Case Study: Leaning Tower of Dallas

De La Vega entrusted RBA ( acquired by The Uptown Agency in 2024) with the task of creating a strategy that would best represent their connective culture. On Feb 16th, a routine demolition of an 11-story building was scheduled to commence. An implosion was set off, and tons of concrete immediately began to crumble. Everything was going according to plan. While people initially gathered to witness the imminent downfall of this ordinary building, they found themselves staying for the inadvertent birth of Dallas’ brand new attraction. Once the dust had settled, it was revealed that the building was still standing. Well, leaning.

The Leaning Tower of Dallas immediately became a local phenomenon the people of Dallas could not only interact with but also unite around to appreciate the symbol of resilience this building represented.

The Leaning Tower gives way to a new modern-mixed-use development, The Central. We, like everyone else in Dallas, fell in love with the unwavering willpower of this building. Our strategy was to develop a social community where The Leaning Tower of Dallas was not just a random occurrence, but a personality and character eager to share its story with anyone interested in listening.

We provided The Leaning Tower its very own Twitter handle: @leaningtower and established the existing Instagram Profile for The Central (@discoverthecentral) as the social hub for all things Leaning Tower. We reposted hundreds of UGC posts from the community who shared their love for The Leaning Tower and created Instagram stories around the young Dallas icon.

Our team promoted an art contest by sharing artists’ paintings and renditions across social channels, running a paid campaign behind the competition, as well as promoting several free community events at The Leaning Tower with DJs, ice cream, and more that attracted crowds from across the metroplex.

Over on Twitter, local celebrities began to interact with the Leaning Tower, and the account even inspired a spin-off of The Wrecking Ball that failed so many times to bring down the Tower.

The Leaning Tower of Dallas was a true underdog story — you could call it the ultimate challenger brand, as it survived many futile attempts to bring it down. Before its ultimate demise, we created laser projections to shine on the tower at night, fostering the sense of hope and community that it brought to the city. This little beacon of wonder now found itself amongst the giants of the city.

In only 11 days, we generated over 2.68 million combined impressions on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. With the help of its new 2,376 followers on Twitter, @LeaningTower left a total of 1.12 million organic impressions. The #leaningtowerofdallas climbed to #4 in trending hashtags on Twitter in DFW. The Central is a large-scale development that is replacing The Leaning Tower of Dallas and due to the attention from The Leaning Tower, it was able to gain 1,098 Instagram followers.

Through the strategic use of social media, we were able to provide a sense of a newfound community in the area and create buzz and excitement for what is to come as The Central begins to take shape in the shadow of The Leaning Tower.

One could say the results leaned in our favor.

The Central Dallas is a 5 million-square-foot development aiming to unify the recreational, business, and hospitality-minded personalities who call Dallas their home. Nestled between SMU and Downtown Dallas at the northeast corner of US 75 and Haskell Avenue, The Central will live up to its name as the inclusion of a 3.5-acre park will also be located in the middle of the area.