Branding Moment: Perfect Branding & Slogan!

It is always a delight for us to discover perfect branding with a perfect slogan.  Pictured above is an example of a place we frequent. This is definitely a place that the gardeners and landscapers in the area frequent.   

You have to know where it is because it is easy to miss as one drives along Milpas Avenue.   You enter via a driveway, and drive out the alley behind the store.

Since we had planned to move our dwarf Meyer lemon trees to bigger pots, we asked them if they could recommend soil that would enhance the life of our trees, (organic preferably).  Pictured above is the potting soil that they keep re-ordering to keep it in stock, because all the local pro gardeners and landscapers love it.

And service was impeccable.  We drove in yesterday and today for more soil, we popped our trunk open and they loaded our car.  Ron went in to pay with his phone.  Within minutes we were on our way home.

The brand and slogan are perfect.  A three word brand tells you who they are and what they do.  And the slogan attracts people like us who enjoy gardening and growing like pros!

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.

Branding Moment: Does This Brand Resonate with You ?

We spotted this delivery truck not long ago at the Santa Barbara harbor. The look was interesting and the message intriguing. “To the misfits, black sheep and skrewballs.”

The dictionary defines “screwball” as: “an eccentric, impulsively whimsical, or irrational person” which may explain the use of the letter “K” in its spelling.. Black sheep is defined as:: ”the outcast of the family because they choose to do other things than live up to their parents' standards”. Misfits “ refer to those who are unable to adjust to one's environment or circumstances or are considered to be awkwardly different from others.”.

Does this brand resonate with you?

Branding Moment: A Remarkable Brand Presentation via Zoom!

Being at the top of your game in the realm of marketing luxury products or services requires being consistently remarkable, especially with your presentation materials.  To stand out everything you present must communicate your core identity, be congruency and fully engage your your target market. Here is an example:

Pictured above is the invitation to a zoom meeting by Dom Pérignon’s Chef de Cave (Cellar Master and Head Winemaker). This package was sent just to Private Clients of Dom Pérignon who were invited to this exclusive tasting event. A bottle of 2010 Champagne was rated with 100 points by wine experts and two glasses were part of this box.. This included the instructions for the meeting.

Savvy Marketing: Creative, Eye Catching, & A Win-Win Solution!

Pictured above is the front side of an 8 1/2" by 11" postcard.  We received this card from the Rubicon Theatre Company who due to our present health crisis cannot resume live theatre.  We loved their creative solution.  The Ventura County Fairgrounds which also canceled their annual event has become the Rubicon Theatre's stage for plays, and musical performances.

Rubicon Goes Retro is their theme for their Summer Season.  What is meant by that is we the people, who are mandated to social distance can enjoy live theatre and concert series. From the safety of our cars, we can enjoy 75 minute concerts presented on an elevated stage.  Here is the exact excerpt from their website,

Think Drive-In Movie Meets Live Concert

Every couple of weeks, we’ll offer a 75-minute concert in the parking lot at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Drivers will park in every other space to ensure plenty of safe distance between cars. Concerts are presented on an elevated stage with a live video feed to large screens. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.; be sure to pack a picnic or pick up a meal from your favorite local restaurant. We start at 8:00 p.m. – around sunset – so you can enjoy the lighting effects and multimedia, and sound is broadcast through an FM frequency.

This is creative and eye catching marketing.  The Win-Win is the best part of the story.  The Ventura Fairgrounds will have an income for the summer, the audience will have live entertainment, where they can actually go somewhere (canoodle in the car), and the performers will be able to do what they love to do and earn money.

We salute the Rubicon Theatre Company for their creative solution.  As Albert Einstein said, "Creativity is contagious, pass it on!"  And we just did to all of you!

Branding Moment: Should You Use Your Name As Your Brand?

Coco Chanel 1928 

Should use your name as your personal brand in all branches of  real estate marketing?  The best test to determine this is to ask yourself, “Am Iready to achieve celebrity status in my marketplace?”  If you are prepared to have your name stand for a particular market niche that you can dominate, we say, “Go for it!”

Think of some of the most recognizable personal brands:  Seal, Sting, Cher, Oprah, Ellen, Coco.  What category of celebrity comes to mind for each? 

