Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Luxury of Eggs/The Gift that Keeps Giving

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: These Boots Are Made for Sparkling…

November 13, 2012

Co-branding is a synergistic marketing strategy involving two or more brands that can each benefit by expanding their marketing reach because they share the same target market and the same brand values. The challenge of successful co-branding is picking your co-branding partners wisely so that you do not confuse your ideal clients or customers. Co-branding is an excellent strategy for leveraging your marketing dollars and it is underutilized by luxury real estate marketing professionals.

The idea behind co-branding is to act cooperatively and leverage the strengths of each brand. It is a great way to differentiate products and services in a highly competitive marketplace.

We offered an example of successful co-branding in our post about two Italian brands, Pellegrino and Bulgari, who teamed up to create colorfully bejeweled bottles of the sparkling water at holiday time. An example of a co-branding fiasco was covered in our post about Barney’s (an edgy New York based high fashion brand) and Disney (traditional family brand) who triggered extreme controversy that tarnished each of their brands in the process.

This picture (above) is an example of a co-branding that is harmonious and works extremely well. Stuart Weitzman is an international high end shoe company. This company is known for using unusual materials in manufacturing shoes such as cork, vinyl, Lucite, wallpaper and 24kt gold. Their attention to detail has created a worldwide following.

Stuart Weitzman teamed up with Swarovski, the premier manufacturer of crystal. Swarovski is well known for their sparkling crystals designs in sculpture, chandeliers, and jewelry. This is a perfect match. Adorning evening and holiday footwear with Swarovski crystals fortifies the unique shoe perspective of Stuart Weitzman and also promotes the sparkle of Swarovski.

How can you co-brand with luxury services and products that are harmonious to your luxury real estate marketing practice and leverage your marketing dollars by doing so?

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Personal & Company Branding: Strategic Partnerships- Pushing the "Skinny" Brand Envelope

November 6, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional if you are thinking of co-marketing with another company, organization or individual be sure to pick partners that have the same demographics and psychographics (values, attitudes, interests and lifestyles). Otherwise, you will dilute your marketing message, and also confound and confuse your target market. Here is an example of how two well-known brands created a PR fiasco because they did not follow this important branding principle.

In an effort to attract foot traffic to its flagship store in on Madison Avenue, Barney’s, the luxury retail store, has partnered with Disney to promote high fashion. There could not be a better example of a co-marketing mismatch both in the demographics and psychographics of their target market.

Disney morphed the bodies of their iconic female characters into size 0 models wearing designer clothes in their Electric Holiday Moving Art exhibit. Minnie Mouse is now elongated like a runway model. (See pictures). What were they thinking?

The skinny Minnie and other Disney characters such as Daisy Duck have infuriated some of the public. Change.org is raising awareness to the negative effects of shrinking Minnie and Daisy. Here is what they shared:

According to sources cited on the non-profit National Association of Anorexia and Associated Eating Disorders website:

•47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures.

• 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape.

• 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.

• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.

Here is the statement released jointly by Barney’s and Disney:

“They have deliberately ignored previously released information clearly stating this promotion is a three-minute ‘moving art’ video featuring traditional Minnie Mouse in a dreamlike sequence set in Paris where she briefly walks the runway as a model and then happily awakens as her normal self wearing the very same designer dress from the fashion show.”

To this, Change.org replied, “

Girls have enough pressure to be thin; now the beloved Disney mouse of their childhood has to add to the message that the only good body is a tall, size 0 body? Enough already. Let’s give girls a chance to celebrate the actual bodies they have instead hating them for not fitting into a Lanvin dress. Then maybe enough girls will get together and demand dresses that look good on their actual, non-digitally altered bodies and designers will just have to become talented enough to design a dress that looks good on them.”

What do you think about this?

Avoid PR debacles like this at all costs. Be sure to pick your strategic partners wisely. Make sure you are aiming for the same target market both from a demographic and psychographic standpoint.

