Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: Spaghetti Marketing: Marketing Your Strengths

In marketing yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional or company, it is important to assess your strengths. This assessment can be used to develop a smart marketing strategy.  Here is an example of spaghetti marketing:

Italy is suffering from a bad economy (2 trillion euros in public debt), and recently The Wall Street Journal reported that the city of Rome is on the verge of bankruptcy.   A savvy entrepreneurial company, Fico Eataly, the food emporium chain, with stores in Rome, New York, and Chicago, has come up with an innovative concept.

Italy’s strengths are: history, culture and cuisine.  Over 48 million visitors spent 32.2 billion dollars in 2012, ranking it as the fifth most popular tourist destination in the world.  How do you capitalize on that?

Eataly is going to develop a food theme park in Bologna, the capital of the Emilia- Romagna region.  Emilia Romagna is known for its many gastronomical achievements such as Parmegiano Reggiano, Proscuitto, Pancetta, and its pasta made with eggs (lasagna a la Bolognese).  It is one of the meccas of Italian cuisine.   It is also known as the home of Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati, Lamborghini, etc.

The city of Bologna is delighted with this idea.  The city administrators have provided 20 acres of land and several unused warehouses, totaling 80,000 square feet for this venture.  This food park would include restaurants, grocery stores, food labs and an aquarium.  Some have dubbed it as the Disneyland of food.

Access your strengths and come up with your own version of spaghetti marketing!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Competitive Edge of Stellar Service

One of the deciding factors in choosing someone to work with in selling or buying luxury real estate by the high net worth or ultra high net worth individuals is stellar service.  This is what creates loyalty and referrals.  Here is an example.

Friday, we started having trouble with receiving email on our iPhones.  Since we are subscribed to Apple Care, Ron called in.  This was a problem that was resolved the first time and popped up again.  Apple had a record of the previous call, and brought in a senior tech to work with Ron on it.  After trying several solutions, which did not work, the tech person suggested that conference with our email provider, together.  When they did the wait was too long, and they decided to table it to Saturday morning, since we had dinner plans.

Saturday morning, the Apple tech called Ron.  Together, they talked to our email provider, and found out what could resolve the problem.  By process of elimination we come up with a work around after ruling out many variables.  After three hours of patient and fun tech support, it turned out that the email service provider is not up to speed yet with Apple’s latest technology. 

We cannot imagine Apple’s competitors reaching this level of quality of service consistently any time soon.  How can you achieve stellar service in your luxury real estate practice?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace. 

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Why spend $4million to Market Your Brand?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, maintaining visibility for what you stand for (in terms of brand values) in a crowded, competitive market is important. It tells a story loud and clear that you are here to stay, and not here to brag about yourself or your product. 

Furthermore, if your competitors are nipping at your heels, it is a good way to gain distance.  It engages your target market emotionally and differentiates you from the crowd.

Some of the comments that were made on our previous post regarding the Super Bowl Cheerios commercial brought up an important issue.  "Why did some brands spend $4 million for a 30 second spot on Super Sunday, and not focus on selling their product?

Both Cheerios and Budweiser made no direct reference to their products (verbally), and both of these ads were in the top ten as rated by the public and the media.  Therefore, these brands have renewed their place and status as top of mind.

If you are an established brand, how can you incorporate these brand principles in your own marketing?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: 3 Ways to Prepare for a Market Upswing

Courtesy of Wikipedia /Public Domain Limpet from Cyprus

As the luxury real estate market recovers in your area you will notice that more new agents are diving back into marketing luxury real estate.  That means competition is heating up. Now is the time to prepare in order to out-think your competitors.

The median sales price for homes in San Francisco jumped 16% in 2013, according to the San Francisco Association of Realtors.  This is primary due to a stronger demand among the “Technorati” who want to live in the city and are content to commute to nearby by Silicon Valley.

Whereas, your area may not be rebounding as fast as San Francisco, you must be prepared to protect your turf.  To do so, think more like a limpet!

The limpet is a sea snail with a conical shell.  The limpet attaches itself to hard surfaces in the ocean. They feed on the algae in the waters and what makes them unique and interesting is that they maintain a garden, which surrounds their home base. When another creature dares to graze in their garden, they push them off by ramming them with their shell, so that their garden can continue to thrive.

