TIAA-CREF

San Francisco, California

Built in 1983, Fifty Fremont is a 42-story office tower encompassing 787,000 square feet of office space and 26,000 square feet of retail space located at the intersection of Fremont and Mission Streets in San Francisco. When its then current owners, TIAA-CREF, needed to revamp the iconic office tower’s brand and environment to jump start a critical 400,000 square-foot releasing effort, they turned to Macy + Associates to create a campaign to highlight the launch of a major renovation; highlight the property’s eco-conscious operating environment; and accentuate its superlative location for business.

Challenge

• Re-direct the focus from the departure of Fifty Fremont’s largest tenant and resulting vacancy, to a more positive message that will resonate with the tenant and brokerage community.
• Change the existing perception of the office tower as a dated and worn office address, to that of a modern business environment appealing to the region’s growing tech, creative and related service companies.
• Promote a significant renovation of the tower’s lobby, building arrivals and public plaza as the key to creating a landmark identity.
• Call attention to the tower’s LEED® Platinum Certification and environmentally sensitive operating platform.

Strategies:

Macy + Associates immediately set to work on identifying and positioning the unique attributes of the tower’s green and sustainable infrastructure and preparing a press release announcing a significant renovation of the tower’s lobby, entrances and public plaza.

While the property’s Platinum LEED® certification had already been advertised months previously, upon research, the agency uncovered the fact that Fifty Fremont was in fact one of only a handful of such designations in San Francisco and its Platinum designation was not broadly recognized.

Leveraging these two key elements as the cornerstone for the public relations program, the Macy team engaged every relevant media outlet in the region.

By calling attention to Fifty Fremont’s unique attributes and long-term improvement program, Macy + Associates was able to turn the media dialogue regarding Fifty Fremont to a focus on the tower’s best-in-class class sustainability rating and ownership’s vision in creating a truly modern office address. This positioning set the tone for attracting tenants seeking a modern office environment at the heart of San Francisco’s dynamic downtown business community.

Results

Following the implementation of the strategic public relations campaign in support of a broader marketing initiative for Fifty Fremont, TAA-CREF successfully signed the largest office lease in San Francisco that year with Salesforce.com, which was seeking a landmark office address. According to the property brokerage team and the client, the strategic public relations campaign played a critical role in influencing Salesforce.com’s decision to select Fifty Fremont for its operations. The recognition was garnered primarily from high profile article placements in the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Business Times and a host of commercial real estate trade media. This significant lease validated the elevated brand identity garnered through Macy + Associates’ public relations campaign, while simultaneously achieving ownership’s stated goal of leasing the large vacancy in the property.