Picture your average new homes sales office. A potential homebuyer strolls in, squints at static displays, chooses a design he likes, then walks over to the site plan table, where he again has to locate the homesite.

A cumbersome process if I ever saw one. Worse still, it hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years, despite the technology being there to improve it.

Other industries have woken up. Inspired by Apple, companies like Audi, Nike and Burberry lure store traffic with technology designed to make their experience easier and more pleasant — magical even.

I love this statement by Paul Roth, president of retail at AT&T, as quoted by Adweek: “It’s all about creating interactions rather than just transactions.”

It’s in this spirit that AT&T’s Chicago flagship store boasts an 18-foot video wall equipped with motion-sensory software on which kids can play games. And raindrops patter on a digital rooftop while wind chimes produce something called cyber inharmonic spectra.

I for one strongly believe the new home industry would be wise to join the revolution quietly taking place in the retail world.

That’s why BAM used touchscreens rather than static displays at Empire Communities’ Victory. And why we’re kicking things up a notch with Empire’s Lakeside community, which is opening soon.

In the Lakeside Showroom (doesn’t that sound better than “sales office”?) homebuyers will be able to browse home designs on touchscreens, much like they did at Victory.

More than that, they’ll be able to choose a specific homesite and watch it light up on the site plan (which is also digital).

It’s not just innovative and cool — it’s also helpful for the consumer. And it elevates the client to a status above and beyond every other low-rise builder in the province. Maybe even the country.

The digital revolution is evolving so fast it’s permeating offline territory. Those who ignore it do so at their peril.

I may have been in this business for the better part of my life, but each new community we market at BAM still sends tingles up my spine.

Empire Communities’ Imagine is a particularly exciting project — and not just because we’re marketing it.

It starts with the location: Niagara, perhaps not the first place to spring to the mind of many a homebuyer. Yet Niagara offers gorgeous trails, luscious greenery, vineyards within easy reach, and some of Ontario’s best artistic and cultural attractions, all in a very walkable area. What’s not to like?

Second, Imagine will offer homes for everyone. Whoever you are, whatever you’re looking for — whether you just got divorced or your kids moved out or you’re a newlywed — chances are you’ll find your dream home at Imagine.

For these reasons, I look forward to the Imagine community opening soon, to another happy client, and to many more happy families moving into their dream home.

Curious about Imagine? Click this link to check it out.

Here’s why.

As I’ve written before, many of today’s consumers have a pent-up craving for fresh new interiors and exterior living. They may not want to live in a condo, but they do appreciate the sleek condo approach — even if they’re moving to a low-rise community in the outskirts of the GTA.

Take our client Highmark Homes, whose community Triumph is opening soon in Whitby. For the first time ever in the region, homebuyers will get a chance to buy a home that combines cutting-edge finishes and contemporary exteriors — all without having to move to expensive Toronto.

What’s more, Triumph features Vanier Park, a 3-acre park billed as the spot for “the young and the young at heart.” We could’ve offered the usual gazebos and trails and so on — and we did. But we also kicked it up a notch and offered a splash pad and a zip line.

And that’s what today’s homebuyer wants — better, newer, more modern, and different — all for as low a price as they can get.

Challenging? Yes. Exciting? Hell yes.

It’s that time of the year again. And like every year, we’re proud to take part in the BILD Awards ceremony.

This year has been even better than previous ones, thanks not only to the CHBA Marketing Excellence Award, but also to our clients’ ten BILD Award nominations. What’s more, our client Empire Communities is nominated, for the first time ever, for BILD Builder of the Year. (Empire also won two HHHBA Awards last night.)

Dressed to the nines and ready to have a good time, in just a few hours, the BAM team will join almost everyone in the industry to celebrate the 33^rd Annual BILD Awards.

Of course, whether we win Project of the Year for Empire Communities’ Victory and/or the Social Media Campaign Award, we must say it’s winning our clients’ confidence that ultimately drives us —far more than awards.

With that in mind, I want to express our thanks to our clients. It’s been a joyful, successful ride, one that will hopefully last for years to come.

Good luck to all who are nominated!

Single women account for one-third of all new sales at popular condo builder Tridel.

When I began working in the industry, most homebuyers were married and with kids. Over the last few years, however, an increasing amount of singles have been snatching up homes across Canada.

