Kate Mulligan
The Yards National Roadshow
Our website that housed an interactive, informative, and visually pleasing
The Brief
Washington, DC's emerging status as a technology hub remained largely overlooked by major companies seeking new headquarters locations. Despite the region's significant tech boom and the strategic advantage offered by proximity to federal government agencies, the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area wasn't typically on the shortlist for companies expanding or relocating their operations. Brookfield Properties had invested significantly in two major mixed-use developments—The Yards and Halley Rise—which together represented several million square feet of premier office space. These developments needed to attract large-scale anchor tenants to commit to entire buildings, but faced the challenge of limited national awareness about DC's advantages beyond its political identity.
My Role
Assisting our marketing director as the designer on the project, we developed a comprehensive strategy to position the DMV region and these specific developments to potential corporate tenants across the country. My responsibilities included:
- Creating a data-driven, visually compelling presentation that could be consistently delivered to tenant rep brokers and corporate decision-makers nationwide
- Designing and implementing a targeted digital marketing strategy to reach key audiences
- Collaborating with a web developer and illustrator to create an engaging, information-rich website that would serve as the campaign's digital hub
- Analyzing engagement metrics to optimize targeting and outreach efforts
- Developing customized pitch materials for specific potential tenants
- Supporting the brokerage team with visual storytelling tools that communicated the developments' unique value propositions
Design Process
Ad Campaign
We designed and deployed social media ad campaigns, implementing tracking mechanisms to analyze engagement across geographic regions. By analyzing response data, I identified markets with the highest interest levels. This intelligence allowed me to direct our brokerage team's efforts toward the most promising cities, with Seattle and Boston emerging as our initial priority markets.
Presentation
Our initial presentation focused on our first city stop: Boston. We needed to establish the Brookfield presence and power as a developer, then introduce the DC story and the unexpected offerings of the city, then lastly why The Yards or Halley Rise are next best spot for companies to expand their headquarters to.
Dynamic Website
We wanted an approachable and interactive website to tell the story we present in our deck to industry leaders and employees around the US as well as a hub to drive our ads to. We worked with illustrator Max Hancock and web developer Ryan Flynn to bring our idea to life.
Outcome & Impact
The National Roadshow initiative successfully elevated awareness of The Yards and Halley Rise developments while positioning the DMV as a viable location for corporate headquarters:
- Initial data analysis revealed strongest interest from New York City and Seattle markets, allowing for targeted follow-up
- The brokerage team secured meetings with key tenant representation firms in these priority markets
- The interactive presentation tools significantly enhanced the team's ability to communicate the developments' value propositions
- Several major tenant representatives added The Yards and Halley Rise to their shortlists for client recommendations
- The custom pitch decks led to multiple site tours and formal proposals
back
Kate Mulligan
The Yards National Roadshow
Parallax scrolling and interactive infographics to take users through the journey of DC.
The Brief
Washington, DC's emerging status as a technology hub remained largely overlooked by major companies seeking new headquarters locations. Despite the region's significant tech boom and the strategic advantage offered by proximity to federal government agencies, the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area wasn't typically on the shortlist for companies expanding or relocating their operations. Brookfield Properties had invested significantly in two major mixed-use developments—The Yards and Halley Rise—which together represented several million square feet of premier office space. These developments needed to attract large-scale anchor tenants to commit to entire buildings, but faced the challenge of limited national awareness about DC's advantages beyond its political identity.
My Role
Assisting our marketing director as the designer on the project, we developed a comprehensive strategy to position the DMV region and these specific developments to potential corporate tenants across the country. My responsibilities included:
- Creating a data-driven, visually compelling presentation that could be consistently delivered to tenant rep brokers and corporate decision-makers nationwide
- Designing and implementing a targeted digital marketing strategy to reach key audiences
- Collaborating with a web developer and illustrator to create an engaging, information-rich website that would serve as the campaign's digital hub
- Analyzing engagement metrics to optimize targeting and outreach efforts
- Developing customized pitch materials for specific potential tenants
- Supporting the brokerage team with visual storytelling tools that communicated the developments' unique value propositions
Design Process
Ad Campaign
We designed and deployed social media ad campaigns, implementing tracking mechanisms to analyze engagement across geographic regions. By analyzing response data, I identified markets with the highest interest levels. This intelligence allowed me to direct our brokerage team's efforts toward the most promising cities, with Seattle and Boston emerging as our initial priority markets.
Presentation
Our initial presentation focused on our first city stop: Boston. We needed to establish the Brookfield presence and power as a developer, then introduce the DC story and the unexpected offerings of the city, then lastly why The Yards or Halley Rise are next best spot for companies to expand their headquarters to.
Dynamic Website
We wanted an approachable and interactive website to tell the story we present in our deck to industry leaders and employees around the US as well as a hub to drive our ads to. We worked with illustrator Max Hancock and web developer Ryan Flynn to bring our idea to life.
Outcome & Impact
The National Roadshow initiative successfully elevated awareness of The Yards and Halley Rise developments while positioning the DMV as a viable location for corporate headquarters:
- Initial data analysis revealed strongest interest from New York City and Seattle markets, allowing for targeted follow-up
- The brokerage team secured meetings with key tenant representation firms in these priority markets
- The interactive presentation tools significantly enhanced the team's ability to communicate the developments' value propositions
- Several major tenant representatives added The Yards and Halley Rise to their shortlists for client recommendations
- The custom pitch decks led to multiple site tours and formal proposals
back