WATCH VIDEOS

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Marketing Luxury Real Estate Tip: Why Psycho Graphics Matter-Part 6

October 26, 2012

As a luxury real estate professional, it is important to know and understand the psycho graphics of your marketplace. One way to do this is to analyze why and how you buy luxurious products. Here is an example:

We were just at our local wine warehouse store, Carpinteria Wine Company, to purchase a bottle of Champagne or Sparkling Wine, if made anywhere else, for a very special celebration this evening. They have a great selection, and being students of branding I (Alexandra, here)spotted this bottle of Sparkling Wine called Goat Bubbles. It certainly stands out at first glance. It would make for great conversation, and the reviews stated "it was a silly name", however the product was good and "pinot esque", which refers to the Pinot grape.

On second thought, the brand became a turn off for us, in this instance. Although we love fun names and fun brands, we have a reverence for Champagne/Sparkling Wine of all countries. For us, it means "special and worthy of toasting an achievement, an anniversary, a birthday, a wedding, or just because you appreciate your mate." We were not the right psycho graphic for this sparkling wine, and we are certain that there are many who will find the name and the wine "perfect!"

So we opted for a French Champagne "Henriot" grown on the chalky soils of the Champagne region in France, which we have visited and enjoyed exploring many of the great Champagne houses. It is the proprietor's favorite, and she recommended it for the crab cakes made with fresh Louisiana crabs, which will be served with this meal.

Know your psycho graphics before you market yourself or your company.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Part5

WATCH VIDEOS

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Successful Single Property Websites Tell a Captivating Story

October 22, 2012

Successful luxury real estate website design must tell a captivating story about the homes you represent and it must also romanticize the marketplace in which you work. This is particularly true about single property websites. Here is a story within a story of the production of successful single property website.

We got a glimpse of quality online professional networking at its best on Active Rain, which is one of our distribution channel for the LOL Blog. “AR” is the largest online professional platform exclusively for real estate related professionals.

Gayle Rich-Boxman, a fellow AR member (and LOL member) in Oregon, reached out to us with a special request. She and her husband Larry were getting ready to put their own home on the market. Their exquisite lakeside estate is on Fishhawk Lake, which is a private, lake community about 1.5 hours drive from Portland International Airport. Gayle asked if we could help her create a marketing strategy just for this property.

Although, our primary work is developing luxury real estate brand strategy for agents and independent brokerage firms who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership, we decided to make an exception, for Gayle. When we flew out to meet the couple we became instant friends.

They invited us to stay at the their home and experience their fabulous lakeside lifestyle first-hand. During our visit we hatched the marketing strategy and the marketing plan. The strategy included developing a state-of-the art, mobile-enabled single property website that we share with you here in this post. (Click on the link below to view the website).

Shortly after our visit Gayle invited several other friends that she met on AR for a retreat at her home. Debb Janes created a video that was mostly shot on Gayle and Larry’s electric-powered pontoon. Kris Ginsberg took some wonderful photos for the website, video and the property brochure. With our art direction and supervision our Napa Consultants’ web design team went to work to create the site, incorporating all of the contributed components.

The site just launched and was immediately well received. The camaraderie and sense of community was heightened between network members who participated in the production of the site and have all become friends in the process.

Remember to tell a captivating story with your luxury real estate website design and also romanticize your marketplace. Do not be afraid to reach out and get input from others who can also help you tell the story.

WATCH VIDEOS

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: The High Cost of Misjudging Your Target Market – Part 1

September 25, 2012

When crafting your personal or company brand, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is crucial to accurately access both the demographics and the psycho graphics - the mindset of your target market. Otherwise your brand can miss the mark and not resonate with your ideal clients. Avoid the high cost of misjudging your target market at all costs!

Year after year Louis Vuitton is recognized as the world’s most valuable luxury brand. It sells its products through standalone boutiques, lease departments in high-end department stores and also online. The brand itself is valued at over $19 billion, and the company is valued in 2012 at $25.9 billion, according to Bloomberg.

