Tap into your adaptive reuse project’s maximum marketing potential - by Stacey Ross Cohen

From empty offices to modern apartments, vacant retail to reimagined hospitality, abandoned warehouses to vibrant food halls – developers are simultaneously breathing new life into old buildings and reshaping communities with impactful new developments. In partnership with their clients, they are reinvigorating downtowns, erecting tourist destinations and generating important economic activity. 

But with so many adaptive reuse projects underway across New York, the question becomes: How do you stand out from the crowd and capture your project’s true marketing potential? The answer lies in embracing the power of storytelling.

Dig deep into the history

While a bright and prosperous future for vacant asset warrants celebrating, unearthing a building – or plot of land’s – history can unlock tremendous storytelling potential. For example, our team once worked with a residential developer who was building on a site that had been home to both Dorr-Oliver Mining Company and Cuisinart’s corporate headquarters. 

Understanding a building’s history – and extracting relevant elements – can help to educate and engage audiences, foster connections and generate conversation starters – all of which can be turned into social media content, story pitches, video talking points and more. It offers a unique – and often unexpected – angle that can pique the attention of stakeholders who may not have otherwise been relevant to the project at hand.

Engage the community

Part of understanding and celebrating a property’s history is identifying individuals and organizations with connections to what once was. For example: the building’s first tenant; a notable community figure who was tied to the property; a significant event that occurred on site; and, more. Tapping into these individuals and organizations can provide a wealth of marketing content and reveal assets that might otherwise go undiscovered.

While these community connections can help to generate stories to share during the demolition and reconstruction phases, they can also be valuable when building a list of key figures to invite to the new building’s ribbon cutting or selecting a community organization to serve as the event’s charitable partner.

Celebrate the transformation

Who doesn’t love a behind-the-scenes look at an exciting project? Before demolition begins, rough out a timeline of project milestones that would make for interesting marketing content. Then, identify ways to bring audiences along for the ride as the project moves along. 

While before and after photos are a given, you want to think bigger. For example: Consider producing a time-lapse video to capture the journey from demolition to reopening. Highlight moments such as installing an iconic element of the original structure in the new building or hosting a tour for someone connected to the site’s history. Bonus: much of this can be captured on an iPhone and uploaded in clos-to-real-time for maximum marketing impact.

Think beyond the beams

Construction projects often have a set of recurring themes that lead to marketing opportunities – demolition day and groundbreaking, to name a couple. But what unconventional storylines and opportunities could you tap into? Is there a local historian who could be the narrator of short video series across your social channels? Are there elements of the original building that could be salvaged and donated to community spaces or area nonprofits?

While by no means exhaustive, this sampling of creative ideas showcases how an unconventional story or asset can be the key to creating unique and meaningful marketing that breaks away from the monotony of “just another construction project.” It can also help to build relationships between the new owner/operator and key community organizations and figures.

As you prepare to start on your next adaptive reuse project, take a moment to understand the property’s history and its associated marketing potential. There are countless stories to tell between the rafters, and these unique anecdotes can deeply engage your audience – from groundbreaking all the way to the grand opening of the community’s newest repurposed asset.

Stacey Ross Cohen is president and CEO of Co-Communications in Manhattan, N.Y.