Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Krieger.
Hi Jessica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started at the Lake Square Mall back in the summer of 2017 when it was known as Viaport Mall. I was a single mom and very much in need of a job, and I was hired as the accounting assistant. When the mall was purchased late in 2017 by the current owners, they switched the name back to the Lake Square Mall and I went from accounting to becoming the mall’s Graphic Designer and Social Media Specialist. I still create all of the graphics for the mall and maintain our social media pages and website, but as of late 2020 I also became the Events and Marketing Director, so now I also create and organize all of the events at the mall, with the help of our amazing event partners. Over the year we have built a quite successful platform with big turnouts regularly at our events and a strong community on social media of over 15K local followers. We also put on multiple events each month on a weekly basis. There is always something happening at the Lake Square Mall.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ohh no, I don’t think anything in life worthwhile is ever a smooth road. Especially when you are attempting to break the mold and create out-of-the-box event ideas. You can’t have major successes without hitting some snags along the way.
One of the hardest “snags” we faced in the marketing department of the Lake Square Mall was undeniably when the mall closed for Covid-19 in March of 2020. I mean, how do you market a place that is currently closed? This is the moment that we in the department had to reach out of the box and figure out how to keep the mall relevant to the community while we waited to be able to reopen. The answer was virtual events. This was a completely foreign idea to us as our events were always created to bring people into the mall for an experience, but hard times need to be faced with new ideas. I started hosting trivia nights live on our Facebook page with different guests that we usually partnered with for our in-person events. Winners would receive gift cards that they could use at the mall when we reopened. We also had our story time and crafts events hosted virtually online. Our guests could download the craft from our website, and then watch the Miss Leesburg girls on our Facebook page walk them through the craft, and then read a story. It was a huge success and many of our regulars at the events even reached out to thank us for still providing their kids with something to do while they were stuck inside the house.
We are still seeing some of the struggles from Covid to this day, but with a handful of new stores opening this summer and our events reaching an all-time high turnout and success for vendors, I am definitely looking into our future with a positive mindset. There is a strong team at the mall willing to do whatever it takes to get past any struggles or obstacles along the way. We also have a strong community around us, which makes me love what I do even more!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My official title is the Marketing Director of the Lake Square Mall, but I specialize in Graphic Design and Illustration. In any typical day at the mall, you will find me, planning and organizing our weekly events. Creating all of the print and digital graphics we use to advertise the stores, events, available spaces for lease, etc. Maintaining both of the digital signs on our property, managing our website and social media accounts, and maintaining our relationships with other businesses throughout Central Florida. I’ve even doubled as a DJ at a few of our events. No two days are ever alike at my job and that is what makes me love it. The thrill of not knowing what each day will bring always keeps me on my toes, and it is an atmosphere that thrives on creative ideas and out-of-the-box thinking.
I think out of everything I do at the mall, the one thing that I am most proud of is our events, especially the free events for the youth. The most gratifying part of my job is when we are hosting an event and I look around and see an entire wing of our mall full of smiling families creating memories for their children. That is absolutely priceless, and also not a feeling I’ve ever had in the past working 9-5 in a cubicle. When we host an event and I look around and see everyone at the mall laughing and having a great time, it instantly makes all of the back-to-back meetings, the 2 am prep work, the setup, the teardown, the hours of creating graphics and sharing them throughout social media all 150% worth every second.
I think the one thing that truly sets us apart from others, is how authentically passionate we all are at what we are doing. The entire team at the mall puts their blood, sweat, and tears into every last task that we do, and I really think that shows when you attend one of our events.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I would have to say a huge part of my success derives from my absolute and undeniable stubbornness. I refuse to accept that I am unable to do something. I am completely self-taught in everything I have done in my career. In the past 5 years, I have watched hundreds of tutorials online from everything from new graphic design techniques, to how to read and write HTML codes. My philosophy on life has always been, if there’s something you truly want to do, there is always a way to figure out how to do it. (Except fix a car, I could watch 100 more tutorials and I still won’t be able to understand my car!)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lakesquaremall.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/lakesquaremall
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thenewlakesquaremall
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMye5UBsFAHiI4iVoFxU5QQ
Image Credits
Classic Frame Films
Felman Vega
