Precinct Engagement and Local Economy Partnership EOI

⁠⁠⁠Overview

Burwood Council is seeking Expressions of Interest from innovative organisations capable of partnering with Council to drive visitation, local spending, business participation and discovery across the Burwood Town Centre and Special Entertainment Precinct.

Council is interested in organisations that can bring together technology, customer engagement, rewards, gamification, data and creative activation to change the way people experience the city, socially, culturally and economically. Council is seeking a commercial partner, or potentially a consortium of partners, capable of helping create a digitally enabled precinct ecosystem that connects people, places, businesses, experiences, rewards and repeat visitation.

Purpose

Council's ambition is to create a precinct where the physical and digital experience work together, where people are encouraged to discover another restaurant, explore another street, stay another hour, attend an event or return another night. The successful concept should strengthen Burwood's local economy while creating tangible value for residents, visitors and businesses.

Objectives

Over a 12-month period, Council is interested in solutions capable of contributing to outcomes including:

• Increased visitation and foot traffic
• Increased customer acquisition for local businesses
• Greater spend and economic activity within the precinct
• Increased movement between participating businesses
• Longer dwell time and repeat visitation
• Greater participation in Burwood's night-time economy
• Stronger awareness of local businesses, particularly those that inspire a sense of discovery
• Improved visitation during traditionally quieter periods
• Increased digital engagement with the precinct
• Better data and insights about customer behaviour and precinct performance

Benefits to the Local Community

• Increased foot traffic and economic activity
• Stronger merchant support and higher spend per visit
• A precinct-wide digital engagement platform
• Enhanced visibility through high-visibility billboards and successful applicant campaigns
• Access to data that informs planning
• A unique entertainment identity built around discovery and rewards

Benefits to the Successful Partner

• Access to a dense, high-value community ecosystem
• Exposure to new customers and merchants in Burwood
• Ability to demonstrate their acquisition model at scale
• A flagship partnership they can showcase nationally
• Increased retention through precinct-based experiences
• Integration opportunities

Scope

Respondents may propose some or all of the following capabilities, or introduce ideas Council has not yet considered:

• Precinct-wide offers and rewards
• Hero customer acquisition campaigns
• Gamified precinct discovery
• Curated discovery trails
• Time-based visitation incentives
• Major customer enrolment and acquisition events
• Integration with Burwood's existing calendar of events and activations
• Marketing and media partnerships
• Parking and mobility integration
• Data and precinct intelligence

About

Subject to the final partnership model, Council may be able to contribute:

• Access: Connection with Burwood's local business ecosystem and Special Entertainment Precinct
• Place: Opportunities to activate high-profile locations throughout the Burwood Special Entertainment Precinct/Burwood Town Centre
• Events: Integration with Council's major events, festivals and activation calendar
• Marketing: Promotion through appropriate Council communication, destination and business channels
• Business Engagement: Council support to introduce and encourage businesses to participate in agreed initiatives
• Brand and Destination: The opportunity to become part of Burwood's emerging destination proposition and demonstrate the model within a highly diverse, high-density metropolitan centre
• Partnership Platform: Opportunities to explore connections with Council's wider network of government, industry, media and strategic partners

Contractor Requirements

Council is seeking respondents that can demonstrate a combination of:

• A proven digital platform or scalable technology
• Existing customer and/or merchant networks
• Demonstrated customer acquisition capability
• Experience working with small and medium businesses
• Ability to deliver multi-business rewards or promotions
• Gamification and/or customer engagement capability
• Strong marketing capability
• Data and analytics capability
• Capacity to financially contribute to customer acquisition or promotional activity
• Ability to scale quickly
• Strong privacy, cybersecurity and data governance arrangements
• Experience establishing commercial partnerships
• Capacity to innovate and test new ideas

Information Requested

EOIs must demonstrate:

• Place activation experience
• The ability to commence operations quickly
• A clear vision for how the respondent will contribute to activation of the Special Entertainment Precinct, drive strong economic outcomes and community participation
• Ability to go live with a market launch in December 2026, aligning with Burwood Council's anticipated launch of the Special Entertainment Precinct (timing subject to change)

Location

• Precinct: Burwood Town Centre and Special Entertainment Precinct
• Map: View on Google Maps