Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Is Your Target Market on Social Media?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Art of Storytelling

March 12, 2012

Engaging buyers who are interested in purchasing properties in the upper tier of the market is really about showing them how they can live out their dreams in a given home in a particular marketplace. That is why some of the most successful luxury real estate marketing professionals are those who have learned the art of storytelling. They know how to romanticize their marketplace.

Human beings have been telling stories even before recorded history. The paintings on the walls of the Lascaux Caves in southwest France, as depicted above, are estimated to be over 17,300 years old. These cave dwellers were telling stories mainly about animals which were obviously a central part of their lives.

Storytelling comes naturally to some. For others, it is a skill that can be developed over time. As authors of the Language of Luxury we strive to continuously sharpen our storytelling skills as we build our audience. We also understand that every great brand tells a great story that is compelling to its customers or clients. And, we help our clients to develop their own distinct brand story.

Recently, we heard a presentation by one of the Academy Award winning storytellers at Pixar, Andrew Stanton, who wrote Toy Story, WALL-E and John Carter, which was just released by Disney. We wanted to share some of his points with you in this article:

Keep your promise that your story will lead somewhere that is worth the investment of time by your audience.
Your audience wants to work for its “meal”. We are all born problem solvers. We enjoy using our deductive or inductive logic. We like to think. Do not give all the answers. Let your audience solve the problems.
A strong theme always runs through a well-told story. Get clear about what your theme is.
A great story is uplifting in some way.
Does your story evoke wonder? Does it confirm that life is worth living?

What are some ways that you can become a better storyteller as a luxury real estate marketing professional? One way you might consider becoming a great storyteller is by practicing the art of storytelling in each of your blog posts. How can you romanticize your marketplace in each of your posts?

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Luxetera,etc.: Santa Barbara is Springing Up with Promises of Summer

March 10, 2012

Besides flowers at the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market this morning, we had the Healing Grounds Nursery visions of summer. Healing Grounds nursery is a certified organic nursery and was started in 2004 by Oscar Harmona.

Healing Grounds Horticultural Therapy is part of the Transitions Mental Health Program serving clients through the Santa Barbara County Mental Health Services. Healing Grounds Nursery was developed as a way to provide work training and income to adult clients with mental illness.

There were racks of tomato varieties to start planting in our gardens, as well as herbs and zucchinis. We were tempted, however, we did not need another to do this weekend. Perhaps, we will buy some for next weekend's projects.

Happy Saturday, Cheers, Ron & Alexandra

Personal & Company Branding: Regaining, Obtaining and Retaining Trust

March 9, 2012

Developing a personal or company brand for luxury real estate marketing professionals involves the same branding process that is required by any major corporation. The fundamentals are the same whether you are targeting the upper demographic or Middle America, whether you offer a product or a service, locally, regionally or globally. The primary goal of branding or rebranding is regaining, obtaining and retaining trust.

Here is an overview of the branding process:

Take the time to understand the most pressing needs of your customers or clients in the context of your capacity to fill that need.
Tune in to your own “DNA” and determine precisely what your unique promise of value is or can be in that context.
Distill that promise of value into a compelling marketing message that can be expressed in just a few words.
Craft a symbol (logo/brand identity) that further accelerates the speed of communication of that promise of value and also the speed of trust
Align all of your marketing efforts (from the first contact with your client to the follow up after the sale) in such a way that you consistently communicate this singular message

Did you happen to see the very funny JC Penny re-branding commercials with Ellen Degeneres? In a matter of 180 seconds (three 60 second commercials during the Academy Awards) the commercials began to positively turn around the perception of this 100+ year old company and give it new life. Behind this transformation is CEO Ron Johnson, who first worked with Target to pioneer the retailer’s “cheap chic” image. But, more recently Mr. Johnson was the creative genius behind Apple’s retail stores where he spent a decade changing the way Americans shops for electronic gadgets.

In these brilliant commercials Johnson drives home the singular message that Penny’s is fun, that they have cut out heavy discounting and now provide services not just products. Ellen perfectly conveys the company’s values with great warmth and her down-to-earth attitude. The message that she conveys through the commercial is their new focus: “Be in sync with the rhythm of our customer’s lives and operate in a ‘Fair and Square’ manner that is rooted in integrity, simplicity and respect”.

