ICSC, the member organization serving the shopping center industry, has launched its first-ever national television campaign calling on elected leaders to create a COVID-19 Recovery Fund.
“The shopping center industry represents one in four jobs in the United States and has been devastated by the stay-at-home orders and social distancing required to fight COVID-19,” said Tom McGee, president and CEO of ICSC. “We’ve launched this ad campaign to illuminate a necessary next step: the establishment of a recovery fund which would provide the debt-free capital needed for revival. Without federal action, there is a substantial risk of a future of empty storefronts and vacant shopping centers in communities across our country. We ask Congress to act now.”
The “Your Business” campaign, developed with agency partner Makeable, emphasizes the importance of retail, shopping centers and local businesses as centerpieces of our communities and our economy. In addition to jobs, the majority of the $6.7 trillion of consumer activity generated by the retail, food & beverage, entertainment and consumer service industries occurs within America’s shopping centers, and the industry generates $400 billion in state and local taxes. The 30-second spot can be viewed here and is airing across CNN, CNBC, FOX and MSNBC for the next several weeks.
The release of “Your Business” follows the formation of the America’s Recovery Fund Coalition by ICSC and a group of more than 100 industry and business organizations. The coalition is urging the federal government to create a COVID-19 Recovery Fund to distribute funds and liquidity to impacted businesses and safeguard the economy from disaster. The fund would build on current measures like the Paycheck Protection Program and provide the continuity of cash flow needed to help businesses retain and rehire employees, maintain worker benefits and help normalize and stabilize operations to advance an economic recovery.
Photo courtesy ICSC