Indeed, only one year ago Stats Canada reported more one-person households than couple households with children for the first time ever, according to a recent Ontario Home Builder magazine article.

The reasons for this are threefold: first, as baby boomers age, many find themselves living alone; second, young people are marrying later; and third, many divorcees are in no hurry to tie the knot again.

Obviously, these new homebuyers are attracted to a different type of home. For one thing, space isn’t as important to them. Instead, they focus on amenities and features and finishes. Practicality matters too — as the OHBA article states, single homebuyers can view a condo, townhouse or small detached home as a stepping stone to something larger, with or without a partner.

This phenomenon, of course, presents a marketing opportunity — one that we’re only too eager to benefit from. Take two communities we’re hard at work on, Ten88 and Villagio.

The former is a condo project in Scarborough featuring a payment program designed to enable renters to purchase their first home. The latter is a smaller, somewhat more traditional community in Maple, Vaughan. In both cases, homebuyers can get one-bedroom units. They also get attractive pricing and finishes that are as sleek as the ones they’d find in a condo. And since our client, Empire Communities, also builds high-rise, it will be that much easier to blur the lines between a typical low-rise community and a high-rise condo one.

Now I turn it over to you: how are you making the most of the rise in single-person households?

Covering a wide range of expertise areas (from email marketing and logos to sales office design and web), these nominations prove we’re a one-stop shop that not only covers every possible need a client may have — we excel at it.

In particular, I was proud to learn that out of five social media finalists, three are ours. Having won the social media award last year for our Triumph social media campaign, this news only attest to our commitment to digital marketing. Our eBAM department has proved again to be ahead of the curve, providing our clients with the latest online initiatives and inbound marketing.

The social media campaign for Victory revolves around the concept of a life full of personal victories — victories like shaping the design of your dream home….

 …while that of Treetops is centered around the idea of living beyond your backyard.

Given that we also just won the CHBA Marketing Excellence Award, and it’s easy to see why we’re so excited at BAM.

Our nominations are:

• PROJECT OF THE YEAR – LOW-RISE
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST E-MAIL MARKETING PIECE
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST NEWSPAPER AD
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST PROJECT LOGO
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST PROJECT SIGNAGE
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST LOW-RISE SALES OFFICE
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
  Brookfield Homes and Orchard Ridge Homes, Treetops
  Eden Oak Homes, Weaver’s Mill
  Empire Communities, Victory

• BEST WEBSITE
  Empire Communities, Victory

Thanks to all our clients, and Empire Communities and Brookfield Homes in particular, for letting us wear your tattoo — we’re proud to do so!

Go, BAM, go!

Last Friday, I was honoured to watch BAM’s efforts receive a highly regarded recognition, when our long-time client Brookfield Homes (Ontario) won the CHBA Marketing Excellence Award for its project Pathways in Caledon East.

As most readers of this blog know, this important award goes to the CHBA builder member whose single project combines the best overall achievements in marketing. The award is based on the cumulative results attained in at least four Marketing Award categories.

To differentiate Pathways as an exceptional new community that would appeal to families, we divided the community into six unique neighbourhoods and designed a map showing several pathways winding their way through the community. We produced gorgeous renderings of the two parks that the community will feature, as well as a stunning streetscape rendering. We also developed additional benefits for the community to offer, such as Brookfield’s Save Green program.

What’s better than winning the CHBA Marketing Excellence Award? Skiing at Lake Louise with the boys from Curb Signs and winning the CHBA.

The results? A best-selling, award-winning community that homebuyers quickly identified as ideal for strolling, walking, enjoying nature and interacting with neighbours.

Congratulation to Brookfield Homes and our team at BAM!

P.S.: Pathways campaign elements can be found in our portfolio section, including video, eblast, social media campaign, logo, print ad, and more.

In today’s hectic workplace, this has become a huge topic — a Google search for key words like “task prioritization” and “time management tools” literally pulls up millions of results.

Consider, for example, Dave Allen’s “Getting Things Done” framework, whose adepts seem to be everywhere, and who heap lavish praise on the method. Or how about all the software that promises to help you organize your day and make life easy and effortless?

Yet for all the hype, I find most of these methods too cumbersome to apply to daily life, and certainly to our fast-paced work environment. In particular, I take issue with the amount of time they require to implement, which makes them, at least to my mind, a poor match to BAM’s philosophy (of course, I do realize they may work well for some people).