In 2012, Louis Vuitton shuttered its boutique in Santa Barbara. In 2011, in the same upscale shopping center, Ruth Chris, the famous steak house chain with over 130 restaurants, also closed its Santa Barbara doors. What happened?

Certainly, the Santa Barbara demographics can support high-end retail stores and upscale restaurants. But, are the psycho graphics, the mindset of the target market, a match? In this neighborhood of large estates owned by"old money" they are not.

Just a few blocks away Chuck's of Hawaii, thrives. It began serving award-winning steaks and seafood over 45 years ago. The inside is romantically lit and is casually furnished with wood tables anound chairs. A bartender in a Hawaiian shirt serves their famous Mai-Thais as well as a wide variety of local wines. Their dinner menu is still hand painted on bottles of Lancers’ wine.

The décor of Ruth Chris restaurants is considerably more formal than Chuck’s and that is where it miscalculated the Santa Barbara psycho graphic. Chuck serves free high end hors d’oeuvres during Happy Hour, which packs people in and creates a buzz that, attracts a strong dinner crowd.

In adjacent Montecito, Lucky’s Steak House also thrives. This is an intimate, smaller neighborhood restaurant that caters to a higher concentration of the upper demographics, than the general population of Santa Barbara.

Accurately judging both the demographics and the psycho graphics of your target market is like fine-tuning a radio. If your brand is not right on the money you will get static instead of a clear signal. And, static can be very costly in terms of wasted marketing dollars.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Differentiate Yourself with Substance

September 24, 2012

If you are going to take the trouble to brand yourself as the “go-to” luxury real estate marketing professional in your area, make sure that your marketing message clearly and sharply differentiates you form your competition. Your marketing message must have substance and leave no room for guessing about what you are trying to convey. That is, if you want gain more market share.

Your substance is the essential nature that makes you stand out. It is what we call the DNA of your personal brand. Most importantly, it is that which is inimitable about you in a business context, expressed in such a way that it instantly addresses your target market’s most pressing needs better than your competitor does. Here are some examples of marketing messages that are devoid in substance and effective brand messaging.

As we were perusing our menu at the Cheesecake Factory, we noticed this Diet Coke ad, which in our opinion says absolutely nothing about how Coke is different from Pepsi or other competitors (see the image above). What is the message here? Is a bottle of Diet Coke a liquid asset (in financial speak)? Does drinking Coke assure that you will “stay extraordinary”? We can only guesstimate the huge amount of money that went into this campaign and completely missed its target.

A VW commercial opens with people of all ages laughing, which is always a delight. It ends with the VW logo and the slogan, “It’s not the miles; it is how you live them.” A great thought, but does it compel you to purchase one of their cars vs. a competing model? They want you go to a website called, whyvw.com, and read about VW values: quality, safety, value (for the price), environment and performance. These values should be every car manufacturer’s values. It still leaves the question, “Why VW?

A large institution recently purchased one of the local banks in Santa Barbara. Their ads are everywhere in town attempting to promote how they are different. Each ad focuses on a single word that is supposed to communicate this. Here are the words: integrity, friendliness, trustworthiness and teamwork. Is that not what banks are supposed to have? Would this campaign get you to switch banks?

Luxury real estate marketing professionals often try to differentiate themselves by touting their integrity or their friendliness. Isn’t that the price of admission for any professional? Dig deeper and identify what is substantive about you, and how that can meet the needs of your target market. That is what branding is all about.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Luxury of Disconnecting

August 31, 2012

As luxury real estate marketing professionals, many feel that being available on a 24/7 basis will insure success. It seems like everyone is connected via every possible device, software and social media platform. You may feel that it is admirable or even heroic. However, there is a time for being inaccessible and completely disconnected.

Traveling earlier this week on business brought about an unexpected event. At one of the locations we did not have cell or internet access. We had to use a “land line” (an endangered species) to call those who were expecting to hear from us. Everyone understood. We took advantage of the lack of digital connection to connect with our surroundings and each other. That day gave us time to refresh and enjoy what was remarkable about our client’s marketplace.

