Selling The Property Sizzle

When it comes to residential property, developers now realise how essential ‘spin doctors’ and marketing ‘gurus’ are to the success of a project.

So sophisticated is demographic profiling these days that messages can push the ‘hot buttons’ of the people most likely to buy a particular piece of real estate.

Essentially I’m talking about correctly ‘branding’ a development. This embraces:

• Defining and differentiating the project
• Naming
• Colours
• Positioning
• A targeted slogan
• Key messages
• Visuals
• Advertising, and
• Editorial support

Branding helps a development stand out from other projects, even if they are similar. Why else would you call an apartment complex ‘Republic’ when – to the eyes of a marketing novice – you risk alienating the 50% of Australians who have Monachist leanings? Why would you fill a ‘sales’ brochure with 60 pages of nudes and only four pages of scanty information about a development?

Because professional marketers know the type of people most likely to buy, and are selling them the ‘sizzle’.

Rather than talking about bricks and mortar, effective branding encapsulates the aspirations of prospective purchasers and invokes images of the desired lifestyle that awaits them.

Let’s look at some of the marketing approaches taken in large-scale developments I’ve been involved with over the years:

• The sales brochure for The Hudson at Alexandria became a collector’s piece because it featured something different: a shiny metal cover. Why? To reflect the site’s industrial past and to tap into the psyche of people looking to be part of that area’s gentrification.
   
• The brochure for Sydney Wharf at Walsh Bay reflected the quality and cachet of the apartments through its beautiful leather-bound cover, which was placed inside a sophisticated presentation box. This expensive marketing item was coveted by all, but only handed out selectively. If you received one you felt special and almost obligated to buy.
   
• The first residential building at Sydney Olympic Park needed to ‘sell’ the location more than the apartments. Research showed that people associated the area as being a sporting venue rather than a place to live. So, a highly-detailed coffee table book was produced tracing the evolution of the area, the excitement generated by the Olympics, and all the great things that were planned to turn the precinct into a desirable residential suburb. This book, plus targeted advertising and editorial, helped give the area the credibility needed to change people’s perceptions. Once this happened, sales of apartments increased. 

Being conservative, and trying to appeal to everyone, doesn’t work. You end up with an omelette approach lacking in texture and flavour. 

Inviting advertising and PR experts to get involved in a project early will almost certainly ensure your development is correctly positioned, has ‘a story to tell’, and will give people a reason to buy. 

It’s no point employing sales people if your marketing can’t attract prospects to the showroom.