California Limpet

For luxury real estate marketing professionals, limpet thinking means keep your garden in order and watch out for interlopers.  Here are three ways to prepare for a market upswing:

Refresh your personal or company brand

Create a new full featured luxury real estate website or update your current one

Stay in close communication with your sphere of influence on a regular basis

So, think like a limpet, and protect your garden in 2014!

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Three Tips for Success in 2014 - Part 3

Your Brand Has to Have Soul & Be Inspirational

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is essential to discover the SOUL of your personal or company brand and create an INSPIRATIONAL BRAND STORY. Doing so is a surefire path to market leadership. 

Think of a company that has inspired you. Have you ever flown Southwest Airlines?  This is one of the brands we love, mainly because of the ease and simplicity of making or changing reservations, their on-time record and also the remarkable friendliness of their employees.  Here is a company with SOUL! 

If Southwest Airlines has soul, Zappos, the online shoe store that put 2-way no-cost shipping on the map and sold to Amazon for over $1Billion, has both SOUL and an INSPIRATIONAL BRAND STORY. The title of the best seller, Delivering Happiness, written by Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh, says everything about his management style and the company purpose.  

Like Trader Joe’s (covered in Part 2 of this series), the high employee morale in Southwest Airlines and Zappos is palpable. Employee morale contributes mightily to customer engagement via word-of-mouth marketing and also customer loyalty. 

But, why should you strive to uncover and mine your own personal or company brand’s “inspirational DNA”? A survey conducted by Performance Inspiration shows what consumers do when a company inspires them:

• 86% of respondents say they would recommend the company to friends and family
• 82% percent would be loyal to that company
• 92% would share their experience with others
• 71% reported they would spend more on a company that inspires them

Old Spice came out with a commercial that embodies all three essential elements that we cover in this article series, LOVE, SOUL & INSPIRATION (inspirational because it went "viral" with over 3 million views when we saw it).  The theme, "Smellcome to Manhood", brilliantly targets and communicates to boys who are coming of age, and also moms who might buy it for their sons (if they let their sons grow up). It is a must see and is far better than most Superbowl commercials. What a coup for a heritage brand looking to reach its next generation of consumers. Enjoy...

Spend some time uncovering and mining your own inspirational DNA.  It needs to be demonstrated not just superficially, but through every interaction you have your associates, your current clients and also your entire sphere of influence.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Only Chickens Are Copycats

When we recently visited our clients luxury real market, they pointed out that their main competitors copied their distinctive color.  As the market is improving, more agents are jumping in the fray to sell luxury real estate, and more copycats are on the prowl.

Imitation is our opinion is not a sincere form of flattery.  It shows a distinct lack of creativity and originality, and both qualities are integral to marketing luxury real estate or any other service or product.

The luxury car industry is starting to thrive as the economy improves.  Here is an example done by two separate creative agencies, whose clients are Mercedes Benz, and Jaguar.

To illustrate the Mercedes car suspension and its function of anticipating terrain to insure comfort, this video was created using a chicken.  The chicken is shown moving to the music of Diana Ross; “Upside Down”, and it is held by two hands in white gloves and black sleeves representing the magic of Mercedes suspension engineering.

Jaguar’s agency decided to parody the commercial by showing a scientist manipulating a chicken with the chicken flying away, he tells us, “See it is just like a Mercedes”.  The next scene is the jaguar with feathers flying out of its jaws.  The commercial claims that its suspension is cat-like.  The commercial ends with the slogan, “It Is Good to be Bad”.

According to Mr. Schorr, a Jaguar executive,   “Everyone enjoys a little friendly competition and acknowledge how brilliant the original ad was and how clever and fun our spin on it was.”

In our opinion, only chickens are copycats! What do you think?

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: How to Get Invited to the High-End Listing Presentation? - Part 3

Photo by © Carrienelson1

Two of the most iconic and charismatic film heroes of all time are Hans Solo (Star Wars) and Indiana Jones both played by Harrison Ford, Although, he has never won an academy award for his acting, he is the 5^th highest grossing box office star in the world. He had the extraordinary packagiing (good looks) and the charisma to land these coveted roles. Mr. Ford has GLAM! 

Choice film roles are like high-end listings. To break into luxury real estate and get invited to high-end listing presentations you either need a lucky break, or you need the courage to project your inner certainty, which is what charisma is. With extraordinary packaging (expert personal or company branding) your work is considerably easier because your packaging is like your personal, silent salesperson; it speaks on your behalf.   

