songdo ibd
NEW CITIES
How do you design a digital platform for a city that doesn't yet have a precedent?
Songdo International Business Districs is not an ordinary city. Built from the ground up on reclaimed land along the coast of South Korea, it was designed as one of the world's first fully planned smart cities — a living model of what urban life could look like when technology, sustainability, and human experience are woven into the fabric of a place from day one.
Its vision appeals to a remarkable range of people: residents drawn by world-class quality of life and strong career opportunities, merchants and service providers eager to serve an engaged and growing population, and corporations seeking the economic advantages of a strategically positioned global hub. Six years after its launch, Songdo had moved well past the proof-of-concept stage — growing occupancy, hosting major international events, and delivering on its promise of economic, social, and ecological impact.
But Songdo's digital presence hadn't kept pace with its growth. As the city continued to evolve, so too did the need for an online destination that could communicate its vision, connect its audiences, and build a platform for what would come next. Challenge Songdo serves many audiences at once — residents, businesses, investors, and global partners — each with different needs and different reasons for engaging with the city.
The challenge was not simply to build a website, but to create a cohesive digital experience that could hold and communicate that complexity without losing any single audience along the way. At the same time, the platform needed to grow alongside the city itself — flexible enough to support future expansion, new programs, and the continued evolution of Gale International's vision for what Songdo could become. APPROACH We started where we always do: with the people the platform needed to serve.
By mapping the distinct goals and journeys of Songdo's core audiences — residents, merchants, and corporate partners — we identified the opportunities to create awareness, deepen engagement, and build lasting connection to the city and to Gale International. From there, we designed and developed an online destination that:
Articulates Songdo's unique value clearly and compellingly to each audience segment
Creates intuitive pathways for exploration, inquiry, and connection
Brings the city's story to life through immersive content, visuals, and narrative
Establishes a scalable architecture designed to evolve as Songdo grows
RESULTS
Website traffic increased sixty-five percent across both business and individual audiences
A unified digital presence that serves the full range of Songdo's audiences — from future residents to global corporations
A platform built to scale, ready to grow alongside the city it represents
SOME FACTS ABOUT SONGO'S GROWTH
Songdo has generated 33,000 jobs and produces seventy percent fewer emissions than any other development of its size Bginvestors
The city is home to 106 LEED-certified buildings — representing approximately 22 million square feet of certified space Wikipedia, and was recognized by the US Green Building Council as the world's most sustainable masterplan in 2010 Bginvestors
Songdo has become a leading biopharmaceutical hub with a production capacity of 1.2 million liters, second only to Massachusetts in scale Grokipedia
The city hosts four international university campuses, including the first overseas campus to open in Korea Wikipedia
It is home to international organizations including the Green Climate Fund Atlasofurbantech
Over $12.5 billion in project financing was secured between 2005 and 2011 Songdo proved that a city built for the future deserves a digital home that rises to meet it.
We were honored to help tell that story — and to build the platform that will carry it forward.
