What makes a good development in 2011? With the property market as fierce as its ever been, how do developers set their product to the top of your search for a new property. The very simple answer is: BRANDING
And how do customers know it's your brand that they want?...MARKETING.
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Pudding Creative - Precedents & Moods - Branded development presentation
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Property buyers and investors are incredibly well informed and they do not need to be spoon fed ideas, they know what they are looking for and the reasons why. Whether that means the cheapest, or the biggest or the most exclusive; every buyer or investor is looking for something unique. So the key to marketing your particular development, as with any product, is therefore to answer the question: 'Who are you? And what does your brand offer that makes you and your development special?'
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| Alila Villas - Uluwatu |
The most successful application for branding a development is to construct creative BRANDED ARCHITECTURE because this allows each developer to express 'who they are' in every aspect of their product; from the automation of the entrance gates, the height of the front door, the width of the staircase, the sound that feet make on the floor, right through to the choice of flowers on the reception table. Every detail of a development sends a message to your clients about 'who you are' and what your property offers. Many of these signals are received instinctively and therefore are subconscious, but it is these emotional responses in particular, which as a developer you should hope to arouse.
We find that when designing fully branded developments from conception, the choice of construction plays the first role in describing who that developer is and here begins the reinforcement of your brand awareness for example, taking into consideration ecological and social factors. Are these important messages for your company, does your company pride itself on sustainability?
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| Armani Branded Hotel - Dubai |
Branded architecture is therefore the ideal development scenario because the property marketing becomes inherent, almost invisible as your brand becomes a three-dimensional representation of your company. If this ethos is carried through the entire construction process, it may appear to go unnoticed when clients view your completed development however it is these key points which shape an overall emotional reaction to your project and therefore influences any purchasing or investment decision. In these climates, buyers do not make split second decisions , over-demand does not force sales and the competition has much to offer so every step you can take towards reinforcing their confidence in 'who you are' is a step closer to an investment. Collaborating with an independent brand to endorse your product has also become a popular approach at the most exclusive end of the development market, such as including a Versace interior in your villa
Versace interior design or creating a commercial partnership with an international brand such the
Armani Hotel in Dubai, located in the Burj Khalifa the results of which have seen some truly breathtaking developments constructed.
In many instances however, it is not possible to consistently brand or co-brand a development from concept to completion because it can be necessary to reassess what your brand can deliver. This can happen after the site works have been begun either because the market has changed during the construction period, your initial branding was insufficient or misplaced. Equally, you may have purchased a development which has been constructed by others which you wish to transform or you wish to redirect to your existing brand. In these situations, the potential to brand or re-brand is therefore very important. It is quite possible to successfully brand an existing development or business from scratch to create a completely new product and costs can vary or can be formulated to suit an available budget, depending on the stage and complexity of the project. Re-branding, on the other hand as the name suggests, is a process applied to an existing brand by taking all of the strongest elements and discounting the weaker ones, to create a new generation of that brand, more adept to the current market and era.
We have recently had the pleasure of working with Ros y Falcón, a Spanish property developer based predominately on the Costa del Sol for residential properties and for office developments and industrial warehousing in Madrid. The company remains a family business which has grown over the past 30 years into one of the largest developers in the region, having sold over 3000 residential properties. Their success stems from their choices of locations, understanding of their marketplace, clear building strategy and continued attention to their brand.
Since starting in 1974, Ros y Falcón have set out to produce
luxury residences of the highest quality and pride themselves on the quality of their product and their commitment to their clients, boasting an enviable
95% customer satisfaction, notably high for the development industry.
Lucas Ros, Managing Director explains “My father established this business when the area was a fishing village, and frightened the town hall with his project ideas. I am extremely proud of the developments we construct. I have taken a photograph from every single balcony to show customers exactly what they would be purchasing, not a professional shot, a real amateur picture so that we were entirely transparent and prove that the spectacular views were really true and not just stock images. It was time for the next phase of modernizing the image on the company.”
During the World's recent financial crisis, Spain has been hit very hard. Of the 80,000 real estate agents that were operating in the summer of 2006, just 25,000 remained by 2009, (source: La Vanguardia via www.spanishpropertyinsight.com) and at the beginning of 2011 over a third of those property related businesses had closed. Despite this, Ros y Falcón has remained true to their brand and as a result, continued to sell their developments from Cadíz to Málaga, culminating most recently, in their decision to commence re-branding works.
