 10 years. Left Bank Co. conducted a set of strategic interviews with recognised early adopters and worked closely with GPT to articulate the insights from this engagement into a strategic plan for transformation.
We then worked alongside the creative team at Studio Round to develop the Melbourne Central Play Book, a carefully crafted reference and briefing guide for internal teams to adopt this strategy. This was designed as a live resource to be added to and evolve over time by the client, as they refine their strategy and action plan. Illustrations were created by internationally-acclaimed illustrator, Egle Zvirblyte.
Impact
The Play Book set out an actionable plan to secure the long-term relevance of Melbourne Central as a distinctive part of the city’s retail and cultural environment. It has been a critical tool in briefing design teams and consultants to help achieve this vision across all aspects of the centre.