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ICONSIAM, the USD 1.7 billion riverside landmark destination that opened in Bangkok in November 2018 has swept four out of twelve First Prizes at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) Asia Pacific awards programme recently organized in Singapore.It is the highest number of first prize awards for any new development in the history of the awards programme.

The ICSC is the international trade association of the global shopping centre and retail real estate industry that was established in 1957 and has more than 70,000 members across more than 100 countries.

Mrs. Chadatip Chutrakul, Director of ICONSIAM Co., Ltd. and CEO of joint venture partner Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., said, “ICONSIAM set out to be a sensational global landmark and a game-changer in destination development and retail development. Through the collaboration of great retailers, architects, artists, artisans, community leaders, and the travel industry, we’re fulfilling that vision and helping to give visitors one more reason to fall in love with Thailand.”

“We take great pride in our role to help Thailand achieve recognition and respect on the world stage,” she said.

Mrs. Chutrakul said that ICONSIAM has created a new axis of development in Bangkok on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok by successfully attracting many eminent global brands to open their first Thai retail outlets at the destination as well as hosting the flagship stores of many ultra-luxury brands.

  • ICONSIAM received the first prize in the Best New Development category and was held up by developers and retailers from around the world as an example of revolutionary new thinking in retail and destination development. It was recognised for successfully creating a globally innovative model for destination development that moves from being a mall or a mixed-use complex to being an inspiring destination that perfectly combines across its 750,000 square metres of floor space a great riverside location with vast and varied cultural offerings, an exciting diversity of activities, entertainment, restaurants, and super-luxury residences, together with extraordinary shopping possibilities.
  • The first prize in the Best Support to Businesses category was given to ICONSIAM’s ‘SookSiam’ concept which is laid out across almost 1.5 hectares of space on the development’s ground floor. SookSiam presents the cultural heritage of the four, main geographic regions of Thailand, capturing their arts, handicrafts, performing arts, and local wisdom. Within SookSiam are outlets of varying types that are built in the style of their respective regions, and which offer crafts, foods, and services that are unique to each region.

Mr. Chayapong Naviroj, Chief Executive Officer of SookSiam said, “It is a platform that brings together hundreds of small, mom-and-pop operations from across Thailand’s 77 provinces. We support them with merchandising and marketing ideas to help them penetrate international markets. Most of the people selling here have never operated out of their hometowns before, but now sell on a globally visible platform.”

  • The first prize in the Best Grand Opening category recognised the glittering opening event attended by tens of thousands of well-wishers, celebrities and Thailand’s ‘Who’s Who’ and which included an array of shows, performances, global superstar concerts, and the largest flying drone display ever organised in Southeast Asia that had more than 1,500 drones flying in unison to create moving patterns and messages across the night sky.
  • ICONSIAM also won first prize in the Best Public Relations category for creating global awareness of ICONSIAM as an exciting destination. The opening programme generated over Bht 900 million of coverage around the world and was attended by more than 1,000 local and international reporters. ICONSIAM was the most talked about subject in Bangkok in social media during 30 days after the opening and “#ICONSIAM” became the number 1 top trending hashtag on Thailand’s twitter.

Ms. Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Senior Vice President — Marketing, Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., said, “The effectiveness of our communications is essential to our success because it helps us fulfil our purpose to serve as a platform that attracts global attention to the best of Thailand as well as the best that the world has to offer. We invest heavily in marketing and communications activities as well as in on-the-ground activities to ensure that ICONSIAM is constantly an exciting place to visit.”

“We are pursuing innovative marketing strategies that give us new ways of creating emotional engagement with our stakeholders and also make them into champions of the ideas that ICONSIAM represents,” she said.