CUNNING PLAN DELIVERS BRAND STRATEGY AND CREATIVE FOR NEW WATERLOO SHOPPING CENTRE

Manchester’s Cunning Plan Marketing has created the brand for a new shopping centre in London’s Waterloo International Train Station, which is due to open this summer.

The agency won the brief via a competitive pitch back in 2020 and were tasked with coming up with brand strategy, positioning, name and visual identity as well as website and social media strategy for the scheme. 

Cunning Plan’s brand identity needed to appeal to local residents, commuters, day trippers and local workers.

In depth research was carried out with focus groups and interviews to help understand the expectations of the audience as well as engaging with the South Bank BID and its many high profile attractions to ensure the scheme and its brand fit into the South Bank and Waterloo landscape successfully.

The new scheme is named The Sidings, with the strapline ‘Waterloo’s Social Side’, inspired by the vision for the scheme to be a space to the side of Waterloo station where people can get together, take a break away from the busy station environment. 

The Sidings is due to open this summer and will be housed within the UK’s busiest train station.  130,000 square foot, over three floors, it will be a mixed use scheme with retail, food and beverage outlets and entertainment venues.  So far it has been announced that it will be home to the biggest BrewDog in the world plus a groundbreaking immersive experience; Alice’s Adventures Underground, courtesy of Labyrinth.

The Sidings will be part of London’s vibrant South Bank, opposite the iconic London Eye and close to other attractions including the London Aquarium, Tate Modern and The London Dungeon. 

Cunning Plan launched the brand earlier this month with a teaser website to raise awareness of the centre as it counts down to its opening later this month.

Cunning Plan’s Managing Director, James Adam said: “The Sidings has been a labour of love for some time now, we’re excited for the brand to finally see the light of day. It’s been a complicated brief that required careful balancing of creativity with stakeholder engagement to ensure we got the best result. We’re very proud of how the brand turned out and we can’t wait to open this Summer.”

The Sidings Centre Director, Lynne Glover said: “Cunning Plan has a proven reputation when it comes to shopping centre and destination marketing.  Their approach combines creativity with a structured process, which results in a brand that is impactful but also authentic. We look forward to working with them as our retained agency once the centre opens its doors.”