As we approach the Labor Day Weekend, it is important to re-evaluate the notion of being accessible 24/7 and seek moderation. You may discover the strength that comes from setting limits. When you are rested you magnify your power to attract and perceive more opportunities. Plus, your quality of life naturally improves. Wishing you all a happy Labor Day!

Cheers, Ron & Alexandra

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: "Farm to Table Marketing"

August 9, 2012

A key trend in luxury marketing is the concept of “farm-to-table marketing”. There are important clues here for marketing luxury real estate. It is not just about offering the facts. It is about telling the story that adds color and engages the emotions.

Farm-to-table marketing in the arena of fine dining while traveling and also for local restaurants is based upon the premise that consumers want to know the point of origin from which their food comes. Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley (who pioneered this trend decades ago) credits menu items by mentioning the local purveyor. Here is an excerpt from the appetizer section of their menu: “Cannard Farm rocket (arugula) and chervil salad with buttered radish and onion toasts.”

In applying farm-to-table marketing, your luxury real estate message should include the overall story of the home you are selling. The potential buyer wants the “back story” which allows them to become enchanted with the property. When they purchase it, it becomes the story they tell their friends and their reasons for buying the home. For instance, if the home is a rammed earth home, a video on the making of this type of home would make an excellent adjunct to the presentation of the listing on your website.

A few years ago a “rastra block” home was sold in the California wine country. A rastra block is made from recycled Styrofoam. This home had photo voltaic cells and solar panels. The entire house was a story of “farm-to-table” origins. The property site itself was originally a stone quarry that produced the stone used to build the streets of San Francisco. The home has recycled architectural elements from France, Africa, and Mexico.

By breaking down the property’s story and telling sub-stories of its various elements through ancillary rich media, i.e., photos and video, you can engage more buyers. You also have a surefire way to standout from your competition.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: Three Tips to Unleashing Social Media Power

July 30, 2012

Are people following your luxury real estate marketing blog? Are they watching your videos? If you do it right, you can build an entire personal brand and a large audience around your blog and videos. However, if your content is ordinary, meaning unoriginal or generic (content available on many sites and from many other sources) or just outright boring, you will not stand out as a worthwhile read.

You may at some point become number 1 on Google, (thanks to your SEO and the Google’s robots that drill the web), but will that number 1 equal referrals and new buyers/sellers? Will the reader of your posts bookmark or subscribe to your blog, and come back to read your next installment? Google has been besieged by complaints that they are ranking sites with “canned” content higher than those with meaningful “original” content. Google has responded by making changes in their algorithms that are aimed at sites with what it calls "low quality" content: just enough information laden with keywords to appear in search results. If your luxury real estate marketing web pages or blog posts fall into this category of low quality, beware! Your natural search engine ranking could slip.

Here is a recent example of the power of original content. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, last Monday, an eight year old novel, Cloud Atlas was ranked 2509 by Amazon. On Friday, it moved to 7. The meteoric rise was attributed to Apple releasing the trailer to the movie on its iTunes website.

"Almost as soon as the trailer went up, we saw chatter on Twitter and sales on Amazon really jumped," said Jane von Mehren, publisher of trade paperbacks for the Random House Publishing Group, a unit of Bertelsmann AG's Random House Inc.

“To cash in on the renewed interest, Random House has ordered a new paperback printing of 25,000 copies, to hit stores before a special movie-tie in edition of the book is released in September." WSJ

The trailer which is 6 minutes long is a buzz worthy video, which translated into sales and results. How can you translate your blogs into referrals and leads? Here are 3 tips:

1.      Write content that is useful, relevant, fresh, and informative for your marketplace

2.       Write content that is uplifting and newsworthy

3.       Write content that is comment worthy, follow worthy and share worthy

Generic luxury real estate blog content indicates that the blogger lacks imagination and therefore lacks the marketing savvy required to win listings or sell expensive homes. Remember this: robots have no sense of humor; they leave no comments and do not share. They do not get uplifted. But, they do know when your content is fresh or original! Focus in on those tips and see how you can improve the quality of your content, and you unleash the power of Social Media.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Branding: Do You Need a Brand?

