Samsung

Client: Edge NYC / Hudson Yards / Related
Role: Creative Director
Involvement: Concept, design, creative direction, event production

A Grand Opening Event for the Crown Jewel of Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards is the centerpiece of Manhattan’s New West Side. The pinnacle of the Hudson Yards experience is Edge, the highest outdoor skydeck in the Western Hemisphere.

We were tasked to build anticipation, excitement, and awareness for the opening of Edge in the six month run up to launch culminating in a high-profile opening event to generate earned media.

To create pre-launch social buzz and massive global ticket demand, we utilized the metaphor of “touching the clouds”. The concept was brought to life via social media, onsite installations, and offsite field activation. The opening event for Edge featured the world’s highest theatrical dance performance taking place above the skydeck at 1,100 feet in the air.

C A S E S T U D Y

THE RESULTS...

The opening of Edge turned out to be the last large scale event in NYC prior to the city’s mandatory closure due to COVID-19. Although Edge was forced to close the day after launch, tickets were fully sold out for weeks after our activation. Media coverage of the event was extensive, and influencer social mentions were in the thousands.

THE RESULTS:

The opening of Edge turned out to be the last large scale event in NYC prior to the city’s mandatory closure due to COVID-19. Although Edge was forced to close the day after launch, tickets were fully sold out for weeks after our activation. Media coverage of the event was extensive, and influencer social mentions were in the thousands.

To begin generating buzz, we lit up the Edge platform with a color changing light show. Highlighting it in the skyline for the first time, and drawing attention to it from across the city.

At 1,100 feet above the city, the Edge is quite literally up in the sky - so we traveled around the city in our vintage cloud truck serving “fresh clouds from the Edge.”

Our iridescent brand ambassadors gave free artisanal cotton candy to hundreds of New Yorkers, while spreading the word and selling tickets to the Edge.

The night before the opening, we installed two massive 80 foot wide installations that hung in the lobbies of The Shops at Hudson Yards and the Time Warner Center for the next 6 months.

I designed these signs and directed their fabrication & installation.

The Edge team wanted to make the opening event a spectacle guests would never forget, so we hired a world-renowned aerial dance troupe to perform on the side of the building.