Essex Crossing
Located over an eight city block area of the Lower East Side, Essex Crossing is a $2.6B project that consists of six residential buildings, 250,000 sq ft of commercial office, and 300,000 sq ft of retail space. This project exemplifies our ability to develop meaningful marketing campaigns across a spectrum of creative and strategic disciplines, balancing the needs of passive and overt marketing goals while developing communication that manages the imperatives that are so important with master plans.
APPROACH/
QuallsBenson—now part of Streetsense—was initially hired in early 2017 to develop the master brand for Essex Crossing when the project was still in development of phase one of
three. We were tasked to explore the naming and creative development of the project’s brand, in conjunction with crafting broad marketing strategies and planning (including
budgeting). As part of this initial range of assignments, we developed a variety of pre-development strategies as well as launched their social media presence, which is currently one of the project’s key communication devices.
WEBSITE/
One of the most eye-catching pieces we produced for the master brand was the Essex Crossing homepage. Using custom-made illustrations and animations we designed and developed in house, we brought our cartoon cityscape to life. The design showed the vibrancy of Essex Crossing, both above and below ground, and even features a background that changes from day to night.
Lower East Side Legend/
Our approach integrated the development into the fabric of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, embracing its history, diversity, and cultural importance in New York City. Our work included the envelopment in a vast majority of neighborhood businesses, building co-marketing relationships throughout the development journey. Our work continues today, helping our client partners to shift their strategies as the development rolls into different phases, pivoting and thriving through COVID-19 and beyond.
Major Launch/
In late 2019 we led the charge in a brand launch campaign, developing an integrated marketing plan, including a city wide media impact strategy. The campaign was backed by award winning creative which included the development of a range of cross-discipline assets including video, CGI, still photography, stop motion, and animation.
The Market Line/
The Market Line website, designed and developed at QB, features clean lines, impactful imagery, and a wealth of engaging animations. The opening pulse leading users into the site frames The Market Line as the beating heart of the Lower East Side. As the user scrolls down the page, more animations subtly introduce new text, images, and illustrations. This encourages discovery as users navigate the site and explore beyond the homepage.
LEASING RESULTS/
All three rental buildings leased up at record setting paces—generating above expected price per square foot returns on all. The latest lease up (The Artisan) launched during the COVID-19 pandemic and fully leased up within nine months and at $9 more per square foot than projected (gross).
Campaign Results/
The 2019 campaign was one of the first to launch across the new digital live boards on the New York City Subway System. The campaign generated 7mm impressions across NYC and 1mm website sessions across the 4-month campaign. During the campaign run, the New York Times published the article
“The Anti-Hudson Yards” which spoke highly of the development and also used our vector illustration map in the body of the article. This leading creative also won many industry awards:
ADDY GOLD
Essex Crossing Master Brand Launch — Cross-platform Campaign
W3 GOLD AWARD
Essex Crossing Website
2022 URBAN LAND INSTITUTE GLOBAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