However, having extraordinary packaging and charisma without substance, i.e., without competence, communication and caring, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, is tantamount to walking on thin ice.  Eventually, your shortcomings will be exposed and your foundation will crack, crumble and melt.  

Harrison Ford also playes a romantic role in, Working Girl, a film that exemplifies this point. Melanie Griffith protrays the part of a lowly, unglamorous secretary with brains but no charisma.  Her boss, Sigourney Weaver, a financial executive with GLAM in spades, encourages Griffith to share her business ideas. When Griffith discovers that Weaver plans to steal her ideas she begins a glamorous makeover (extraordinary packaging) so she will be taken seriously as an executive not just a secretary, and she pitches her own idea directly to a potential client. 

The proposal is well received because she took command of how she was perceived. And, she mustered up the courage to project her certainty, which gave her charisma with substance. At the end, Weaver’s character is exposed for what she is:  someone with charisma, talent and extraordinary packaging, but without heart or soul.

The moral of the story is that, in marketing luxury real estate, GLAM (extraordinary packaging and charisma) can get you just so far. It can temporarily cover up for deficiencies in Competence, Communication and Care.  But, the illusion eventually fades. 

This image of an African secretary bird (since we talked about an unglamourous secretary's transformation into a charismatic executive) says it all! GLAM (Extraordinary Packaging and Charisma) + Competence + Communication + Care = The winning formula for getting you invited to high-end listing presentations. 

Tis the Season for GLAM! Stay tuned for more.

Part 1   l   Part 2   l   Part 3

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Strategy: Think Smart

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Here is one of the most common questions we get from luxury real estate marketing professionals: 

How can I focus on selling luxury homes without alienating my clients is other price ranges?

One answer is to create separate brands for the two components of your real estate practice.   One stands for luxury the other stands for your general practice.  Follow the wisdom of Daimler, manufacturer of both Mercedes Benz and smart (all lower case).  

In the early 1990s the inventor of Swatch approached Mercedes Benz to realize his vision of the “ultra-urban” car.  Although, the car took off fast in Europe and elsewhere around the world it was introduced to the United State ten years later as the 37^th country to sell smart for two.  

One of the coolest things about this car is that it can back into a parking space because it is as long and it is wide. Two smart cars can actually fit into a single parking space! However that  type of parking is prohibited in most US jurisdictions and some cites around the world. 

The key takeaway here for luxury real estate marketing professionals, from a branding standpoint, is that smart does not dilute the MBZ brand nor does it alienate would-be smart buyers. It works much better to create two brands rather than branding the “ultra-urban” car as “MBZsmart” or “Mercedes Benz” mini.  

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Simple & Memorable Branding

The competition in the wine industry is even fiercer than in luxury real estate marketing.  Many wineries pay over $80,000 for a brand label given that wine production in the United States is growing.  Many states are newcomers in the wine industry and they want to outdo the California wineries, which represent 90% of American wine production.

Here is an example of label that is both simple and memorable.  Pedrigris Wine is a play on the word “Pedigree”.  It also represents the grape content, which is Pinot Gris, which further explains the change in spelling. The back label reveals that this wine grown in the Yakima Valley in the horse country, hence the label with a horse.  Note the horseshoe within the date completing the theme.  And to add more credibility to the brand, this wine is bottled and cellared in St. Helena, California.

Is your brand simple and memorable?

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Knowing What Your Stand For!

After lunch at one of our favorite places, the Blue Owl, in Santa Barbara, we noticed this sign once again in Nordstrom's windows and in the entry way to the store.  As we took the picture, several people applauded and said, "that is why we like shopping here.  We are not ready for the 'merry' stuff!"

We agree, one holiday at a time, let's celebrate and savor each moment!  Wishing you a delightful weekend.

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After lunch at one of our favorite places, the Blue Owl, we noticed this sign once again in Nordstroms' windows and in the entry way to the store.  As we took the picture, several people applauded and said, "that is why we like shopping here.  We are not ready for the 'merry' stuff!"  

We agree one holiday at a time, let's celebrate and savor each moment!  Wishing you a delightful weekend.

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- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4258327/marketing-luxury-real-estate-knowing-what-you-stand-for-#sthash.pOizZBgu.dpuf

After lunch at one of our favorite places, the Blue Owl, we noticed this sign once again in Nordstroms' windows and in the entry way to the store.  As we took the picture, several people applauded and said, "that is why we like shopping here.  We are not ready for the 'merry' stuff!"  

