PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT -BRANDING, RE-BRANDING and MARKETING

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. 

Pudding Creative - Precedents & Moods - Branded development presentation

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?'

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?

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.

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

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'.
( 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).

THE PROPERTY INVESTOR SHOW & OPP LIVE: 13-15th OCTOBER LONDON

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.

PUDD FILE: INTERNATIONAL BRANDING - The power of the BILLBOARD and other printed marketing ideas

Following a period of super exciting digital presentation work this summer, we at Pudding are delighted to also be working on a series of printed material and signage including billboard designs to support a rebranding campaign and we thought we would share a few of the images that we have collected as part of our design studies. Just goes to show that old school style printed advertising is still very much at the forefront of international marketing and design for many brand giants.  Here's a selection of our favourites which both deliver an incredibly powerful message and a few smiles.

Brilliant use of the limits of a given billboard space by Formula Toothpaste

Billboards can have a life after dark - Eskom

Not to be confined by the extents of  a billboard  - love the shoelace touch! by Woodland

Frame it...from one of the world's leading brands PSP - one of a series of ingenious roadside advertising campaigns

And frame it again... here promoting the regeneration of  an dying art form - the handwritten letter from Eesti Post
- we say long live the post!

and when a roadside billboard is just not enough,  build yourself a bridge...Adidas

...or if you can't have a billboard at all,  why not use your building instead? who said size doesn't matter?  

...very subtle advertising from Heineken on this construction site - look closely

...and the not so subtle ....from Abercrombie & Fitch - what can i say?

but if you don't have a billboard,  a building or a construction site, all is not lost (advert by Ché)

There are many unexpected opportunities for printed marketing campaigns even in this digital age - all you need is a little out of the box thinking and you can transform some of the most unexpected places into a dynamic advertising hubs
(Bus shelter promotion for Real Hiphop.com.br)

If you'd like to know more about our current projects and our unusual range of branding, creative design and marketing services,  please drop us an email here CONTACT US or give us a call on +34 667 714 346 and we'd love to say hello. Thank You!
compilation by Pudding Creative

Introduction to RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE on the COSTA DEL SOL

The Costa del Sol has an extremely diverse residential architectural style which is not surprising as there are over 2 million inhabitants to house, over the 161km of coastline from Manilva (far west) via Malaga, to Nerja in the east and extending inland to the mountains, and beyond. 


Settlements here date back to the Bronze Age, and the area has since been inhabited by many cultures such as the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Moors, and more recently the world’s A-list celebs, criminals and the phenomenon which is Simon Cowell (and the X-factor finalists) and boasting a population increase of quarter of a million over the past ten years. 

Although much of the immediate coast has been developed into luxury urbanisations and resorts incorporating many of the historical costal villages,  it is nevertheless still possible to see signs of their charm. Many of these towns in the Costa del Sol became fortified and there are numerous instances where you can see the juxtaposition of great contemporary and classical architecture together. The most famous is probably the Roman fortress of Alcazaba dating from the 8th and 11th century, which lies in the heart of Malaga City, (the official capital of the Costa del Sol) which sits aside leading architects 20th century castellated or 'turretted' constructions of modern interpretation in the neighbouring touristic marina developments, for example in Benalmadena marina, the coast’s fastest increasing suburb, or in the other well-known coastal areas of Puerto Banus, Estepona and Nerja. Despite the mayhem of the recent planning indiscretions on this coastline and its reputation for purely a home away from home for many Brits and other ex-pats,  it is therefore encouraging to find that local architects and developers are continuing to find inspiration in the true vernacular precedents resulting in very succesful examples of modern touristic residential architecture.


Conversely, in the whitewashed hillside towns of the Costa del Sol, such as Ojen, Mijas or Frigliana where historically much of the local fishing population used to commute from, the towns in the main stand as living and breathing monuments to the historical depth of the area. Hidden inland where the terrain is rugged, graduated and fertile there still remains an abundance of working fruit, vegetable and olive farms, and original farm workers fincas in existence which provide the bulk of the household's income for the local families. If you are lucky enough to reside in one of these communities, you will know how important it is to develop relationships with the local residents in order to receive the benefit of their knowledge and assistance. It is essential to ensure you treat your property with respect and abide by local development and planning laws which are set out to preserve the character of the town or village for the benefit of all. For the budding designer however, this may be too restrictive in comparison with the coastal guidelines but there is always the possibility to convert an ancient interior into an uninhibited and contemporary dwelling space hidden beneath an original shell. For this reason, and of course the reduced cost and wider availability of land, many ex-pats have chosen to live in the rural outskirts of these hilltop  towns and construct their own modern homes from scratch or buy an existing modern property which are subject to a much more relaxed legislation. However living as neighbours to such towns rather than residents, it is much harder to absorb the local culture into your life and develop relations within the existing community.

The key to living comfortably on the Costa del Sol, more so than in other locations, is knowing that you have found the right architectural solution for you amongst such a wide choice. Whether you have bought your perfect property or if it’s being constructed for you, or even if you're renting here,  the diversity which exists on the Costa del Sol is an opportunity not to be missed and can allow you to find the exact specification you require in terms of beach, mountains, town, terrain, views, property design, landscape and interiors.  


So, be choosy,  find what works for you because it will be here,  it may just be a question of looking a little deeper.


Architectural foreward written by www.puddingcreative.com