July 17, 2012

Do you need a brand for your luxury real estate marketing business? You need a brand if you are in pursuit of market leadership in your chosen niche. A clearly articulated brand facilitates referrals and decision-making on both sides (sellers/buyers) of the real estate game.

Like it or not, we are branded from the moment we are born. Brands are labels; they are a shortcut and a time saver for the mind. They are so obvious that we take them for granted. They become invisible.

The moment we look at someone, our mind’s computer begins to assess and pigeonhole. The more we are pressed for time the more we rely on snap judgments.

With products and services, once we pigeonhole a product or service in a category we equate the category and the brand. And, we only have room for a few products or services in each category, at least from the standpoint of being able to readily recall the brand name. The goal of branding is to achieve top-of-mind status in that short list of products or services within any given category.

To stand out and reach the top of the list you have to make it easy for others to communicate about your brand to others. That is the challenge of branding. It is all about making a compelling case to be at the top of the mental list, in your category, for your target market. If they are convinced that you should be at the top of their list, you must empower them to convince others.

Think of a brand that you like. What would you tell someone about it? How did that brand get to the top of your list? Getting to the point where one wants to refer you requires a continuous strategy and marketing plan that secures your brand recognition and your dominance in the marketplace.

Tiffany’s is the quintessential luxurious American brand when it comes to engagement rings. That is an example of equating a brand with a category. In the minds of young women about to be engaged, Tiffany’s is the place to go. It is at the top of the list in the engagement ring category. Tiffany’s has cultivated that top-of-mind status through brilliant strategy on all fronts. Last year, they premiered their now successful interactive site, What Makes Love True, solidifying their position as the premiere place for engagement rings.

Are you on the top of the list in your category for marketing luxury real estate? Or, do you need a brand?

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Marketing Luxury Real Estate: The Agelessness of a Championship Mindset

July 12, 2012

Photo by Lucy Clark

Unlike some professions marketing luxury real estate is a game you can play at the level of market leadership at any age in your professional career. However, It takes the mindset of a champion and the championship mindset is ageless.

Both Serena Williams and Roger Federer have proven that point at this year’s Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. Serena became the first woman over 30 to win a Grand Slam title since Martina Navratilova over 20 years ago. And, she did so against odds that she would not return to the sport due to health problems. Federer looked like he peaked back at the Australian Open in 2010. Now, he is number one in the world, again.

What motivates a champion? What did these two tennis champs have to prove to the world? Sure it feels good to the admiration of peers and fans alike. But, a true champion has a core inner conviction to be the best he or she can be.

Market leadership is a game that requires strategy to gain or sustain the championship level. First, it requires identifying the winning formula to out think your competition. Then, it requires the consistency of repeating the winning formula over and over again.

But, without the mindset of a champion there is no strategy that can get you there. What is that mindset? It is a mental state devoid of self-doubt. It is a singular focus on a desired outcome that necessitates quickly releasing contradictory thoughts, accessing memories of previous triumphs and maintaining the perspective of what is at stake.

In our professional practice, as brand strategists to luxury real estate marketing professionals, we work exclusively with market leaders or their challengers. Our clients are those who already have the mindset of a champion or are reaching for it regardless of their age. Like Federer and Williams, they are true inspirations.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: "Real Books" In Luxury Home Design

June 29, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to keep up with the trends of luxury home design. Although kitchens, man/woman caves, master suites are still considered as leaders in exceptional home designs, the home library is emerging as a “must have room” in luxury homes and apartments. Architectural Design magazines have dedicated a large portion of their recent issues to library designs, featuring many luxury homes with exceptional libraries.

The idea of having a home library can be traced to Roman times. A sign of a well respected Roman was demonstrated by his library regardless of whether he could read or not. It was a symbol of status and intelligence. Today’s home owners are designing llibraries as an expression of their personality, a retreat from all the usual home noises, a way to display their book collections, and a comfortable place to curl up to read a book.