We agree one holiday at a time, let's celebrate and savor each moment!  Wishing you a delightful weekend.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4258327/marketing-luxury-real-estate-knowing-what-you-stand-for-#sthash.pOizZBgu.dpuf

After lunch at one of our favorite places, the Blue Owl, we noticed this sign once again in Nordstroms' windows and in the entry way to the store.  As we took the picture, several people applauded and said, "that is why we like shopping here.  We are not ready for the 'merry' stuff!"  

We agree one holiday at a time, let's celebrate and savor each moment!  Wishing you a delightful weekend.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4258327/marketing-luxury-real-estate-knowing-what-you-stand-for-#sthash.pOizZBgu.dpuf

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Concierge Service or Lip Service?

“Concierge Service” is a term that we advise luxury real estate marketing professionals against using when describing their own level of service because the term is so often misused. Unless you hire a highly trained professional concierge to offer authentic concierge services to our clients, you will just be offering lip service to those who know the difference. 

For example, Target, the massive discount chain is deploying beauty concierges” to sell cosmetics in 300 of their stores by year's end, according to Wall Street Journal.  Concierge service or lip service?

Nordstrom’s has a completely different approach.  They call their specially trained employees in their cosmetic department, “beauty consultants”. These experts are knowledgeable about each of the many cosmetic brands and can help at any counter. 

Perhaps, Nordstrom’s counterparts at Target are equally knowledgeable.  But, the label of concierge would be misleading to Nordstrom’s ideal customers, who most likely have experienced the genuine article. 

On our recent trip to Rome we were extremely impressed by the highly professional concierge service at our wonderful hotel. For instance, each of the staff’s restaurant recommendations was excellent and actually exceeded our expectations. 

The concierges actually dined at each of the restaurants personally either with their colleagues, friends or families.  They also based their recommendation on continuous feedback from guests.  When we returned to the hotel we made a point of offering our own glowing reviews. With this level of feedback, they certainly would know if the restaurants were sustaining their outstanding reputations or declining. 

Under some circumstances and with some clients t is great to provide extraordinary service above and beyond the call of duty, i.e., the real estate sales process and the transaction itself.  Just do not call it “concierge service” as a standard offering. It dilutes your stature as a luxury real estate marketing professional, who is advising your clients on perhaps their most expensive assets and investments. 

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Luxury Real Estate Websites: What You Need to Know About Google’s New Algorithms - Part 2

PART 2:  Gourmet Food for Thought vs.. Junk Food for Robots

 In Part 1 of this article series we discussed that Google’s new algorithm, Hummingbird, will be a game changer for many luxury real estate marketing professionals who have been building their online reputation through blogging. Content is still king. But, it is not necessarily the often-searched keywords that Google is trying to match with your keyword-laden content to bring traffic to your website.  

The user’s intent is now what Google is trying to decipher, which may not be expressed explicitly in keywords when they type in their search queries. Thus, QUALITY CONTENT, what we call “gourmet food for thought”, that truly satisfies the user’s query will reign supreme and dethrone content that was merely “junk food for Goggle robots”.  

To give you an idea of the significance of this change, look at what happened to Demand Media’s eHow, with its “content farm” business model. At eHow.com you can type in a ‘how-to” question and find multiple articles on just about any topic. To build its content library eHow was hiring freelance authors to churn out as many as 200,000 articles per month in order to capitalize on Google’s previous keyword-dominant algorithm. Today, Demand Media, which was valued at over $2 billion when they went public in 2011, has a market capitalization of below $500 million as their stock dropped 79% from its early peak. 

For luxury real estate marketing professionals the take-away lesson from eHow’ dependency on Google is this:  Take the time to examine your content “recipes”.  

If you want to be a market leader you must become a gourmet when it comes to content. Creating satisfying, quality editorial content, (including excellent photos and videos that help tell your story), this is what it takes to be newsworthy, buzz-worthy and follow-worthy. Original, quality content will serve you far better than producing junk food for robots.  But, the key is to have a unique “P.O.V” (Point of View).

If you have ever watched The Next Food Star on HGTV, which is the contest to find talent for fresh new TV content, you have seen the mentors on the show insist that the contestants have a unique point of view, an angle, or a handle.  For example, Rachel Ray’s POV is “the girl next door”. The 2013 winner, Damaris, offers Southern Style cooking lessons for men so they can attract or impress the girl of their dreams. 

