Client: TMG Partners
Work Performed:
Architectural Renderings: Pictury
Website/Video: Savage Bureau
Photography: Melissa de Mata
Awards:
2020 Summit International Creative Award
2020 MUSE Creative Award
Telegraph Tower is a new 875,000 square foot office tower development in Oakland, CA. Steeped in Bay Area history and strong local relationships, developer TMG Partners worked with architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz to appeal to today’s demanding tenants by building a next-generation workplace.
In 2019, I was tasked with creating a brand that transcended the traditional transactional approach of commercial real estate by targeting companies directly, rather than the traditional approach of marketing to brokers and real estate directors.
Create a new perception of Oakland as a strategic growth advantage for companies and employees, rather than a compromise to San Francisco
Create compelling messages for multiple audiences with competing priorities: C-suite, employees, city government, media and brokerage community.
Navigate potential reputational cost of being associated with gentrification by celebrating Oakland and embracing its culture.
The name was derived from its iconic Bay Area address: Telegraph Avenue. As well as the building’s parallels with the telegraph towers that signaled a communications revolution in the 1800’s.
This Telegraph Tower signaled the coming of a new generation of tech pioneers leaving staid Silicon Valley suburbs for a more diverse and dynamic city: Oakland – the "Town."
When Samuel Morse gave the world telegraphy in 1844, almost over night distance meant nothing. The first lines of trepidation and awe in the form of a telegraph read: “What hath God wrought?” The world became connected by dots and dashes; transcontinental cables and telegraph towers.
So, what is the “first telegraph” in a world of omnipresent connectivity and communication? The first piece of code written by Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. From awe to democratization. One Samuel Morse to many samuel morses. Passive stoicism to optimistic agency. "Hello, world" became the spiritual basis for the brand, and its visual manifestation was a dynamic and kinetic signal design that mirrors coding and connectivity, rather than the one-way communication of old.
Lake Merritt is one of the defining features of Oakland’s identity. It reflects the Town’s lights and landmarks on its surface every night. That spectrum of light acted as the basis for the brand’s color scheme.
Today’s real estate decisions are driven by the employee voice. Where a company houses its employees is integral to their culture and outward image. And so, it was essential to create a more human-centered brand that celebrates the experience of working in the building and living around its Uptown Oakland location.
I developed targeted messaging that addressed the pain points of CEOs and Real Estate Directors, as well as HR and People Officers, who have become key players in real estate decisions. The goal was to equip them with language they could present to the C-suite and board of directors, offering solutions that strengthen company culture, improve recruitment and retention.
Beyond the building, the main character of the brand story was the vivacious Uptown Oakland neighborhood. We teamed up with local photographer Melissa de Mata to photograph the neighborhood. She created a cast of local Oaklanders to serve as employee archetypes for our story.
