Client

Poblenou Urban District

Period

2017 - Presente

Sector

Territory, Culture

Poblenou Urban District is a private association founded in 2012 by Claudia Costa with the aim of promoting Poblenou, a former industrial area of Barcelona known during the 19th century as "little Manchester," a hub of culture and creativity in the city. The creation and growth of Poblenou Urban District have occurred parallel to similar processes in other cities in Europe, America and Asia, such as the Wynwood Arts District in Miami, the Meatpacking District in New York, Hackney Arts in London and West Kowloon in Hong Kong.

Through grassroots growth based on the need to build alliances among the members of a neighborhood undergoing industrial reconversion, Poblenou Urban District brings together art galleries, creative centers, universities, design and architecture studios, communication and advertising agencies, production and event spaces, coworking spaces, foundations, shops and showrooms, concert halls and theaters, printing shops, leisure and wellness centers, bars and restaurants, hotels and artists of all kinds who have found their home and workplace in the district.

GOALS

Poblenou Urban District reached out to LITW at a time when the studio formed part of the association and the creative fabric of the neighborhood, with the initial goal of bringing visibility to the association’s flagship events. This was followed by an audit of their communication and marketing efforts, and the development of a strategic plan to identify opportunities and implement new actions.

IDEA

Poblenou Urban District represents one of the many realities found today in Barcelona’s Poblenou neighborhood, specifically the cultural and creative one, which coexists with other initiatives represented by the private association 22@ Network, which defends the technological and economic interests of the area, the various administrations, and the social and cultural associations rooted in the neighborhood.

Furthermore, Poblenou Urban District organizes several events each year, some of them co-created with partners who open their spaces, such as Poblenou Open Day and Poblenou Open Night, which are widely recognized and respected in the city. These are joined by self-produced events (UDAF, Off Llum, Creative Market, etc.) organized directly by the association based on its initiatives and commissioned by the local government.

Therefore, the goal of the events and of the strategic element was to take leverage the project’s visibility “momentums” through its most popular events to highlight the association’s operations and its members, thereby promoting investments in culture and creative projects in this part of the city.

IMPLEMENTATION

Since 2017, public relations campaigns have been done in conjunction with Poblenou Urban District’s annual events, resulting in hundreds of press impacts at a local, regional, and national level, and bolstering an online community with more than 50K followers.

In 2021, an analysis of the association’s communication and marketing efforts was carried out, resulting in a strategic plan that projected Poblenou Urban District as the driving force behind Barcelona’s district of culture and creativity. This plan included activities aimed at preserving the neighborhood’s material and immaterial heritage, promoting technological innovation, and ultimately driving the entire area based on sustainable criteria in economic, social and ecological terms.