The only people who can really spot a local in New York City are locals.
This is a city where the local culture is inspired by the entire world, which makes creating a story that New Yorkers will adopt as their own quite a challenge.
In 2013, New Yorkers had one more reason to claim their supremacy: they would become the first city in the US to be granted its very own domain name.
Image Credit: Me in Gorilla Coffee (yes, these awesome dudes gave me permission).
This is also a city that never sleeps, so its fitting that OWN IT was a tagline I wrote at 2am during a late-night brainstorm.
Two simple words that said it all, while offering locals a powerful rally cry for the voice and attitude that made NYC a magnet for talent and success.
Image: Facebook Social Asset
A .nyc web address would represent the city's leadership amongst technology industries and trendsetters, while also offering the city's businesses and residents a powerful way to claim their identity online.
.nyc's digital presence had to reflect both its prowess and its personality. My content strategy was guided by one obvious rule: don't make it about the domain, make it about New Yorkers.
Image: Brand Homepage
Soon locals began inviting us into their worlds. Chats about the neighborhood, facts, observations, nostalgia, and trending conversations turned the ownit.nyc platform and content into an intersection.
Image: Brand Homepage
As usual, the client wanted an audience waiting for them when they launched. But one does not merely herd New Yorkers.
NYC is known for its iconic annual NYE countdown, so to tease the domain's official availability date, I developed a posting schedule of short shareable stories that recast facts about the city into the "Official" History of OWN IT.
Hats off to New York Normal artist Rebecca Sloat who helped us turn these stories into GIFs and images that earned us thousands of followers in just a few weeks.
Image: Own It Moments Page
To amplify the anticipation of the domain's official launch date, we turned trade show and startup event booths into New York City subway stations, surprised people with black & white cookies and gave away a lot of free coffee.
The introduction of a "locals-only" taxi service was just one more way we rewarded New Yorkers for their every-day badassery.
Image Credits: Erin Krieger
Thousands turned out for the launch date event, which featured a live performance by Jay Z tourmate, G4 host and .nyc Founder, Bridget Kelly.
Registrars sold over 25,000 domains in the first month of its availability and the .nyc pre-launch auction has been one of the most successful in domain history to-date.
And it never hurts when your client gets a little unsolicited attention from Comedy Central.
Image Credit: .nyc Facebook Page
And it never hurts when your client gets a little unsolicited attention from Comedy Central.
Team
Account Director: Trish Rodriguez
Creative Director: Mick Sutter
Strategy: Sam Devlin
Art Direction: Spencer Slemenda
Art Direction: Erin Krieger
Design & UX: Jenna Lykes