And the winner is...
No: 609
Out of courtesy, I accepted the brochure handed to me with my room key by the front desk clerk. It was part of the marketing collateral for the “environment” my hotel was located in.
I glanced at it in the elevator.
The image on the cover was a moment-in-time snapshot. An upscale bar scene. A closeup of a hot, late twenty-something blonde. She was standing beside a bar stool where an equally hot stud was seated. Her right hand draped his shoulder. Her left held a bunch of grapes which she dangled right over his face.
Written in an elegant font, the words read…
Come and Get it
I was intrigued.
The power of seductive imagery. A catchy phrase that cohesively drove the message home.
These are the critical components that mark a well-executed campaign. Juxtapose this against the reams of lame attempts that we stumble through every day in real estate – brand stories told through overused stock photos and poorly written, non contextual copy that turn me off.
This brochure lured me in.
Someone clever and talented had put time and thought into this creation. I got to my room, sat down and unfolded it.
The Domain
Flipping through the pages, it became evident that what was being offered here was far more elaborate than the chance to score during happy hour at a local cocktail lounge.
In reality, this brochure introduced me to the a brand new urban development.
The copy inside flowed.
Welcome to The Domain and the feeling we call domania.
Domania is the exhilaration of waterplay in the park beneath a big blue sky. It is the exuberant expression of your own inimitable sense of style at stores like Louis Vuitton, David Yurman, Sur La Table and LOFT. In every inch of our 40 stores, residences and outdoor environments, you won’t find anywhere else in Austin, you’ll be transported, excited, delighted and otherwise… carried away.
Come and get it.
After an eight hour flight, two connections and crappy airline fare…
I went
I’m not typically drawn to shopping malls or walking tours through manufactured living environments.
But I am a sucker when it comes to good marketing. The brochure accomplished the very thing it set out to do – lure me, the reader into action.
I strolled the grounds. Peeked into the myriad of high end shops. Acknowledged each of the outdoor amenities. And felt the tranquility of the space that blended seamlessly with the North Austin landscape it was located within.
Everything (minus the hot blonde with the grapes) was exactly as the brochure promised – a successful expression of the vision the developers had.
Testimony
You endeavor to reap success daily across all your marketing campaigns. But failure will more likely occur if your efforts instead are random, disconnected exercises that aren’t tied to something greater.
All too often in real estate, effective/successful marketing is measured by sheer volume. The machine gun blast of tweets and walls postings. The 3000 word blog posts that confuse more than they clarify. Ten pounds of disjointed marketing jargon stuffed into two pound bags of PR. The hundreds lines of SEO text that appeal more to spiders than they do to humans.
Volume doesn’t appeal to people. They repel them.
My experience at the Domain was testimony to the sort of perfection I wish for you. It began with a simple but elegant piece of print collateral meticulously woven with the silk yarn of imaginative copy that threaded the developers vision into the tight knots of truth when I finally stepped onto the grounds and experienced them.
Marketing today is about telling a simple story. A truthful story. Imparting your vision. Connecting it to peoples needs. Be compelling. Be consistant. Be simple. Be seductive. Be interesting.
Be yourself.