Developing a sustainable brand and image strategy to support transformative positioning and long term economic development for Crystal City, VA.
The Challenge: The government’s Base Realignment and Closure plan in 2005 moved almost 15,000 defense contractors from Crystal City to Fort Meade. We were tasked to help the BID develop a new strategy for transforming the perception and experience of the area through branding and activation of public and private spaces until developers, investors, and planners could began to implement the vision outlined in Arlington County's Crystal City Sector Plan passed in the fall of 2010.
The Solution: Mining both quantitative and qualitative research for insights, Michael Altman worked as a contractor for Cundari SFP and led a team that developed a brand positioning, value proposition and an identity platform of visuals and messaging that support the Business Improvement District’s mandate and help to demonstrate Crystal City’s transformation from a staid government office park into a progressive community with a distinctly different attitude that is home to a diverse mix of creative businesses, residential neighborhoods and restaurants.
Is it working? Stakeholders and the public now feel a growing sense of presence here and are beginning to see Crystal City in an entirely new light. New tenants, new residents, new businesses, new transit options, new green spaces, upgraded pedestrian streetscapes, improved urban tree canopies, bicycle infrastructure, new road connections, and two-way conversions are all well underway. This and lots of exciting new programming and events are all proof that a move to Crystal City is “Not Just Smart. Brilliant.”
In 2009, Trialogue Studio was engaged to completely re-design the BID’s website. Check it out at crystalcity.org.