Chanel to this day remains as one of the most famous fashion design houses. Some of the original and iconic styles (shoes, purses, suit styles) that Coco created remain part of the line to this day in 2020.  Although there have been numerous knockoffs, they pale next to the original. She was the master of what she termed "expensive simplicity."  She wanted her clothes and her design to stand out with their impeccable standards.

The company founder, Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, was one of the most highly recognized personal brands in her time. In fact, she was the only person to be named in the field of fashion on the Time [Magazine] Top 100: The Most Important People of the [20th] Century.  

Clearly, Coco enjoyed top-of-mind status in the field of high fashion as a personal brand, a status that extends to the company brand as well, to this day.  Top-of-mind is the goal of any real estate marketing professional  aiming for market leadership and celebrity status. 

Are you ready for celebrity status in your luxury or any other real estate marketplace? If not, you might want to consider a different tact when approaching your personal branding, other than using your name as your brand.  

Branding Essence as Expressed in Three Portraits of a Rose!

I( A) was experimenting with the portrait function on my phone yesterday.  The phone has functions of lighting that one can experiment with.  Pictured above is what is called "high key mono"  It is quite dramatic'!

Here it is in "stage lighting"---another dramatic effect.

This is the original photo.  Three ways to perceive a rose.  One can change the name, the color, or the lighting.  What one cannot change is the true essence of it, as Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet.  And that is what a brand should represent--the true essence of the individual or the company.  

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a popular reference to William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is from her family's rival house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague". Wikipedia

Branding Moment: Senryaku 戦 略 a.k.a. Brand Strategy

As we were waiting in line for Arigato, our favorite Japanese restaurant, to open their doors, the gentleman in front of us asked if waiting in line for the doors to open a common sight for this restaurant.  He told us this is common in Japan at famous sushi places.   Three minutes after we were seated at the bar, he and his companion sat next to us.   

Conversation flowed, and when he heard what we do, he asked if we knew how the word "strategy" as drawn in Chinese characters meant 戦 略.  He explained: The first word drawing means "effort", The second means "without".  Strategy means working without effort.

Simply stated brand strategy is defining how you are planning to communicate with your market, now that you have defined your brand.  This means marketing your brand, so that you are known for what your specialty is whether it is in real estate or any other business.  Here is an example of a brand strategy we created for a home health care company to achieve their goal in building their brand.  

When we asked the co-owners, who is their ideal client, they kept talking about their patients, young and old who needed in-home care.  They described their patients, the young man with a broken leg, old people who needed home visits for grocery shopping,  and making sure they were faring well. They kept describing their services, and the excellent trained staff they have which were all bonded.  

Finally, they realized that it was the parents of young and grown children of the old who were contacting them...Those who made the call were their target market.  The parents of the young man who broke a leg in the football game called them to give their son home care, while they were at work. The son or daughter of the aging parents were the ones inquiring and home health care for their loved ones, while they also were at work, or needed time off.

The brand strategy made marketing easier. They knew who to target, and they realized that they were selling time/relief for those who needed it.  They were now working without effort.  That focus created their brand strategy and their income stream.  Within 5 years, they sold their company and retired.

In real estate speak, this is why we harp on finding a niche or several niches as a brand strategy.  Instead of trying to serve all who have real estate needs, why not pick one or several that you can excel at and be good at?

Just make sure, that you will enjoy it, as well as the people you serve...In our opinion having a brand strategy in place makes work fun/without effort--with a strategy in place to build your business.  Do you have a brand strategy that does not involve effort?

Branding Moment: Mixed Messaging!

The clearer your marketing message is, the easier it is for your intended customer to respond and give you call.  When the message is baffling, very few will take the time to figure your message out, unless they are related to you.

As we were heading down to Salt Lake City from Park City, (pictured above) is a van that was in front of us.  Both Ron and I were were trying to understand the message.  What was  the relationship between the Serenity Spa by Westgate, and the Edge Steakhouse?  Why were they represented on the same truck?

And like many who are baffled by mixed messages, we chose to ignore after we took a picture for a branding moment post, passed the truck, and turned our attention elsewhere!