We understand that it can be challenging to figure out what your unique selling proposition is, or what your extraordinary promise of value is. We help each of our clients overcome this conundrum in our personal and company branding practice.  Sharply articulating your POV is exactly what is required if you are going to offer unique editorial content and stand out from the crowd. You need to become a gourmet if you want to be an online thought leader and a luxury real estate market leader in your area. 

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Strategy: The 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year

Tesla Model S

PART 2: Tesla’s Innovative, Visionary Brand Strategy: 

If you are thinking of creating a new luxury real estate brand for yourself or your company, or if you are thinking of re-branding keep this in mind if market leadership is your quest:  THINK BIG! That is exactly what the founders and top executives did when they imagined Tesla Motors into existence.  

Since his college days, Tesla’s Chairman, Elon Musk, had the dream to commercialize electric vehicles. But, according to Musk, his BIG goal is “to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.”  

His visionary leadership is evidenced in the Tesla brand strategy: Start with a premium sports car aimed at early adopters, those who could afford the premium due to higher initial production costs, and then move as fast as possible into more mainstream vehicles, including sedans and affordable compacts.  This strategy has worked in Silicon Valley, but has not been attempted in the automotive industry. 

Mission critical to executing this strategy was creating an exclusive luxury electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster (depicted in Part 1) that was “designed to beat a gasoline sports car like a Porsche or Ferrari in a head to head showdown… and have twice the energy efficiency as the Prius.  When someone buys the Tesla Roadster sports car, they are actually helping pay for development of the low cost family car”, said Musk. 

The next step was the creation of the fully electric Model S (see photo above), which won The Motor Trend Car of the Year awardin 2013 and competes price-wise with similar gasoline luxury sedans such as Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Audi.  To market this magnificent sedan Tesla hired former Apple and Gap Executive George Blankenship as Vice President of Design and Store Development to build Tesla's retail strategy and network of retail locations worldwide.  Show-rooms in Los Angeles are in upscale shopping centers, where you can find Apple stores.

Then, they launched a network of Tesla Charging Stations in highly trafficked corridors. It takes only 30 minutes to recharge the battery at these stations.  But, if you are in a hurry, you can swap the entire battery in less than 2 minutes.  They call it "'The Fastest Charging station on  the Planet".The cost of electricity is a fraction of gasoline. And, the range per full charge is as much as 300 miles.

Launching a new luxury brand with the aim to achieve market leadership requires visionary thinking and strategizing; it requires that you THINK BIG! How can you think big in your own community? 

In Part 3 of this article series we will cover the launch of Tesla’s Model X. For us, this was the most exciting consumer product launch since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. By studying Tesla’s presentation of the Model X you can learn extremely important lessons when it comes to your own luxury real estate listing presentations.  (All photos, courtesy of Tesla)

PART 1   l   PART 2   l   PART 3

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Balancing High Tech and High Touch

Luxury real estate marketing professionals are faced with the double-edged sword: the dilemma of finding the balance between high tech and high touch.  In the long run, it is high touch that will win out.  Here is how high tech is currently winning the luxury real estate game and what you can do about it.

Recently we have noticed when searching for a particular property by address, that companies such as Zillow and Trulia are outranking the agents who have the listing. 

We have also noticed right behind Zillow and Trulia are the company brands, then the agents who are promoted by Zillow and Trulia.  The probability is that the listing agent ranks # 4 or #5 in the natural search order.  When searching using keywords for an area, similar results are likely to be found.  Zillow, Trulia and the company brands have more pages indexed by Google than an individual agent or small firm could possibly accumulate. This accounts for their priority ranking.

How can a luxury real estate marketing professional compete in this high tech environment?  Shift your emphasis from high tech to high touch!

Have a great online presence. Make sure you web site is up to date and shows off your listings.  Write a blog with a follow worthy point of view.  Make it so interesting, that people want to subscribe to it, because they know you have the inside scoop, and shows off your expertise.  

Develop a high touch system.   This is something that high tech cannot do.  Although we are all digitally dazzled and connected, realize that the big fundamental secret of caring for your sellers/buyers cannot be transmitted digitally. 

One of our clients is a mortgage broker team.  They attribute their success as the #1 team in their marketplace to their high touches system.  Their referral numbers are through the roof. 

