An artisan market that united the community
To foster a deeper connection with the Collingwood community after securing a new site, we helped UEM Sunrise celebrate the local, eclectic culture through a vibrant and engaging activation.
THE CHALLENGE
When UEM purchased a prominent new site on Collingwood’s iconic Hoddle Street, with the intention to develop it into a multi-use residential building, the stakes were higher than ever.
The site was in the City of Yarra – a Greens-led Council that had a knack for knocking back large-scale building projects. And the Collingwood community had pre-existing tensions towards property development in the area.
Not only did UEM need the community’s support for their plans, but they also needed Council support to approve the development application. So how could UEM connect with the Collingwood community and garner their support?
THE SOLUTION
Nothing screams ‘Melbournian’ like a market. So, we took the blank canvas of the unused site and transformed it into a local artisan market, creating a space to celebrate the community’s unique, vibrant culture.
We used the market space to showcased Collingwood talent each month with local live musical acts and artists doing graffiti work around the site. We even had a local barber set up for the day and hosted a vintage car show and BMX meetup. There were also a range of activities set up for the young and young at heart, which included a roller-disco, table tennis, food trucks and a licensed bar.
The Results
To say the market was a huge success is an understatement. Over 11,000 people attended the market, which drove high quality and positive coverage during the market’s lifetime. There were more than 30 unique media stories that averaged to a total of 73 out of 100 on the Impact Score on top of the organic social media reach (148,500) through eight grass-root influencers.
Above all else, there were fewer objections to UEM’s proposed development plans because they helped celebrate Collingwood’s unique culture and gave back to the community a site that would have sat empty for six months.