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| Re-branded billboard for one of Ros y Falcón's property developments - Marina de la Alcaidesa |
“With confidence being lost in the Spanish market, customers are looking for more reassurance from local developers that they are in safe hands and we felt it was important to demonstrate to our clients that we remain strong and our product is of a consistently high standard. The public is well aware that many companies still appearing on billboards have actually closed down. We had to place a strong message that we are here, alive and kicking” Simon Boxus, Commercial Sales Director
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| Ros y Falcón Regional Sales Office, Puerto de la Duquesa |
The re-branding works consist of a complete refurbishment of the regional sales office in Puerto de la Duquesa, new signage, fresh billboards, interior upgrades and new promotional materials. The appearance of the RF brand has been evolving throughout the lifetime of the company and the key has always been to focus on 'who they are'. All of the more typical 'promotional' aspects of their marketing are being cleared away in favour of entirely transparent and personal material, previously popular stock imagery is being replaced by 'real' photographs of their completed developments, text is being shortened to explain clear and concise messages and clients are offered the opportunity to arrange viewings and purchases directly from the developer. The new designs show a professional solidity and by undertaking this re-branding process, RF send a message to both their new and existing clients 'we are continuing to invest in our product because we believe in what we do'.
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ROS Y FALCÓN WEBSITE) .
The BEST MARKETING you can have is your product itself, the challenge is often to be able to SEEK OUT what's unique about your product and TELL the market clearly that you're there.
The Property Investor Show & OPP Live is being held 13th-15th October 2011 at ExCel London. There will be a vast array of developers and investors there competing so it will be interesting to see which get heard and why. Jenny Seed, Pudding Partner, will be appearing on the panel for "The Marketing Masterclass. Do you know how to do it properly? How to research, plan, implement, get buy-in and measure success?" It is scheduled for Friday 14 October, at 15.15hrs If you would like to to meet with Jenny during the event and discuss your development project in person, please contact us on +34 667 714 346 for an appointment (limited availability).
Our thanks go to Ros y Falcón - for further information about their properties, please see the ROS Y FALCÓN WEBSITE or you can call the Regional Sales Office on (+34) 952 892 805.
Pudding Creative offer unique branding services for the property and development industry, including investment feasibility packages, architectural design and strategies, creative property development branding and a wide range of exclusive property marketing materials.
For example, a standard door handle is often fitted at 1000mm (from floor to its centre). The UK Building Regulations Part M which provides guidelines covering ease of access to and circulation within, all buildings, together with requirements for facilities for disabled people, requires a handle to be 900-1100mm above the floor level. The United Nations narrows this recommendation to between 900-1000mm above the floor, to enable wheelchair users the most comfort. So as you can see, these regulations do not allow much room for personalisation and protect us all from designer madness and ensure that our buildings are useable. However, from an architectural branding point of view, it is also the experience of seeing the door and opening it that matters. As a typical UK door measures 1981cm, a 1m high handle is therefore slightly above the halfway mark of the door opening. The overall perception of the door is judged on this positioning, because a door handle is a familiar 'key' by which any person can gauge size and proportion on. So despite what we all say, 'size does matter' and an incorrect or inappropriate placement can have a negative reaction. If your developments set out to appeal to an middle-band marketplace budgets will not allow for bespoke joinery however in this instance, door handles can still be lowered as far as possible (within the allowances of the regulations) to present the 'appearance' of a larger door, and because this is unusual your customers associate this with being more costly which results in an instantly raised opinion of the development and adds to the customers overall impression of the property. Of course, if you are targeting the high end of the market your budgets will allow an entirely difference approach affording you the opportunity to select non-standard door designs, bespoke furniture and choose in more detail the ambiance which you wish to evoke. For example: exaggerated door widths are associated with luxurious contemporary design and are suitable for large open plan floor plates because they can create impact as they are slow to open and will unveil the room beyond in an almost cinematic fashion. Or you can choose narrow door openings or even double door openings of an exaggerated height, which evoke feelings of classical grandeur and draw the eye vertically upwards making them most successful in properties with increased ceiling heights, another important characteristic to be considered in branded architecture. 
