Vancouver’s historical Sun Tower is getting a new marketing push.

Built in 1912, the Beaux-Arts building was commissioned by L.D. Taylor, seven-time mayor of Vancouver, to house the Vancouver World newspaper. Immediately, its bold architecture, especially the nine semi-clad maidens with exposed bare breasts that support the building’s cornice, caused quite a stir among Vancouverites. At 17 storeys, it was the talk of the town as the tallest building in the British Empire until Toronto’s Optima Business Centre was built in 1914.

In 1937, a new era of innovation took hold. The distinct copper-domed building was bought by the Vancouver Sun, and renamed the Sun Tower. Although The Sun has long since relocated to other offices, the building has been known by that name ever since.

The leasing team behind the Sun Tower, Cushman & Wakefield, have joined forces with real estate marketing campaign builders Braun/Allison Inc. to extend the Sun Tower brand. The campaign has launched with a consumer-oriented logo and brand for the tower, and a website (www.suntowerbuilding.com) that is different from the approach normally taken by the commercial leasing industry, says the team. “It’s an offer to be part of a community, a ‘creative commons’ as the line under the logo suggests,” says the team in a news release.  It says social media and collaborative tactics will feature heavily in future phases of the campaign.

Mark Trepp of Cushman & Wakefield says, “I think this kind of contemporary approach to marketing a commercial space will help properties lease faster, which will mean less vacant space, and ultimately, more consistent revenue. Building a community of creative people in this building – be they lawyers or photographers – will help all tenants feel engaged with each other and the building they work in. I think this is a good thing for everyone involved.”