JC Penny’s announced that part of its strategy is getting rid of hundreds of sales it had each year and is now focused on everyday pricing. It will offer discounts on a group of different items each month and have clearance sales on the first and third Friday of the month when many of its customers are paid. They plan on creating an open area in the center of its stores called ‘Town Square’, similar to Apple’s Genius Bars, that will offer services yet to be announced.

JC Penny’s ‘Fair & Square’ message, intended to regain the trust of its customers and win new ones, comes across loud and clear in the commercials and is also reflected in its new square logo. The sheer brevity of the messages delivered by America’s favorite talk show host, with humor, demonstrates all of the fundamentals of great branding or rebranding. Here are the messages from the commercials:

No coupons, just great prices
Return any item, any time
No games just great prices
No door-buster sales, just great prices all the time

Notice that the new logo is in red, white and blue, the colors that resonate most with Middle America—JC Penny’s target market. There is an entire psychology of color involved in the branding process. It is one more component that needs to be aligned when the intent is to accelerate the speed of trust.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, is it time for you to brand or rebrand yourself, your team or your company? You target market may not be the same demographic as JC Penny’s but the aim and the process is the same. Regaining, obtaining and consistently retaining trust is the name of the branding game. That is how customer/client loyaly is created over time.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Do You Know What Your Time Is Worth?

March 5, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to constantly improve the way you run your business. Inefficiency in any business is equal to amount of time wasted. In financial terms this is known as return on investment or ROI. First, you have to establish what your hour is worth. Then, keep a diary of all the things you do in a day and note the time you are spending on doing these items. What is your return on the time you spent doing that cycle of action? Could some of these items be delegated to someone else whose hourly rate is considerably less than yours?

Which items produce actual income? Those are the cycles of action that lead to a listing/sale. One of our clients has trained her assistant to shoo her out of the door on a daily basis. They both know that when she steps out the door to get a cup of coffee or have lunch, she will invariably run into someone who has a listing or a referral or a clue as to what may be for sale, or who is in the market. The longer she is out of the office, the more listings she gets.

Recently, we spoke to another one of our clients who plays golf regularly. This 4-5 hour activity (three times a week) has landed him several sales and listings in a month. Another is an exceptional tennis player, and he plays at the club in his marketplace and in all the local tournaments. This enjoyable activity leads to sales and listings.

Busy work and all the other minutiae that need to be done should be executed by someone who is good at it, and you should do what you are good at, which is bringing in the business. Delegating can be the springboard to increasing your business as well as increasing your discretionary time for yourself and your family. Do we practice what we preach? Absolutely, we have a virtual assistant and a local one. We have found that we are happily getting a great ROI on the time we spend working. Do you know what your time is worth?

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Achieving Authenticity in Your Brand Signal

March 1, 2012

Photo Courtesy of Featureflash

Luxury real estate marketing professionals who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership should constantly be on the lookout for people and companies in other fields who achieve top-of-mind status in their product or service category. It is a way to stay inspired rather than get complacent or spend too much time focused on your competition.

The British recording artist and songwriter, Adele, is a shining example of achieving top-of-mind status in the recording industry while staying authentic. This week Adele became the first solo female artist to have three singles in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, and the first female artist to have two albums in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.

Adele won awards in all six of the categories in which it was nominated at the Grammy Awards in 2012. Previously, Beyoncé Knowles was the only artist to won six awards in a single night. Adele has also broken the record for the longest number one album on the charts by a woman in Billboard history. She beat Whitney Houston's record for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard.

What is most remarkable about Adele is that she needs no quirky costumes or costume changes for that matter; she needs no gimmicks, or special effects or grand production numbers with dancers to sell-out her concert performances internationally. She does not use her sexuality to beguile her audience. Her voice, her lyrics and the arrangement of her songs are pure. She strikes a raw emotional chord while demonstrating extraordinary artistic expression. This chord reverberates and resonates, like an undeniable truth inside the souls of millions of fans who confirm that she has a fresh, distinct talent that they have not experienced before.

Adele has become a “one-woman-brand”, a brand that stands for authenticity. She does not hide behind her music. She does not have one persona on-stage and another off-stage. She is genuine and her audience knows it.

Now that Adele has declared this brand signal and the media has broadcasted it to all ends of the globe, her biggest challenge is to consistently stay true to her authentic signal. Sustaining market leadership can be even more challenging than achieving it in the first place. That is why it is so important to constantly watch for evidence of excellence in market leadership: to stay inspired and not get complacent.

