Center Announces New Merchandising (Hollywood, California) - - So what?s with the elephants? Since May everyone has been seeing scores of colorful, super-graphic posters and billboards of elephants popping up all over Los Angeles, emblazoned with the encouragement to LIVE LARGE. Just who are these lifestyle-promoting pachyderms anyway? Word on the street has it there?s some big message behind these basking behemoths. And there is. Elephants are no strangers to stardom in Hollywood. Think Disney?s Dumbo or Tarzan?s classic ride to know they are ?big players?. But without question, the most memorial ? and certainly largest ? elephantine presence in cinema was in 1916, in D.W. Griffith?s legendary epic Intolerance. The gargantuan set featured two colossally embellished elephant sculptures holding sway atop Babylon?s ziggurat, trunks aloft, front legs pawing the heavens. Alas, even the mighty must fall ? at least until they stage their comeback. For years, with demise of silent film, Griffith?s gigantic set languished at the corner of Sunset and Hollywood boulevards ? its own elephant?s graveyard. Hollywood & Highland Gets Lucky: In cultures around the world, the elephant is revered as the epitome of strength, greatness, well-being, dignity, and over-the-top good luck. Griffith?s mighty sons-of-mastodons would rise again at the 640,000 square foot Hollywood & Highland Center. Built in 2001, and incorporating elements celebrating Hollywood?s past while embracing a progressive new vibe, the architects heeded history?s siren?s call as they replicated the grandeur of Griffith?s elephants atop jumbo pillars, holding court in all their glory in the Central Courtyard. In a few short years, the Hollywood & Highland Center has quickly become a must-see destination for tourists and thanks to CIM Group?s efforts it is becoming a must-be-seen hangout for locals. LIVE LARGE epitomizes the whole experience; patrons can shop, dine, play, stay and people-watch in a unique environment unlike any other in Los Angeles. -more- Hollywood & Highland/Live Large Page 2 The center boasts retail space leased to national, regional and local tenants including a variety of restaurants; several of Hollywood?s hottest nightclubs; and a six-screen state-of-the-art cinema adjacent to the world-famous Grauman?s Chinese Theatre. The renowned Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards? and the 640 room Hollywood Renaissance Hotel are also located within the center. In October of this year, Virgin will open its west coast flagship store at the center. The Hollywood & Highland management team realized early on in the development of the campaign that the LIVE LARGE message could extend beyond the edict to live life to the fullest. They saw that, in another sense, living large means living in a way that positively affects the well being of others. ? It occurred to us that to ?live large? you don?t necessarily need a big wallet, but you do need a big heart,? said Vice President of Marketing, Annette Bethers. ?That?s why we have also attached the LIVE LARGE message to our community outreach efforts.? These efforts include a series of wine tastings that benefit Project Angel Food. The tastings are presented in conjunction with free live jazz concerts for the community every Tuesday evening through August in the Central Courtyard. Other community events and promotional programs will benefit children?s charities. The Community Wants To Purchase ?Live Large? Since the campaign?s introduction, the center has received numerous calls and e-mails from people hoping to get their hands on one of the posters they?ve seen around town. Promotional tee shirts created for the center?s leasing team to wear at the recent ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) leasing convention generated even more calls from people hoping to get their own Live Large tee shirt. In response to the demand, the CIM Group team created a line of tee shirts, posters and other novelty items. The merchandise, ranging in price from $1.00 for a sticker to $18.00 for a tee shirt, is currently being sold on a test basis at a custom-designed kiosk in Hollywood & Highland?s Central Courtyard. ?We?ve had a good response so far and we?re enjoying learning what items, styles and colors people respond to most,? said Bethers. ?It is amazing to see the Live Large message resonate with so many people. Once they have completed testing the products, the team plans to form an alliance with a reputable organization working to protect elephants. A portion of all sales will support the cause. ?They are gentle, intelligent and regal creatures,? said Bethers. ?We want to do our part to protect them.? Whether under the sun or under the stars ? and always under the elephants ? shoppers are going to find exactly what they?re looking for at Hollywood & Highland Center. So raise a toast to the mammoth mascots and remember what they say: You?ve only got one life ? two if you?re lucky ? so LIVE LARGE. -more- Hollywood & Highland/Live Large Page 3 About CIM Group CIM Group, a full-service real estate investor and operator based in Hollywood, was organized in 1994 to revitalize traditional downtown areas in large cities and main street districts within towns and suburban cities. A leader in California?s urban renaissance, CIM Group has developed a premier portfolio of retail, urban housing, office and mixed-use properties in California?s most popular destinations, including Santa Monica?s Third Street Promenade, Old Pasadena and Birch Street in Brea. CIM is in the forefront of the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles, with its recent completion of the Gas Company Lofts at 810 South Flower Street and its plans to bring the first full-service supermarket to the downtown area in 50 years. The firm manages the CIM Urban Real Estate Fund, a real estate investment fund with equity capital from CIM Group and other investors, including the California Public Employees? Retirement System and the California State Teachers? Retirement System. For more information, go to www.cimgroup.com.