Maze Home Store
Pamela Brill -- Gifts and Dec, 8/8/2011 1:36:08 AM
What happens when a Midwestern specialty store has a chance to gain national renown and rub elbows with Hollywood's elite? For MAZE Home Store, it was a dream opportunity that turned 15 minutes of fame into lasting memories ... not to mention sales and new customers.
As a relative newcomer to the Winnetka, IL, community, the specialty retailer was invited to sponsor a luxury gift suite at the W Hotel Hollywood for the nominees and presenters of the 2011 Academy Awards. The store had captured the attention of GBK Productions, which was organizing the event and thought the MAZE Home Store would be a good fit for its gift recipients.
Heading for Hollywood
After agreeing to take part, owner Cindy Galvin and her staff realized they needed to select an appropriate item for the gift bags: one that reflected the MAZE brand, something that would appeal to a myriad of tastes and styles and that was gender neutral. (And, naturally, it needed to fit in a gift bag.) Galvin eventually opted for a leather bracelet key ring by local designer Maggie Wilson. "Cindy's theory is that celebrities are people just like you and me - juggling family, business, social, etc. - and need to make life easier while looking great," explains Sara Kratz, who headed up marketing efforts for the event. Wilson's line was the perfect embodiment of this criterion. 
By rounding out their gift bag with a few extra goodies - including a store gift certificate and some signature chocolate candies - MAZE was ready to share its big moment with the world. On top of alerting its current customers via Facebook posts and local media placements, the retailer's e-commerce site featured cross-promoted products in preparation for Oscar-related sales.
Star Gazing
All of these extra efforts, while maintaining the daily upkeep of the Winnetka store, proved to be its own juggling act. "We were able to do some training that ensured the store was well taken care of while our store and operations managers manned the [gift] suite [at the hotel]," says Galvin. "An unanticipated bonus is we now have an even more experienced, highly trained staff - well ahead of our planned schedule." 
During the actual event, MAZE received a warm welcome from the Oscars crowd, which inevitably helped expand its geographic reach. Celebrities, from Jane Lynch (Glee) to Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives, became fans of the MAZE brand and, according to Galvin, have since shopped its site. "More importantly, the excitement surrounding the Oscars event increased our Facebook followers from across the country (and a few in Canada and Europe) by more than fourfold and doubled our online monthly sales," she adds.
Back at home, MAZE continued the party with a post-Oscars celebration for its local clientele, complete with a Maggie Wilson trunk party and a gift bag giveaway. "We literally rolled out the red carpet for our guests," says Galvin. And considering the retailer's Hollywood experience, star power is something MAZE Home has come to know - and embrace.
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