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50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Sun Valley, Idaho

February 25, 2012

Author Ernest Hemingway completed For Whom the Bell Tolls while staying in suite 206 of the Sun Valley Lodge in the fall of 1939. Olympic medalists including Gretchen Fraser, Christin Cooper, Picabo Street, and Muffy Davis have all called Sun Valley their home. Today, Sun Valley, known for its extensive cross country ski trails, is a serious contender to become the Official Olympic Nordic Training Site. It is also considered by many to be a top winter resort, a summer getaway, and simply a wholesome place to raise a family.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Does Your Website Have a Privacy Policy?

February 24, 2012

The Privacy issue continues to be a hot topic and one that has brought the warring factions of the Congress together. Just yesterday, web firms have agreed to install a "Do Not Track button",and today's headline in the Wall Street Journal is "Tech Giants agree to Deal on Privacy Policies for Apps."

Some states such as California require that websites have a privacy policy. Luxury real estate buyers are usually privacy minded and guarded, when it comes to divulging personal information. We have included a privacy policy in our websites and the websites whose designs we oversee. They are written in plain English and not Legalese and are easy to understand. We find that our web visitors do read that page.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional having a Privacy Policy engenders trust between you and your website visitors. If you don't have one, stay ahead of the curve and add it to your website. If you do, make sure you don't need to hire an attorney to understand it.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Pruning to Insure Your Success

February 22, 2012

What are the sweet spots in your business? What are the most fruitful aspects of your luxury real estate marketing practice? What is working to produce results consistently? These are the questions that can get you focused on what works and know what needs to be discarded or pruned from your winning formula.

Once you are aware of the fruit bearing sources of your business, it is important to strengthen these sources. A business can be likened to growing a fruit tree. You need to prune and feed a tree in order to produce a healthy and bountiful crop. The main reasons for pruning a tree are increased productivity, health and aesthetics.

It is crucial to your success to prune all those unusual solutions and business practices that that has not borne fruit—the time wasters. Think of your luxury real estate practice as a money tree. You need to eliminate all crossed branches that are at cross purposes to your success.

Pruning may be a horticultural practice, but it truly does apply to marketing luxury real estate. Are some of your clients draining your energy and your resources by distracting you from those activities that bring you the best results? It may be time to prune some of those toxic clients. If you are a broker, is it time to prune the dead wood in your office, the non-producing agents on your team? These questions may sound harsh, but it is the health of your business and your own health that is at stake here.

Without pruning you cannot see the orchard through the trees! Pruning lets in the light and allows for better air circulation which prevents disease as well. Your luxury real estate marketing practice should be a thing of beauty. It should be healthy and it should be bountiful. Let in the light!

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Focus is Your Crystal Ball

February 20, 2012

As a Luxury real estate marketing professional, have you taken the time to focus upon the source of your bona fide leads, i.e., those leads that have actually converted to sales or listings? What percentage of your overall sales volume comes from knocking on doors (cold calling), referrals, open houses, website leads, sign calls, your blog, networking (online or offline) or from some other source? By focusing in this manner you can strengthen what is working, and also spend less time and resources on those things that do not produce strong results. Focusing can empower you to predict the future of your business. Focus is your crystal ball.

Focusing can also lead to discovering new ways to attract more business by finding alternative approaches that can yield more desirable results. By staying focused you have access to more solutions. Your focus actually attracts answers that may be right under your nose. Being focused prompts you to ask better questions because you know more clearly what it is that you need to know. The need to know literally draws out answers from your environment and from people who have the answers or know where to find them.

Sometimes it seems that the answers to your most pressing questions are eluding you. But, once you get clear on what you need to know, the answers are sure to come your way. That is, unless you spend your time doubting yourself or the power of focus. If you get frustrated because your answers are not showing up as fast as you want them to you might want to consider just chilling out for awhile. It takes a mental state of relaxed focus and openness for the best answers to show up in your crystal ball.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Food for Thought: Is Free Really Free?

February 16, 2012

A few years ago we discovered a company that gathers information about wealthy people and sells it to product and service providers and also charities who target high net worth individuals. Our interest was to see if there was a beneficial application for luxury real estate marketing professionals.

