Memeifying Manhattan
Hudson Square Neighborhood Takeover
TENSION
Hudson Square is a real neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, but you’ve never heard of it. Like an ignored middle child, it sits between the the billionaires of Tribeca and the aging celebs of the West Village. Despite housing creative giants like Disney, W+K, Squarespace, and Google, the area had zero name recognition, even among its resident workers.
INSIGHT/
STRATEGY
The people who work here are creative professionals who live online and speak fluent sarcasm. They communicate in sass and self-referential humor. And they don’t look at billboards. They look at their phones.
But every morning, they share one ritual: grab an overpriced coffee, walk to their Hudson Square office, and toss the cup in one of our trash cans. So, we decided to address them through the cans.
IDEA
TRASH THAT MEMES
We took the most invisible object on the street, the trash can, and treated it like an outdoor lo-fi meme account.
We painted them neon pink and plastered them with the internal monologue of neurotic creatives. Our voice is acerbic, self-referential, and totally relatable. You would never expect it from a trash can. That cognitive dissonance made the neighborhood brand (and witty logo) impossible to ignore.
— PROJECT
HSQ Neighborhood
Activation
— CLIENT
Hudson Square Business
Improvement District
— ROLE
Creative Director
& Writer
— AGENCY
Six+One
Once we hooked them with the trash, we used that same voice to claim the rest of the neighborhood brand.
STREET DOMINATION
We used our lamp-post banners to start beef with our famous neighbors like Chelsea and Soho. We labeled bistro tables with their true, overpriced purpose. We turned construction noise into a self-aware punchline.
FROM THE STREET TO THE FEED
Of course, we had to get Hudson Square's social channels to match our tone. They wanted to highlight under-appreciated parts of the neighborhood; we wanted more unhinged humor.
TO THE KING OF TRASH, GO THE SPOILS
The voice was so distinct that it summoned The Real Housewives' Andy Cohen, who films his show in the heart of Hudson Square. To honor his cultural contributions, he got his own can, and a useless key to Hudson Square.
IMPACT
We turned a boring Business Improvement District into a brand and personality. We got pedestrians and tourists to start photographing garbage cans, proving trash can and should be trashy.
- 80%
- Name Recognition of "Hudson Square" from local employees and residents (up from <50%).
- 578%
- Social Engagement increase from a previously silent account.
- PRESS
- Featured in the New York Post and The New York Times as the moment the neighborhood finally got a personality.
THANKS TO THE TEAM
CCO: Eric Rojas
Art Director: Rocio Delaloye, Julie Tran
Account Lead: Cydney Roth
HSBID Leadership: Samara Karasyk and Suzy Changar