Savanna’s purchase of Citi Tower in Long Island City in 2016 marked the start of a long-term relationship with a few crazy twists and turns (Amazon leased it all as their HQ2, until they didn’t). Their vision was to transform the building's perception, that of a relatively unknown outsider, into the hub of Long Island City. They tapped me and my team to help them rattle the market.
There were a couple of cards to play with the building. We could do anything because it had essentially zero market presence, and Savanna was game. They had a vision to reimagine the tower and Annex as a hub for the neighborhood. Sitting atop a subway station, the Annex would convert to a public-facing amenity with F&B and more.
The building has stunning views of Manhattan and would continue to have them despite the rest of the neighborhood rapidly redeveloping around them. The icing on the cake was its relative affordability compared to a similar product in the city.
.gif)
From a strategic standpoint, we knew that regardless of how well-grounded our position was, we still would have to cut through the widespread belief that One Court Square was in some way sub-par. We wanted people to take note of the property and shake their beliefs, and we knew we needed to be bold to do so. We worked with Savanna and their leasing team to develop a campaign that relied on bold messaging that made equally bold claims.
There were a couple of cards to play with the building. We could do anything because it had essentially zero market presence, and Savanna was game. They had a vision to reimagine the tower and Annex as a hub for the neighborhood. Sitting atop a subway station, the Annex would convert to a public-facing amenity with F&B and more.
The building has stunning views of Manhattan and would continue to have them despite the rest of the neighborhood rapidly redeveloping around them. The icing on the cake was its relative affordability compared to a similar product in the city.
Savanna’s purchase of Citi Tower in Long Island City in 2016 marked the start of a long-term relationship with a few crazy twists and turns (Amazon leased it all as their HQ2, until they didn’t). Their vision was to transform the building's perception, that of a relatively unknown outsider, into the hub of Long Island City. They tapped me and my team to help them rattle the market.
Their greatest challenge would always be their location, aka not in Manhattan. One Court Square, known initially as Citi Tower, was a relatively new, Class A property with a single tenant for the entirety of its existence. Highly visible from everywhere, but a total mystery unless you worked for Citi.
There were a couple of cards to play with the building. We could do anything because it had essentially zero market presence, and Savanna was game. They had a vision to reimagine the tower and Annex as a hub for the neighborhood. Sitting atop a subway station, the Annex would convert to a public-facing amenity with F&B and more.
The building has stunning views of Manhattan and would continue to have them despite the rest of the neighborhood rapidly redeveloping around them. The icing on the cake was its relative affordability compared to a similar product in the city.
From a strategic standpoint, we knew that regardless of how well-grounded our position was, we still would have to cut through the widespread belief that One Court Square was in some way sub-par. We wanted people to take note of the property and shake their beliefs, and we knew we needed to be bold to do so. We worked with Savanna and their leasing team to develop a campaign that relied on bold messaging that made equally bold claims.
We were inspired by bold and witty messaging, which made us want readers to stop and think for a moment.
The initial choice of color was also intentional. At the brand's initial launch, the bold pop of orange was unique to the market and provided the needed energy to establish the building and brand. Once established and a known commodity, we dialed back the intensity.