The information they gathered about the wealthy is all public information. However, what is unique about their service is what they do with the information. They correlate the data using proprietary algorithms and are able to develop profiles on high net worth individuals (approximate net worth, likelihood to invest, donate, buy a second home or refinance, etc.) that would not be obvious if you just looked at the information piece-meal. It is this sophisticated level of correlation that offers vendors and service providers added value when they pay for the service.

This value proposition disturbed us because we felt that it was an infringement of privacy, even though all of the information was public. So, we discontinued our investigation into the company.

Fast forward to Google’s announcement that they are about to correlate the personal information that they glean across the multiplicity of their platforms, i.e., Google +, You Tube, Gmail, its search engine, etc.. Given that the majority of Google’s revenue is derived from advertising, their intent is to deliver extraordinary value to advertisers, a value that is superior to that of their closest competitors.

What they are saying to consumers is this correlation of personal information will provide a better user experience. After all, when you subscribe to Netflix, and rate movies in their system, they are able to make video recommendations based on your personal preferences. You may like the user experience on Amazon when they tell you people who purchased the same book you just bought “also liked” another book. This gives them a way to “up-sale” you (increase the amount of the current transaction). But, you may consider that there is value in getting suggestions. This then, becomes a value (theirs) for value (yours) exchange. There is no pretense of “free”.

But, is this the same type of correlation of information that Google is now about to do? Google is not just correlating information based on products you have purchased or videos you either purchased or expressly told the system that you like. It is also factoring in many, many more layers and dimensions of your personal preferences and personal information. On top of all that it is factoring in your age and your current geographic location (based on your mobile devices), for example, so that it can send you ads that are relevant to local vendors and service providers.

Are you comfortable with this? You are giving your permission to all of this correlation of your personal information because you have opted-in by default when you sign in to you your Google account. You do have the option to opt-out, but the onus is on you to take the action to do so, every step of the way which may represent an inconvenience to you. You are given access to some wonderful applications, media, and tools for free. But is free really free?

Apart from any direct benefit to you, your preferences, buying patterns, web-surfing sequences, etc. is valuable information to Google because it helps them understand and predict others who have similar consuming profiles that you have. This is yet another layer of correlation that factors into the ads that are selected to be displayed to you, ads that Google is being paid for not you.

Before subscription TV, which is brought to you via cable or satellite, TV was free. But, was it really free. You paid for this with your time and attention as you also watched advertisements. But, the networks did not collect information about your TV watching habits. Through market research performed by companies such as Nielson, the networks were able to determine how many viewers were watching which shows. The more viewers the more money they could command for their ads.

Today, you pay for cable or satellite service and you pay for the advertising with your attention unless you mute the commercials or fast-forward through them if you have recorded the program. You have a choice to pay attention to ads or not. But, your cable or satellite provider does not know what programs you watch or record. They have no idea who in your family is watching the programs that are viewed on your TV.

The cable and satellite companies may be able profile your household based on correlating your geographic location, the number of TVs you have connected to their service, the type of bundled entertainment packages to which you subscribe. But, this is minor league compared to the mega-media of Google and Facebook.

Facebook is another “free” media that derives the majority of its revenues from advertising based on the correlation of your personal information. With an IPO about to be launched thousands of enthusiastic fans and would-be investors are going to sanction this type of media advertising. A tidal wave of agreement is going to validate this model.

Unlike the company that gathers and correlates public information about high net worth individuals, the information that Google and Facebook gather and correlate about you is your private information. The specificity of information about you is unprecedented.

We are not trying to buck this current, just question it. Nor, are we here to pass judgment on Google or Facebook or their users. These are extremely valuable services. We are simply here to dispel the notion that you get Google and Facebook for free and also to propose an alternative idea.

What if you had the choice, like you do with your TV, to pay a subscription fee for the use of Facebook and/or Google services, even Google search, and not receive any ads whatsoever, with the understanding that they cannot use or correlate your personal information? We would appreciate your opinion. Would you pay (value for value) for such a subscription? We would!

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Is Power Schmoozing for YOU?

February 14, 2012

Have you ever wondered how it is possible that certain luxury real estate marketing professionals can earn a massive income with just a basic website that is not well optimized to appease the Google Gods and logging into Facebook only occasionally, if at all? Marketing luxury real estate is more of a people business than a technology business. And, these agents get that point loud and clear. They excel at the art of the in-person Power Schmoozing, the ultimate social networking skill, in our opinion.