Maintain high visibility in your community.  Our clients have adopted the local elementary schools in honor of their wives who are teachers.  They are always willing to lend a hand by either funding a project or coaching the little league and soccer.  The possibilities for community involvement are endless.

In the bigger picture, high touch will always beat out high tech.  Apple is a high tech company who understood the importance of high touch by caring for their customers unlike any other tech company.  They have just displaced Coca Cola as the #1 highest valued brand in the world. 

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Brand Names and Their Darn Good Stories

When thinking of branding yourself or your luxury real estate firm, one thing to keep in mind is that some of the best brands often have the best stories.

On a recent visit to the Carpinteria Wine Store, we discovered this wine, at a modest price of $14.99.  As brand strategists and students of brands, these thoughts popped into our minds:

Who produced this wine and why?  Herman Story Estate, Russell P Rom (owner of and grandson of Herman Story,)  decided that after "having one too many bottles of bad wine at friends' weddings, I had to come up with a solution to this insidious problem..."

What does it taste like, or what is the consensus of opinion of this wine in wine world? Here is a review from winediscount.center.com,

"90/100 - Our score.There is just no excuse for drinking bad wine, especially at a wedding! Damn Good Wedding Wine is silky and rich with flavors of black plum and blackberry along with a touch of black pepper spice and alluring oak on the finish. Like his Herman Story wines, production on this wine is tiny. Whether you are getting married or not, this wine is worth checking out!"

Where is it from?  Here is an explanation and a recommendation from Robert Parker, a leading US wine critic who wrote,  "Readers looking for super-concentrated, extroverted, exuberant, powerhouse wines from California's Central Coast need look no further than the Herman Story estate. For those who love the wild side of Rhone varietals pushed to the limit (but not over), these are highly recommended. Moreover, prices are  exceptionally fair for this level of quality."

The winery is located in Paso Robles and the fruit is sourced from various vineyards in the Central Coast.

The most memorable brands have the best stories, regardless whether they are luxury brands or any other brand.  And, we are not suggesting that someone brand themselves, as "Damn Good Luxury Real Estate Agent"!  LOL

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Let Freedom Reign!

“Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
-John Quincy Adams-

These are the words of our sixth US President (1825-1829).  And as we Americans celebrate the birth of our nation this 4th of July, it is well worth realizing our legacy that was brought about by those who fought for American Independence.

Ron and I wish everyone a delightful 4th of July celebration, and we encourage you to raise your glasses and toast the founders of our nation who paved the way to our freedom!  Let Freedom Reign!

Cheers, Ron & Alexandra Seigel

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Future of Digital Media Is Already Here - Part 1

Jewelry Images Courtesy of Bulgari

The Club eLuxe International Summit, recently held at the Meurice Hotel in Paris, on digital marketing for the luxury industry was a grand success! Most of the major luxury brands were represented at the event with participants from 11 countries.  What became abundantly clear to us as participants was the fact that luxury real estate marketing professionals face many of the same challenges as the top luxury goods companies when it comes to reaching high net worth consumers through digital media. It also became clear that the future of digital media is already here! 

Club eLuxe International Summit, Meurice Hotel, Paris, France

Competition for attention was identified as a key issue in marketing via digital media.  Not only do you need to capture attention, you need to hold the attention of your target market. One of the highlights of the event was a presentation by Joerg Zuber, managing creative director of OPIUM effect GmbH, who addressed this important issue. 

According to Mr. Zuber, “Digital lets you work pure alchemy”.  It allows you to “seduce with unconventional beauty”.  In his presentation he demonstrated this principle by showing us a sneak preview of his ANIMATED video of the Bulgari Serpenti necklace, pictured here.

Suddenly, the Serpenti necklace came alive and began undulating across the screen.  Converting the object to an identical animated version of itself enabled the creative team to go far beyond the constraints of mere realistic video. Music was timed perfectly to accentuate the writhing movements of this bejeweled serpent.

Then, the serpent weaved in and out between the letters of the B V L G A R I logo and our jaws dropped!

The palpable difference between the still photo, the traditional product video and Opium’s animated serpent was like showing someone, who had only seen black and white TV, a 3D movie. It was as if the product had a heart and soul that could connect with you on  a deep level making it, “even better than the real thing”, said Zuber. 

