“US Recession-Proof” Housing Markets? Where are they?

Posted Posted in building industry, economy, real estate

Local Economy Over National The 2018 RCLCO Momentum Index of For Sale Housing is now out.  The nationally recognized research firm’s Index shows which US housing markets have local economic fundamentals than tend to have greater cyclical impacts than those of national or regional fundamentals. (“US Recession-proof” may be too strong a term – or is […]

Social media marketing

Social Media Marketing & the “2-way conversation”…with pictures.

Posted Posted in building industry, marketing, social media

By now everyone with 3 miles of a ‘marketing-type’ has heard the much bantered term “2-way conversation”. Yes it was buzzy & now a touch tedious. STILL, it is oh-so-surprising how many brands demonstrate confusion on the concept. Below is a review of the concept to inspire teams to take their social media marketing to even higher levels.

Buyer Personas – How brands ‘get personal’

Posted Posted in brand strategy, building industry, marketing, social media

If you know your customer, you can do great things. If you don’t -well… Creating Buyer Personas is the first step to an effective marketing & content strategy. Understanding your customers’ wants and needs gives you the opportunity to create something that wows customers & is valued While this post is slanted to real estate development and the home building industry, the approach crosses categories and gets to the heart of what business should be based on – The Customer.

what creates brand perception | a look at lambert ranch

Posted Posted in brand strategy, building industry, marketing, real estate

We’ve all had times where we go in with one understanding of a product and after experiencing it further – we completely change our minds. Here’s a look at what really shapes brand perception as seen in the launch of a gorgeous new community called Lambert Ranch . From context- to marketing- to delivery, it all matters. (While the pictures will give you a hint of what Lambert Ranch is like, to experience in real life is oh-so-recommended.)

brand strategy inspirations from a master – Coca-Cola

Posted 1 CommentPosted in brand strategy, culture, marketing, social media

The Coca-Cola Company has decided to move from “Creative Excellence” to “Content Excellence” in marketing for two reasons: 1) the new media landscape and 2) to transform one-way storytelling into dynamic storytelling. Step One – they’ve outlined their brand strategy brilliantly for all to see. [click to continue…]

a cheat sheet on social media

Posted Posted in marketing, social media

As social media changes so rapidly, perhaps a current overview on the active platforms may be helpful.  Below is another great infographic by Flowtown & ColumnFive . some notes While strong on fundamentals, a few “misses” & thoughts on the graphic… LinkedIn…the world’s largest professional network on the Internet with more than 150 million members. This […]

1111 Lincoln Road brand

Great Place | a sexy parking garage where design is the brand

Posted 1 CommentPosted in brand strategy, building industry, economy, great places, marketing, real estate

Part of “a great place” – a series of engaging spaces for consideration…and perhaps inspiration for the people who build places everyday.  “How much design is too much design?” – the on-going challenge in building any product, including places. At the end of the day, development is a business and a major economic driver with employees, suppliers, contractors and […]

how people really shop and a few marketing insights

Posted 2 CommentsPosted in culture, marketing, social media

Today people shop and buy differently thanks to the internet – unsurprising.  However when two landmark studies quantify the process of shopping,  some surprises that have big implications to marketing emerge. Let’s start with the old thinking to better understand what’s new.   (Will it be “Fun”?  Of course it will. ;) BOTTOM-LINE: Marketers need to […]

social media – in real life…

Posted 4 CommentsPosted in brand strategy, building industry, marketing, social media

Perhaps you  know someone who shuns social media,  but doesn’t really understand what it is they are rejecting.  Then there are those who recognize the various social media names – enjoy Facebook perhaps – but they are still a bit fuzzy on what people use the various channels for. They know something interesting is happening… […]

brand definition

What a ‘Brand’ Is and 3 Reasons to Care – Now.

Posted Posted in brand strategy, building industry, culture, marketing, real estate, social media

what is a ‘brand’?

A Brand – is what people perceive about a product or a company. It’s everything that’s been heard, seen…felt about it. It’s your reputation from yesterday & today. To really get this – If you’re not metaphorically “standing in front of your audience” with promotion and people understand, like and/or talk about you positively – that’s worth something to your bottom-line. It’s known as positive brand equity.

However- if when you “leave the room”, the real stories come out and you’re basically looking like a jerk – well no logo is getting you out of that.

Why people choose their home

Posted 1 CommentPosted in building industry, economy, marketing, real estate

Location-Location-Location. Ok -sure, but let’s get more specific.  Recently, the National Building Museum concluded a survey to better understand how people interact with the built environment – your home, neighborhood, and city. The initiative was called Intelligent Cities and delves into the subject of home choice.  They added a new spin with the opening questions:    “What were […]

Great Place | High Line: Land Re-use at its Best

Posted Posted in building industry, economy, great places

“a great place” – a series of engaging spaces for consideration…and perhaps inspiration for the people who build places everyday.  hello high line park , nyc What started in the 1930s as a rail freight line lifted 30 feet over New York’s Manhattan known as the High Line, became a public eyesore in the mid-1990’s.  A story that could have sadly […]

great places and brands connect emotionally. meet replay.

Posted Posted in brand strategy, great places, marketing

“a great place” – a series of engaging spaces for consideration…perhaps inspiration for the people who build spaces everyday.  meet replay Replay, an Italian denim company, reaches new heights in brand experience in their stores and view them as key to developing & quickly conveying their brand.  The company seeks to redefine the traditional concept of a store as a mere […]

how remarkable is your brand?

Posted Posted in brand strategy, building industry, marketing, social media

Is your brand “remarkable” ?   A huge question that in today’s marketplace really asks “Are you engagingly marketable?” Communication is now overflowing with irrelevant clutter;  providing instant transparency; and social media allows everyone to comment with just a click.  For this environment – let’s redefine the word “remarkable”. “re·mark·a·ble:(adj) worthy of remarking on.”     If something is remarkable –    talking about it, actually makes you more interesting .  Let […]

Boomers and social networks…

Posted Posted in generations, social media

Recently, I needed to understand the scope of social media use by generation. Given the broad definition of  social media (social networks, blogs, collaboration tools, wiki, video/image sharing and so much more),  the focus was narrowed to social networks. Social networks are online communities such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Ning niche networks, etc.. The suspicion was that Boomers would not be participating on […]