With the advent of digital readers, and the closing of many of the larger book chain stores (Borders and Barnes & Noble), it seemed that “real” books were doomed to extinction. However, used book stores are reporting a large uptick in sales to a new customer base: 30 plus years old. These young homeowners are walking in to buy books by the foot, or specific collections to display in their newly designed libraries. They want their children to experience “real” books. Rare book dealer Donald Heald a 40 year old New York company has noticed that his clientele now also includes a growing number of individuals in their 30’s.

"If you want to own a great atlas of London from the 18th century, that when you hold it in your hands you're transported, there is no app for that," Mr. Heald says.

The trend for a library in the home is also appearing in median home prices. Many home owners are building shelves for books. DIY shows and magazines are giving detailed instructions on how to build shelving and library nooks. From a book lovers’ perspective, it is reassuring that all things digital do not always rule the home roost.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Keep Your Message Brief

June 27, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to communicate who you are and what you do with words and imagery. Your collateral materials and web site should articulate the essence of your brand in a nanosecond.

We often attribute the quote of “A picture is worth a 1000 words” to Confucius. However, research shows that this attribution to Confucius was given by an advertiser named Fred Barnard who said he called it a Chinese proverb, "so that people would take it seriously”. As time went on, Confucius was credited with this adage. Mr. Barnard promoted the use of images on the sides of streetcars as part of an advertisement. His sentence was “One Look is Worth a Thousand Words (1921 trade journal, Printer’s Ink.) In another ad in 1927, Mr. Barnard used the phrase, “One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words”

More research reveals that in the novel Fathers and Sons written in 1862, the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev wrote, “A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound.”

Here is an example of a picture is worth a thousand words. The entrance to the small 6 acre Dog and Oyster Vineyard in Virginia is flanked by two corkscrew sculptures each measuring 40 feet. There are no signs needed to express what is happening here.

So keep your message brief, your pictures bright and expressive so you don’t need 1000 or 10,000 words to say it.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Marketing Luxury Real Estate Tip: A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words!

June 24, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to communicate who you are and what you do with words and imagery. Your collateral materials and web site should articulate the essence of your brand in a nanosecond.

Here is an example that was pointed out to us by our clients in the Virginia Chesapeake marketplace. Notice how the building columns are designed. What a wonderful way to capture the attention of your target market with humor and bring a smile to everyone's face.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Do You Speak Vastu?

June 7, 2012

Photo by Samrat 35/Lotus Temple in New Dehli, India

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to stay focused on the luxury market and its trends. One of the emerging countries in the world is India and its appetite for luxury goods and services has been insatiable. Our nation’s Asian Indian population has exploded over the past decade, far outpacing the growth of other Asian groups, according to 2010 Census figures. So if you are working with an Asian Indian individual or family, you need to know about Vastu.

In Sanskrit the word “Vastu” means dweller/dwelling. It is India’s form of FengShui. “In Indian architecture, the dwelling is itself a shrine. A home is called manushyalaya, literally, "human temple". It is not merely a shelter for human beings in which to rest and eat. The concept behind house design is the same as for temple design, so sacred and spiritual are the two spaces.” From Wikipedia

Add Vastu to your vocabulary as we say in The Language of Luxury. Get Fluent, Get Affluent.™

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Staying Unforgettable with Quality Cues

June 5, 2012

Quality cues are indications of quality in packaging, displays, product features, collateral materials, website design, messaging, etc. The more quality cues you can offer in your luxury real estate marketing practice the more your personal or company brand will become distinctive and unforgettable.

Here is an example of a quality cue we noticed when we visited the newly opened REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) store in Santa Barbara. We immediately noticed the door handles picture above. They are actual mountaineering pick axes with resin encased heads and points for safe usage. This quality cue reinforces their motto, “Get outside, yourself”. It also communicates that they are known for a wide variety of quality outdoor gear and equipment, and great service.

