Retail destinations attract millions of visitors each year, which makes them prime targets for multi-year contracts with brand sponsors. The generous sponsors of play areas include major consumer brands, children’s hospitals, pediatricians, pediatric dentists and orthodontists, museums and zoos, community foundations, local businesses, sports teams, and car dealerships.

Why do sponsors value an investment in play?

The opportunity to target key shopping and spending demographics with engaging, safe, and comfortable local community touchpoints. A partnership generally matches their vision for giving back to the community with their savvy for building brand awareness in their communities. Shoppers with children spend an average of 45 minutes at the play area and 93% of visitors recognized and can name the play area sponsor.

Soft Play amenities provide sponsorship platforms to engage communities and immerse prospective customers. Sponsor branding is available in custom-designed flooring, entrances, banners, wall and surrounding graphics.

Our play areas serve as an anchor for:

  • Activating the space
  • Product engagement
  • Building loyalty, and
  • Community involvement.

Play area sponsors are committed to the importance of early childhood development and healthy play opportunities, so that every child can reach their full potential. Customized branding builds brand loyalty with families while young children explore and play at the mall.

Read why the sponsors are investing in Soft Play play areas.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver, CO – Taubman

  • Theme: Dinosaur Gulch
  • Custom Elements: Soft Play’s artists worked hand-in-hand with paleontologists and museum curators to create dinosaurs that were based in reality but still kid friendly.
  • Quote: “Soft Play puts out a great product,” said Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s marketing director Dave Dixon. “We’re always very pleased with their work and their very talented and creative team.”

Dr. Daniel G. Very Orthodontics
Eastwood Mall, Niles, OH – Cafaro

  • Theme: Smile Cove
  • Custom Elements: Soft Play created an undersea adventure with an opportunity to promote healthy teeth. The design incorporated toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpaste and braces with the characters from the anti-bulling company: Captain McFinn and Friends.
  • Quote: “Dr. Very knew that sponsoring the play area would get him in front of parents with young children and it would also allow him to promote good dental health and make braces fun. So he decided to sponsor the mall’s new play area,” says Joe Bell, Director of Corporate Communications for Cafaro Company.

Sanford Health
Kirkwood Mall, Bismarck, ND – CBL

  • Theme: Castle
  • Custom Elements: The castle and helicopter are exact replicas of Sanford Health Children’s Hospital. When families pass through the entrance, they are greeted by “Meddy Bear”, Sanford Children’s mascot.
  • Quote: “Sanford Health was immediately interested but what really sold them was when Soft Play did the drawings for the play area and Sanford Health realized that it could be everything they wanted,” says Meg Boyce Mannion, CBL’s Regional Director of Brand Development. “They wanted specific themes and elements all branded for their organization. Once they saw the drawings, they jumped on board.”

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Polaris Fashion Place, Columbus, OH – WP Glimcher

  • Theme: Zoo
  • Custom Elements: The giant tree in the center of the play area includes speakers with soundtracks of actual animal sounds, such as chimps, elephants and lions. Further, the sound system works as a speaker for presentations. The Zoo brings live animals to the play area and educates kids and families about them.
  • Quote: “The reaction we’ve received has been very strong and very positive,” says General Manager Michael Minns. “Retailers around the play area are thrilled with the additional traffic it has added. Happy families are always a nice thing for a mall to enjoy.”

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital
St. Clair Square, Fairview Heights, IL – CBL

  • Theme: Healthcare
  • Custom Elements: Replica of the future hospital building using artist’s renderings.
  • Quote: “All of the comments from [retail] tenants have been very positive,” says General Manager Michael Hagen. “Several have said, ‘We didn’t know it would be this big with such a great turnout and excitement.’ They have been very pleasantly surprised.”

Ohio Valley Medical Center & East Ohio Regional Hospital
Ohio Valley Mall, St. Clairsville, OH – Cafaro

  • Theme: Healthy Living
  • Custom Elements: The sponsor was able to get Ohio State University’s blessing to incorporate ‘Brutus Buckeye’ into the healthy living concept. We created a photo opportunity at the entrance with Brutus. Patrons can also see an inviting visual of Brutus cheering from atop a buckeye tree.
  • Quote: “They understood that the play area was a great way to position their services to the community on a regular basis at one of the area’s major gathering places, Ohio Valley Mall,” explains Joe Bell, Director of Corporate Communications for Cafaro Company.

Halifax Health
Pavilion at Port Orange, Port Orange, FL – CBL

  • Theme: Backyard Fun
  • Custom Elements: The outdoor play area emulates the local community, bringing the hospitals building to life in a Florida themed play area.
  • Quote: “Halifax Health also sponsors the nearby walking trail that loops around the lake,” says Mandy York, Marketing Director with CBL Properties, Inc. “They have banners along the trail and they sponsor walks and events around the park. They have a big presence at one of the most popular shopping and fitness destinations for families.”

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Avalon, Alpharetta, GA – North American Properties

  • Theme: Healthy Living and Squirrelly Fun
  • Custom Elements: The play area includes squirrels in various forms of healthy activity, from stretching to lifting weights (which look like acorns), and climbing a tree. On nice days, four elegant garage doors open to the outdoor portion of the play area, doubling the play space and allowing kids to romp outside, all without parents losing sight of their children.
  • Quote: “Soft Play is known for being innovative and creative,” says Liz Gillespie, Partner and VP of Marketing. “They create the best play areas around.”

Celito.net
Cary Towne Center, Cary, NC – CBL

  • Theme: The Arts and making Raleigh a “better place to live”
  • Custom Elements: Eleven large, soft play pieces are scattered across a colorful themed rug. Kids can climb inside a ballet shoe, crawl under a keyboard, and climb up a colorful “blob” of paint.
  • Quote: “We are getting feedback from tenants that they feel like traffic has increased in that area,” says General Manager Josh Harmon. “It’s a little early to say that it’s all due to the play area but, so far, we have had a lot of good feedback from customers and tenants alike.”

Williamson Medical Center
CoolSprings Galleria, Franklin, TN – CBL

  • Theme: Area attractions past and present
  • Custom Elements: New-meets-old in this custom Soft Play play area, including a giant hot air balloon, a historic bridge, canon and a trolley that boasts the City of Franklin seal.
  • Quote: “When we were working with our sponsor and conceptualizing the play area, we sent pictures of historic buildings and relayed the history and what we were trying to convey in the play area,” says Marketing Director Dana Katterjohn. “Soft Play took those thoughts and ideas and brought it to life. They are great at making our sponsor’s vision a reality and they did it such a way that it is safe and fun for children to play on.”

Babysec
Parque Arauco, Santiago, Chile

  • Theme: Hello Kitty® licensed soft play area
  • Custom Elements: Hello Kitty® custom themed climbers, Babysec branded crawlers and slide play elements.
  • Quote: “Indoor play areas are very uncommon here,” says Rocio Espinoza, a partner in Chile. “With this one-of-a-kind play area, Parque Arauco is opening up a new amenity and a new form of sponsorship to local and national companies.”