Seattle is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., so how does a new apartment tower stand out amongst all the other towers opening in Seattle, especially in a market that is overrun with buildings promising luxury, a high-end lifestyle, and all the latest amenities? That is the question that we faced back in January when we first started working with The Danforth, Capitol Hill’s Newest Apartment Tower.

If there is one thing we know here at Polite Society, it is that community = good business. We helped Columbia Pacific Advisors, the local investment firm behind The Danforth, develop a campaign to connect with the local community in their neighborhood in a meaningful way well before the building even opened.

To do this, we designed an innovative Contest that would give back to the organizations that make the local neighborhood so great, and the people that choose to call it home. We set up an online contest where people could enter to win one of four experiential prize packages that highlighted the best entertainment the city has to offer, while also voting for one of three local nonprofits. The Danforth donated $2,500 to each participating nonprofit but would double their donation to whichever got the most votes at the end. We called this contest The Danforth Experience: Live Well, Do Good, Have Fun.

We chose three nonprofits that are critical to this neighborhood, Artist Trust because they provide funding to the artists that make this city beautiful, Seattle Humane because Seattleites love their pets, and The Country Doctors/Carolyn Downs Community Health Centers because a city cannot thrive unless all its residents have access to affordable healthcare. For the prize packages, we designed fun, unique experiences you can’t buy with money at some of our favorite cultural institutions, NW Film Forum, The Frye Art Museum, OOLA Distillery and Willows Inn on Lummi Island. We also commissioned three local artists, Angelina Villalobos, Aramis Hamer and Zack Bolotin to create custom pieces for the contest.

The contest ran for 2 months, and we advertised it across all our departments, including social media, press outreach, local influencers, out-of-home and brand ambassador marketing. At the end of the contest, we had over 1500 unique entries. In addition to the contest, we also interviewed local business owners on The Danforth’s social media to highlight the people and places that make Capitol Hill and First Hill such a desirable locale. The response we got from the local community to our approach was overwhelmingly positive.

We just wrapped up the contest with a big party for influencers, local media and neighborhood residents. At this party, we awarded the contest winners, presented the three custom art pieces and presented checks to the nonprofits. While Seattle Humane received the most votes, Columbia Pacific Advisors surprised all the Country Doctors and Artist Trust with a matching donation, so all three nonprofits received $5,000. They also announced they would be hiring all three artists to create custom artworks for the building itself.

Live Well, Do Good, Have Fun.

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