Here is another example from one of the luxury real estate marketing professionals we have met. This individual always hands their client the keys to their new home on a Tiffany key ring in the iconic blue box. This gesture is a WOW moment for the new owners, and one that will be remembered and talked about.

For luxury real estate marketing professionals, small things can make a big difference in terms of standing out from your competition. These small things add up to make you unforgettable. What are some small things you do to make you unforgettable?

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Put a New Twist in Your Marketing Approach

May 10, 2012

Remarkable service with a twist that distinguishes you from your competition can create an indelible impression and enchant your clients.. Look for evidence of enchantment, times when you have enjoyed exemplary service in your daily life, and reach for ways that you can incorporate enchantment into your own luxury real estate marketing practice.

Saint Alexandra’s Day (Alexandra’s Name Day) provided the perfect opportunity to seek out evidence of enchantment marketing. We googled “the best steak house in Thousand Oaks” (nearby Santa Barbara and close to Malibu) and found an entire page dominated by great reviews of Mastro’s. Since we very rarely order beef we wanted to find the best place.But we were seeking an restaurant just outside of town so we could turn it into a new adventure.

Mastro’s, we discovered, has multiple locations in Arizona, Nevada, California and Illinois. It definitely lived up to its reviews. Here are some of the quality cues that lead us to a very favorable opinion of this fine establishment:

We were served an assortment of scrumptious artisan breads that were fresh out of the oven. That could have been a meal unto itself. Our favorite was the pretzel bread.

Our server reminded us of a European professional waiter who really knew his wines. We were allowed to taste a couple of them prior to ordering and the dialogue was educational.

He was equally knowledgable about the extensive menu. He had definite personal opinions about it when asked.

We ordered creamed spinach and the crunchiest snap peas as our vegetables. We asked if the creamed spinach was made with bacon. Our server said, “No. But, everything tastes better with bacon”, and he disappeared only to return with some of the best bacon we had ever tasted.

We did not order dessert. But, we were presented with an enormous slice of St. Alexandra’s Names Day cake and a side of whipped cream that must have been more than a pint. With only room for a couple of nibbles, we were more than delighted.

When we left the restaurant, the valet brought our car and handed us some bottled water for the road with the Mastro’s logo on the bottle. We had previously been given a shopping bag with handles to cary three box full of food items that we could not finish.

Seek out quality cues, evidence of enchantment marketing in peripheral aspects of your life, not just in your field. Get a sense of how it feels when you are treated exceptionally well. Then incorporate as many ways as possible to enchant your clients. It will put a twist in your marketing approach that will help you to standout from your competition.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Marketing Luxury Real Estate Tip: Staying on the Leading Edge Part 2

May 8, 2012

Fear of change is another of the top vulnerabilities of market leaders. For luxury real estate marketing professionals who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership you need to keep evolving as an individual, a team or as a company. The common adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, or “I am doing well, why rock the boat” does not apply if you intend on maintaining your position.

We are experiencing a tidal wave of change on a daily basis in every aspect of life. If you want to successfully keep moving forward, you have to keep reinventing yourself. One of the most important elements in this process is to be willing to break down your business model on a regular basis and reexamine every aspect through a magnifying lens. You may have to throw out what “ain’t’broke” altogether and adopt and adapt consistently. You have to stay nimble and be able to turn on a dime. If you don’t do it, your competition will rapidly surpass you without any hesitation, or find a way to profit from your passivity.

Some companies capitalize on the “fear of change” and develop business models which take advantage of this mentality. An example of this is “show rooming”. Many consumers visit showrooms note model numbers, and then find the identical item on line using their Smartphone’s and purchase them for a lot less. What caused this? Fear of change and the unwillingness to adapt. Companies such as Best Buy are now looking for ways to prevent the show rooming epidemic. In real estate lending, companies such as the Lending Tree captured consumer leads for loans, routed them to the banks and received a commission. They understood that banks are not quick to respond to change, and they could step in and profit.

What must not change are your core values, your integrity and your commitment to superb service for your clients.

WATCH VIDEOS-

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!