IDA Presents Flatiron NoMad Partnership with Downtown Achievement Award Recognizing Excellence in Urban Place Management
Oct 5, 2023
[New York, NY] – The International Downtown Association recognized the Flatiron NoMad Partnership with the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence for its resourceful approaches related to the organization’s rebranding, following the expansion of its business improvement district (BID) boundaries in 2022. A jury of peer professionals reviewed, deliberated, and evaluated all entries in the 2023 Downtown Achievement Awards. The Award of Excellence acknowledges an excellent response to an urban place management challenge, demonstrating application of industry knowledge and exceeds the jury criteria.
The Flatiron NoMad rebrand was entered in the category of Marketing, Communications and Events which IDA identifies as one of the seven professional urban place management practice areas. This category features unique organizational approaches and projects in the areas of branding, public relations, marketing strategies and communications plans.
“We are honored to receive this award from the International Downtown Association, said James Mettham, President of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership. “Our rebrand as the Flatiron NoMad Partnership has not only better represented our BID’s expanded footprint, but it has also reinforced a cohesive neighborhood identity as we serve the businesses, people, and places that help make Flatiron and NoMad two of Manhattan’s most iconic and authentic destinations.”
“The Flatiron NoMad Partnership has demonstrated skillful application of urban place management principles with a clear, compelling, and distinct brand positioning strategy and graphic identity that taps into the expertise and energy of area stakeholders and activates the current and expanded areas served by the organization,” said David Downey, IDA President and CEO. “The Flatiron NoMad rebrand should serve as a framework to all member communities within IDA.”
The Flatiron NoMad Partnership rebranding came five months after the Manhattan BID formerly known as the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership expanded its boundaries to include all of NoMad, a neighborhood that just two decades earlier had no name and was often overlooked by New Yorkers and visitors alike. The expansion also extended the district to 20th Street and Sixth Avenue, nearly doubling the district’s size and making it the largest-ever single BID expansion in New York City.
The Partnership worked with world-renowned branding and design firms LaPlaca Cohen and Pentagram to reimagine the look and feel of the organization and reintroduce itself as the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, with a new graphical identity and strategy to position the existing and expanded service areas as one unified and unparalleled destination. In addition to a new logo and color palette, the brand rollout on May 31, 2022, included images of the iconic Flatiron Building, as well as NoMad’s iconic mural, The Gilded Lady, by renowned artist Tristan Eaton.
With the rebrand, the Partnership also unveiled a new website—FlatironNoMad.nyc—developed by Kudos Design Collaboratory, as the go-to information resource for Flatiron and NoMad. The site features news about businesses, people, and places in the district; an interactive district guide; a redesigned Business Support Portal that allows business owners and managers to submit deals and events to be showcased on the site; data and reports, including quarterly economic and real estate snapshots; information on how to book the Flatiron Public Plaza for events and activations; and other sought after neighborhood info.
Washington, DC-based IDA is the premier organization for urban place professionals who are shaping and activating dynamic city center districts. The Flatiron NoMad Partnership is the urban place management organization representing the interests of property owners in the New York City neighborhoods of Flatiron and NoMad.