With all of the hoopla over social networking and internet marketing too many very capable luxury real estate marketing professionals have gotten distracted, lost their perspective and have lost sight of their priorities. Online schmoozing and blogging, when done right, can be effective. But, how much time does it take in your day? How much time is the right amount of time for YOU? This is something that you must ask yourself, personally.

In luxury real estate marketing, mega-incomes do not just happen. You need to consistently expand your sphere of influence if you want to expand your referral base. There is no getting around this. However, If you are more shy than gregarious online schmoozing and blogging may fit your personality better than a round of golf with highly connected friends.

Recently, the WSJ reported that the game of golf is losing 1,00,000 player each year. They referred to “time-squeezed, electronically-addicted” business people who think four hours or more is too much time away from the pulse of their business. But, how much time are you spending online? It may be worth your time to measure the effectiveness, in terms of referrals, between online schmoozing and blogging and in- person power schmoozing. Then, set your priorities accordingly. You may be surprised with the results.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: When Your Name Becomes a Brand

February 12, 2012

Achieving celebrity status within your marketplace as a luxury real estate marketing professional can elevate you to “top-of-mind”. At this point you become both well-known and well thought of locally by your target market and potential referral sources. Only then, when your name itself becomes very well-known, is it worthwhile to use your name as your brand and also as your website address.

The sudden death of Whitney Houston, one of the great voices of her generation, amplifies this phenomenon. Just the mention of her first name associated with the recording industry sparks immediate recognition of the performer. Rihanna has recently achieved this status. So, has Adele.

Recently, famed Italian chef, author, restaurateur, and regular contributor to PBS cooking shows such as Lidia’s Italy, Lidia Bastianich, launched a product line. This line includes pastas, sauces, and more. Every item is known as Lidia’s. Accompanying the picture and simple logo is her Italian slogan, “Tutti a Tavola, A Mangiare!”. This means, “come all to the table to eat!” She ends each of her shows with these words.

If you have not reached this level as local celebrity think again about using your name as your brand, and your website address. Think of it from the standpoint of a website visitor who knows no agent in your marketplace, let alone which name is the true market leader. You would be much better served branding your practice and your website address as a resource, an authority on the lifestyle in your area. But, if you have established a name for yourself as the leading authority in your area or a niche therein, stick with your name as your brand.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Trends: Eco Friendly Packaging in 2012

February 9, 2012

One of the important trends to take note is that many companies are considering alternative methods of packaging their products. For instance, the photo above shows eco Vino, a chardonnay from Mendocino County. The eco-friendly package (recyclable) contains the equivalent of 2 wine bottles. I asked my friend Walt (the wine expert at our local Trader Joe’s) if the wine was good. He said absolutely and added that this packaging was perfect for picnics, outdoor concerts (no glass is allowed).

Here is their mission statement as stated on their website.

“At ecoVINO, we proudly source responsible vineyards that practice organics, bio-dynamics and sustainability to bring you the purest, cleanest, highest quality wine available. We focus on varietals that pair effortlessly with your favorite foods while maintaining functionality at the family picnic to the biggest dinner parties. Lastly, the result is beautiful, friendly wines that are as easy on the palate as they are on the planet.”

Other luxury vendors are rethinking their packaging. A few years back gourmet biscotti and other cookies were packaged in beautifully decorated reusable tins. This trend is coming back, because the vendors are realizing that the luxury buyer is more than ever conscious of considering the environment.

Whether you are a luxury real estate marketing professional or not, why not have your listing presentation printed on beautiful recycled paper? It will definitely show where your values are.

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50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

February 6, 2012

Pristine and serene are words that best describe one of the most beautiful lakes in America. Yet, Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho is just one of 13 magnificent lakes in a mountainous region that includes the towns of Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Hayden Lake. With 5 ski resorts within a short drive of these towns, the area is steadily gaining a reputation for quality of life that is unsurpassed, especially if you enjoy a full range of winter and summer recreational sports. Located just 30 minutes from Spokane International Airport, the Coeur d’Alene area is not just a destination for vacationers it is a great place to retire or simply call home.

