Allison Valentine KruppI see the potential.
I grow the business.

The Arboretum of South Barrington was an 87-acre property with more than 60 stores and restaurants. My job was to get it open, establish it in the community, and grow its business in preparation for a sale. Then the economy fell apart.

I worked directly with the owners, tenants, and municipal leaders. We needed people to choose our stores and restaurants at a time when many were cutting back on spending. The tenants’ success was central to every decision I made.

Giving people a reason to come back

I got to know the surrounding communities and created events that made The Arboretum part of people’s lives. Each event was a chance for someone to discover a restaurant, visit a store, or decide to come back with a friend.

Events for thousands of people

I produced events that welcomed 5,000 to 100,000 people. That meant managing the details as well as the promotion, working with partners, tenants, and the community to give people a day worth coming out for.

Turning partnerships into reasons to shop

I developed gift-with-purchase promotions with Broadway In Chicago, including Wicked, connecting the excitement of major theatrical productions with an incentive to spend at the center. Customers had a reason to spend, and tenants had a promotion they could use to bring in business.

Earning national recognition

Our programs earned finalist recognition in national industry awards, competing against major players in the shopping center industry.

The results over eight years

We maintained 99% occupancy through the recession and drove record sales for many anchors. The destination attracted 10.5 million annual visitors. Cooper’s Hawk’s founder credited The Arboretum with helping keep the company going during that period.

We came through the recession with a thriving center and stayed focused on the sale. I led that work for eight years, from the preopening trailer to the property’s next owner.

As Fresh Thyme’s Vice President of Marketing, I was responsible for building demand in new markets while keeping customers loyal in the stores we had already opened.

Leading through rapid expansion

I led a team of 24 responsible for store-opening marketing, public relations, customer loyalty, and digital marketing. With 22 openings in a year, we had to give each new store the attention it needed while continuing to bring customers back to the stores already open.

Building the tools the team needed

I built the customer relationship management system, website, and analytics tools. We needed to know who our customers were, what brought them in, and how to keep them shopping with us after the excitement of opening day.

Delivering results

I increased loyalty participation by 62%, and our work earned seven national public relations awards. I also secured Fresh Thyme’s recognition as Grocery Headquarters’ 2016 Natural/Organic Supermarket Chain of the Year.

Read the industry award feature ↗

I wanted to reach people who might never think to support conservation. A hospitality partner offered a way to introduce the work to customers already enjoying a meal or a drink.

I developed videos, artwork, and tabletop materials about an endangered species and the threats it faced. The materials explained where the money from each purchase would go and how customers could take part.

The campaign ran across the hospitality partner’s locations. A contribution from each beverage sold supported conservation work. Collectible drinkware carried QR codes so customers could buy tickets while the story was still fresh in their minds.

The partnership brought in revenue, ticket purchases we could trace to the campaign, and people who were new to the conservation work. I led it from the initial idea and negotiation through the creative work and ticket promotion.