Madison Marquette Sponsors Creation of Center Social

New Website Offers Research and Resources for Shopping Center Social Media Use

Washington, DC (July 15, 2010) – Madison Marquette announced today that it has sponsored the creation of Center Social, a new website offering research, best practices and other resources related to utilizing social media for the marketing of shopping centers.

The new website can be accessed at www.centersocial.com.

“Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare are powerful tools that as an industry we are just beginning to understand how to use,” said Kurt Ivey, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Marketing of Madison Marquette.  The company has been a pioneer in the use of social media in recent years.  “Our sponsorship of Center Social is aimed at leveraging the experience and best practices of the entire industry to better understand how we can all use social media to increase consumer spending at a time when economic realities continue to challenge our centers,” said Mr. Ivey.

Center Social includes reports, case studies, presentations and best practices related to the use of social media in the shopping center industry.  Additional features and content will be added in the months ahead. 

The other co-sponsor of the new website is Alexander Babbage, a leading market and consumer research company based in Atlanta. 

Alexander Babbage recently released a benchmarking study that examined the use of social media by shopping centers in the United States.  The findings included:

• 1 out of 4 shopping centers in the United States that are larger than 300,000 square feet have a website and a Facebook page while 3 out of 4 have at least a website.
  
  
• Entertainment Centers are most likely to have a Facebook page while Lifestyle Centers are the least likely.
  
  
• Among centers with Facebook pages, the average number of Facebook “Fans” or people who “like” the page is 1,244.

The full Q2 2010 report from Alexander Babbage, Shopping Center Social Media: Who’s Doing What? is available for download at CenterSocial.com.  Alexander Babbage will release an updated report on the use of social media in the shopping center industry later this month.

About Madison Marquette
Madison Marquette is a Washington, D.C.-based investor, developer and operator of retail and retail mixed-use real estate throughout the United States. The company specializes in creating unique retail destinations that respond best to consumer preferences. With regional offices in Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, New York, Charlotte, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego, Madison Marquette seeks investment opportunities in growing markets. The company maintains a sophisticated in-house operating capability and oversees 18 million square feet of retail real estate. This diverse national portfolio includes many properties that Madison Marquette manages and leases on behalf of third-party owners. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.madisonmarquette.com.