Luxury Real Estate Website Design: 7 Components of an “Authoritative” Website

February 6, 2012

So much attention has been paid to get website visitors to find you, but what is going to keep them on your site and keep them coming back so you can capture their leads? In marketing luxury real estate online your website should give the visitor a strong level of confidence that you are the expert, the authority in your field. Visitors should feel like they do not need to look any further once they have discovered your site because they have found the most authoritative website in your marketplace or the niche in which you focus.

"Authoritativeness” is also one of the criteria used by Google in the page ranking system. They simply want to match the user with the expert who can best answer the user’s query. The more the user is satisfied with the answers the more often they will come back to Google for search, and that means more eyeballs for the ads they sell.

Here are 7 components that comprise a successful authoritative website:

An interactive “brochure” about you or your company that gives an immediate positive first impression. Your portfolio of sold homes, especially if it is extensive, can quickly establish your authoritativeness.
A strong marketing message in words and graphics that instantly sets you apart from your competition and demonstrates that you are the expert
A user- friendly self-service environment that is easy to navigate
A window to the lifestyle of your marketplace
Original content, content that no one else has
Content beyond just real estate information that offers compelling reasons to keep coming back to your site, especially for local visitors, those who are not currently in the market to buy or sell. These are your potential referral sources beyond just your immediate sphere of influence
Remarkable content that sparks word-of-mouth advertising and builds an audience of raving fans.

If market leadership is your quest, building the most authoritative website in your marketplace or niche therein is of paramount importance. But, website visitors are becoming savvier. If you do not instantly differentiate yourself or your company from your competition and offer original content that is engaging your chances of capturing the all important lead is reduced significantly.

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Luxury Real Estate Web Design: Information Overload?

February 3, 2012

You may have heard the phrase, “sticky website” bandied about. It has to do with the time a website visitor says on your website during a given visit. The stickier the site the more time they spend there and the more chance you have for capturing their lead which is important if you want to gain or sustain market leadership as a luxury real estate marketing professional. But, is there point where providing too much information is detrimental to your succcess?

Content rich websites are sticky to the extent they offer compelling information. But, how much information should you provide? It is possible to overwhelm your visitor with too much content. The key is to find the best balance for your target market. Compelling information is important, but compelling them to reach for more by contacting you is even more important.

Get the idea of feeling satiated after a good meal at a fine restaurant. Any more food beyond that point is an overdose. Now, get the idea of how you felt when the waiter brought you the dessert menu and offered you a choice of coffee or an after dinner drink. You were not satiated, yet. The meal was awesome up to that point and you wanted just a bit more. That is the point you want to achieve in terms of the amount of information on your website.

If you are a Monty Python fan you may have seen the film, “The Meaning of Life”. There is a scene in a French restaurant with an enormous man, Mr. Creosote, who is a glutton. The waiter offers him “one more petit four” and he literally explodes.

Think of Mr. Creosote, when it comes to de-cluttering your website and finding just the right balance of information that keeps your visitors hungry for more. That is an important factor to consider for a luxury real estate website, if you want to capture more leads.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Say “Audi-os” to Vampires

January 31, 2012

Photo by Garytnt

One of the best ways to understand branding is by watching the Superbowl. The Superbowl reaches over 90 million viewers. In this venue, the advertisers’ intent is to generate “buzz”, and to firmly establish the brand position of their product or service in the mind of their target market. As luxury real estate marketing consultants and brand strategists, we pay close attention to how luxury purveyors are differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Luxury car makers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and now Audi are competing for the eyeballs of high net worth consumers during the time-outs of the most watched football events of the year. In 2011, Audi clearly wanted to continue establishing itself as the “new” luxury car. Its message was, “escape the confines of luxury.” It showed wealthy people imprisoned (prison with gold bars) by their old standards of a chauffeur driven Mercedes and listening to Kenny G. This commercial translated into measurable post game sales.

This year Audi has turned to vampires. In its new commercial, a vampire driving his Audi S7 on his way to join his vampire friends drinking blood cocktails in the woods around a bonfire. As he approaches the grounds, he eliminates all his buddies because of the powerful LED headlights. These lights are, according to Audi, the closest to daylight.

Here is what Andrew Lipman, communications manager of Audi had to say about this commercial, “Audi’s upcoming spot puts Audi signature LEDs up against the focal point of today’s most ubiquitous pop culture craze: vampires. As the most-viewed television program of the year, the Super Bowl is one of the best platforms to showcase a brand’s creativity and voice. The S7 is the epitome of luxury.”

