A coalition of shopping centre, retail, fuel and convenience, pharmacy, security and cleaning industry groups has joined forces to launch a nation-wide ‘Be Kind in Retail’ campaign for the upcoming Christmas period, as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to combat alarming levels of abuse, violence and the use of weapons against workers.
The coalition is comprised of the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA), National Retail Association (NRA), Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS), Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL), Pharmacy Guild of Australia, and Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA).
With a central message of ‘Kindness Never Goes Out of Style’, the SCCA, NRA, AACS, ASIAL, Pharmacy Guild and BSCAA are calling on the community to be kind to security guards, cleaners, retail and pharmacy staff, across the upcoming Christmas trading period.
The ‘Be Kind in Retail’ campaign will see advertisements and messaging displayed on digital and print media across the nation’s major shopping centres. One simple message states: “Please be kind to our security officers, cleaners and retail workers”.
SCCA members are running the campaign advertisements for free, across more than 300 shopping centres, and 3,500 digital screens, and an estimated commercial advertising value of $7 million. The campaign will also run across each industry partners’ social media channels and in a number of retail outlets.
Angus Nardi, Chief Executive of the SCCA said: “It’s really pleasing to launch the Be Kind in Retail campaign with our partners from the retail, pharmacy, fuel and convenience, security and cleaning industries, with simple message for the community to be kind and show respect in our retail environments this Christmas.
“Any incident that causes harm to someone is simply tragic, and we are calling on the community to help stamp out needless aggression and violence against workers in retail settings.”
The new nation-wide campaign has gained increased urgency as anti-social behaviour and crime in retail settings continues to increase, including causing serious mental and physical harm to workers who are simply doing their job.
Such incidences include workers being yelled and sworn at, pushed and shoved, threatened and intimidated, punched, and weapons being displayed and used on them – and many incidences are not associated with the attempted theft of goods. Concerningly, this can often include repeat-or recidivist offenders.
Campaign highlights:
- The campaign will run from 6 November to 24 December 2024
- 300+ participating shopping centres and retail precincts
- 3,500+ digital screens – broadcasting campaign messages across participating centres
- $7 million + commercial advertising value – reflecting the industry’s steadfast dedication
- 120 million + campaign plays
- 250 million+ customers engaged – demonstrating the campaign’s wide-reaching impact
- 6 Campaign Messages in Rotation – ensuring the message stayed relevant throughout.
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