Realistic animation is one of the waves of the digital media future and most likely will be utilized to market luxury real estate.  When you think that the Bulgari necklace cost about $250,000 it stands to reason that multi-million dollar homes will soon require digital media marketing that goes far beyond still shots, slide shows and traditional video.

To stand out from your competition, you need to present your luxury properties in such a way that they not only capture attention, but also hold the consumer’s attention.  It is not how much you spend that counts.  It is how well you do it. 

Stay tuned for Part 2 about the Club eLuxe International Summit in Paris where we discuss another mind-boggling aspect of digital media that points the way to the future of luxury real estate marketing.

Reporting from Paris--Ron & Alexandra Seigel,Partners at Napa Consultants, International & Co-Founders of the Language of Luxury

A Belated Thank You to General von Choltitz: History Meets Digital in Paris

The Club e-Luxe conference in Paris was held at the historic Meurice Hotel.  During the Second World War, the German headquarters were housed in the Meurice Hotel.  It is in this hotel that General von Choltitz delayed Hitler’s order to destroy Paris.  The Germans had wired the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks with explosives to deter the Allied Forces.  General von Choltitz privately felt that Hitler was insane, and opted instead to surrender shortly after the Allies entered the city. 

Thanks to von Choltitz, Paris lives on in all its splendor intact for all of us and future generations to enjoy. Decades later, Ron and I are sitting in one of the loveliest meeting rooms at the Meurice Hotel, Salon Pompadour (note her portrait on the wall), among the top representatives of the world’s premier luxury brands discussing the importance of the latest innovations and strategies in digital media. 

This week we will be covering the highlights of this event as it applies to luxury real estate marketing and personal and company branding.  We were inspired, delighted, and honored to meet our counterparts in the industry.

Reporting from Paris--Ron & Alexandra Seigel,Partners at Napa Consultants, International & Co-Founders of the Language of Luxury

Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Is Your Brand Formal or Informal?

In luxury real estate personal and company branding, brand positioning is determining how best to amplify and clearly communicate the difference between you and your closest competitors. In general, your brand position is the summation, in a couple of words, of what you stand for in the minds of your target market. 

Owning the very opposite brand position of your competition is a very effective way to accomplish this.  In the realm of luxury marketing you are typically dealing with sophisticated consumers or those who are aspiring to become more sophisticated.  So, how do you find opposite brand positions within the spectrum of sophistication?  Here are two French brands that illustrate this extremely important principle of personal and company branding. 

Two heritage brands, Ladurée (founded in 1862) and Bigot (founded in 1913) are famous in France for chocolate and pastries.  The quality of their products is legendary.  Ladurée is predominantly located in Paris, while Bigot is located in Amboise, in the Loire Valley.  If you did a blind taste test you might discover some very subtle differences in the taste of the chocolate.  However, the quality is indisputable in each case. 

Personal preferences in the taste itself may be the deciding factor in choosing one brand over the other.  But, more likely than not the buying decision would come down to the brand position.  Ladurée is FORMAL and Bigot is INFORMAL.  

If you new that both brands would satisfy your sweet tooth, without tasting the actual chocolate, to which brand would you personally gravitate? Why?  

People like to do business with people and companies like themselves. They purchase products based on their personal values.  That is why branding is about facilitating a match in preferential values between purveyors of goods and their very specific target market. 

In the realm of real luxury real estate, the buyer must be in upper demographic to be able to afford a luxury home. Therefore, understanding the precise psychographics of your buyers and sellers, (their priority values and attitudes), is of paramount importance when it comes to branding you or your company.  Just be sure that your brand position authentically represents you and is not assumed just to be the opposite of your competition.  Your ideal clients will see right through that!

-Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Genie Branding

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to take every opportunity to promote your brand no matter how small it may be.  Here is an example we found in Paris.

Yesterday, after an amazing lunch at a Thai restaurant, we found an eclair store.  The store was small inviting, and every eclair was practically screaming, "Buy Me".  The loudest one was the chocolate eclair.  As we were happily munching our eclair, Ron noticed that one of the little chocolate bits on top of the chocolate ganache had branding on it. The Genie did it!

The store is called L'Eclair du Genie, which means the eclair of the genie, a supernatural creature who inspires the owner of the store, Christopher Adam, to create enchantment with an eclair.  Some of the eclairs are decorated to celebrate the seasons,and special days such as Bastille Day. It was so good, we just had to have another one.

-Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

Wishing everyone a delightful weekend, Cheers Ron & Alexandra Seigel

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