As viewed by Ron Schott, senior strategist at Spring Creek Group, Seattle. “I think this latest campaign is definitely a way for Audi to actually get a little closer with the average consumer during Super Bowl time, I really don’t think it portrays Audi as luxurious .”

This commercial is humorous and entertaining. However, it does not communicate with the luxury consumer, whose interest in vampires is minimal and who is definitely not the average consumer. Will the luxury buyer buy the epitome of luxury to kill vampires?

This is a clear case of competing on features rather than differentiating from the competition. Mercedes already has LED lights around its headlights. LED lights are not a unique feature, and installing enough of them to mimic daylight is not a differentiator.

As luxury real estate marketing professionals it is important not to lose focus. Stay the course of your brand position by keeping within your niche and by competing on your fundamental difference (not features) in the marketplace.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal and Company Branding: Is Your Slogan on Point?

January 30, 2012

As a luxury real estate marketing professional you can distinguish yourself from the competition with a great slogan. The slogan is effective when you can distill in a few words the essence of your brand. How are you distinct from your competition?

In the highly competitive world of auto insurance, there are many slogans. One company is expressing its unique promise of value using this slogan: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” Here is Mercury Auto Insurance’s slogan: “It takes more than a good neighbor to save you money!”

State Farm is promising neighborly personal service when you have a claim. That is nice. Isn’t that what is expected from any insurance company? Mercury Auto Insurance is saying that they are not just a good neighbor, they also save you money. Being a good neighbor is important, but isn’t it more important to save you money?

In the smaller competitive world of Farmers’ Markets in Central and Southern California, one of the growers has this slogan, “No baloney just vegetables”. In a venue full of organic vegetables, fruit, etc, this has no validity except for expressing a sense of humor.

A slogan has to be so compelling that in an instant it can communicate its value. In women’s shoes Donald Pliner has a slogan which distinguishes his brand from other shoes made in Italy: “Made in the Mountains of Italy”, which evokes an instant emotional response: the notion of craftsmanship and attention to detail in a small town rather than in an industrial city such as Milan.

What is great about all the slogans mentioned here is the brevity of their communication. The key is getting the entire value proposition condensed into just a few words. That is the art of slogan writing which is what we strive in our strategic branding practice.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Saying Yes to Business and No to Busyness

January 26, 2012

"A 'no' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." Mahatma Gandhi.

We keep hearing from the majority of luxury real estate marketing professionals that they don’t have time! And given the condition of the market, they feel they need to do more. Life is out of control. They don’t have time to work on their business (meaning focus on promoting new business) they are so busy working in their business. Many take calls while eating lunch or dinner and are going to bed with their cell phones on their night stand ready to answer regardless of the time the phone rings.

In a recent Harvard Business Review Blog, Tony Schwartz points out that we don’t take time to prioritize our lives, and have a tendency to say “yes” to requests and not mean it. “Think of it as a madness loop — a vicious cycle. We react to what's in front of us, whether it truly matters or not. More than ever, we're prisoners of the urgent…Truth be told, there's also an adrenaline rush in saying yes. Many of us have become addicted, unwittingly, to the speed of our lives — the adrenalin high of constant busyness. We mistake activity for productivity, more for better, and we ask ourselves "What's next?" far more often than we do "Why this?"

Prioritizing our day’s work and our lives takes time. In the face of all the things we have said yes to, we don’t have time to do that. Every to do becomes “urgent”. Recently, we were contacted by a firm who wanted to set aside a day for time out and have a mini retreat to reflect on their leadership and create a fresh marketing plan for the new year. They had to postpone this as every one of their clients wanted something that was deemed urgent, and they could not take a day off to reflect, nor could they see time available in their first quarter.

Even though they are fully cognizant that their pipeline needs to be filled, they feel trapped by all the “yeses” they have committed to. The other aspect of this is that they cannot see the opportunities that are in front of them, and are apt to easily dismiss the very things that would assure their success. They are out of focus! This firm does have time to follow up on referrals or take on new business, which is absurd because it is the antithesis of their revenue goals.

Getting off the yes wagon begins with setting aside time to reflect on the scope of work for the day. Prioritize on a daily basis. The result will be getting more done in less time, and having time to enjoy your lives. Say “yes” to business and “no” more often to busyness.

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