Product Launch

Communicating Change

When the 2007 real estate market forced builders to drastically lower prices or sit on their inventory, Pat Neal, being a proactive leader, found ways to cut prices. In order to retain credibility with buyers and present Neal homeowners, he needed a way to tell people why he was able to cut prices on the same homes that were priced higher the month before. The letter ad was inspired by a memo that was circulated internally to keep employees aware of our changes. I felt that all of our Neal buyers would be interested also.

The Pat Letter Ad was born

It evolved over several months and was used in newspapers, magazines, our website, and as handouts in sales offices as well as special off-site events. Sometimes, depending on the medium, all Neal Communities are included in the ad. And, sometimes the ad is a handout for a single community (example below). After many months of using the Pat Letter Ad, many visitors to the communities still brought the ad with them when they visited and they site it as the reason for their visit. Many marketing and marketing research professionals from our market and other markets have complimented us on the ad. They feel it is insightful, helpful, and makes you feel that you understand the building industry more.

Introducing a new product line to the market.

With the downturn in the economy and the housing market, the most effective way to kickoff the campaign was to invite market leaders, press and realtors to a press conference that introduced the new products. All vendors that participated in building the homes were present at the conference. In turn, each was called to the podium and the builder gave a short bio of the length of each relationship and the part they played in the construction of the homes. A short personal scenario of each vendor was included. Community business leaders were recognized and thanked for their attendance at the meeting. Realtors were acknowledged with special attention given to the top-selling, area realtors for our homes. Since the E-alert invitations focused on a positive change for the area's economy, press representatives came from four counties.

First goal: our messages must reflect what our prospective buyers believe about their needs, their lifestyle and their aspirations. Secondly, we need to make an offer that our competitors can not match. Third, we knew we had to emotionally connect our product with our audience.

The culmination of the conference coincided with the beginning of the Open House for consumers. The two photos below show the first consumers arriving at the property. Over 1100 people visited the new model homes over the next two days--during a major economic downturn. 33 homes were sold over the next 38 days.

In a continuing effort to listen to and learn from homebuyers, the Cafe Collection was created and introduced to the market. To build market awareness quickly, content was re-purposed. If created effectively, an entire campaign can be produced from a succinct amount of essential information.

A 7-page article appeared in Professional Builder print magazine and online version. It featured the Cafe Collection of cottages with photos, a timeline from concept to completion as well as an interview with Pat Neal, the builder.

Local print magazines as well as their digital counterparts also featured articles introducing the new line of homes.

Collateral Connects

Well-designed collateral materials can improve the credibility of a company and strengthen the brand equity. The following multi-page brochure is designed to connect emotionally with buyers, help them remember the community and keep it fresh in their minds regardless of how many communities they visited that day.

The brochure needed to be photo driven to give the feel of living at River's Reach and the great peacefulness of the property that settles into anyone who spends time there.