So how do I organize myself? Which method do I suggest to our employees?

As you might predict, it’s simple and plain and cheap and fast. It’s also, in my opinion, extremely effective.

Whether you use an electronic version, a print-out, or (as is often my case) pen and paper, this chart allows you to tackle the important and urgent tasks first. Just put any jobs you have on your plate into the appropriate box and attack the list from the top-right to the bottom-left.

Simple, plain, cheap, and fast. Call me old-fashioned, but this beats fancy software and methodologies any day of the week.

How do you deal with concurrent tasks? How do you manage your daily schedule?

Our experience was so good, we’re now looking for another intern, one who would begin work for our award-winning eBAM department from early May until August, 2013.

If you know someone, please forward this post to them — it contains all the information they need.

Please direct comments or enquiries to alain@callbam.net.

 Start building your future with BAM’s Internship Program

About BAM

We are a dynamic, hands-on marketing and advertising agency with a focus on the new homes industry. Our knowledge and experience allow us to integrate our turnkey approach with clients’ current and future objectives, executing every aspect of their marketing, from initial strategy development to completion.

eBAM, our in-house digital marketing department, leads our clients’ online efforts, encompassing everything from Google Ads to Facebook pages, blogs and Twitter accounts. This is where you will work.

About You

• Solid copywriting / writing skills and strong written online communications skills
• Personal and professional passion for social media and marketing is a must. In other words, you have top-notch social skills and a strong awareness of utilizing multiple channels (ideally also those outside of Twitter and Facebook)
• Education in marketing, communications, business, journalism or similar
• Able to work with our team to do creative and quality work while meeting deadlines
• A strong desire to learn, grow and be part of a great team of digital marketers
• Willing to take an idea and run with it without micro-managing
• Enthusiasm!

Compensation & School Credit

This is an unpaid internship position that lasts 4 months (May 2013 – August 2013, with the possibility of an extension). BAM is pleased to support internships as credit for completion of post-secondary education. Candidates for internship where school credit is needed must make their own arrangements regarding requirements for credit known at time of application.

Why You Should Do Your Internship With eBAM

• Great work environment — fast-paced, yet fun, this is real-world advertising/marketing at its best
• Real learning opportunity – work directly with experts and decision makers
• TTC Monthly Metropass
• Walking distance from subway and next to 401 highway
• BAM team lunch 1x week
• Great coffee machine + free candies + free pop
• A cash reward proportional to your great (or super great) work!

Intern Tasks & Activities

• Support the tactical execution of client Social Media programs and campaigns (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Foursquare, etc.)
• Copywriting for Social Media, Blogging, etc
• Search Engine Marketing (SEO) activities
• Social Media Monitoring
• Social Media Advocacy and PR
• Participate in brainstorm activities
• Ongoing research and competitive analysis
• Daily time tracking
• Other related duties as required
• Learn while having a good time is a must ;-)

Ready to Apply?

Please submit your application by email to alain@callbam.net, including:

• Your cover letter and résumé
• Links to your anything online that you find relevant to this position, such as work samples, social media profiles, websites, blog, etc.

Next Steps

• We appreciate the time you have taken to apply. In the interest of saving time, we can only contact those candidates who qualify for an interview.
• As part of the selection process, we may ask that you take a writing skills test following your interview at BAM.

Good luck!

True, real estate is much more expensive in the French capital. Consider the loft below — this is what $1,200 per square foot looks like in Paris.

Now contrast this exorbitant price with Toronto’s, where the average cost per square foot is just shy of $600.

The truth, however, is that Parisians don’t seem to mind. Sure, they may complain about rising prices. And they may not necessarily enjoy living packed together (Paris being about 6 times more dense than Toronto, most apartments there are small and cramped).

But their city and its amenities are built to help them make the  most of it.  Parisians don’t do big screen TVs — they go outside and enjoy the city:

Public skating, Paris-style.

An elevated walkway above street. Parisians walk everywhere, although….

…Paris has been made even easier to navigate with electric car sharing service Autolib‘, a follow-up to the city’s successful bicycle sharing system, Velib’, which is the second-most extensive system of its kind in the world.

In Paris, there’s a subway station every 400 metres or so, yet their Métro is cheaper than our TTC.

People even live on boats in Paris.

Parisians enjoy going out to galleries, museums, and art exhibits.

My point? We’re fortunate to live in relatively affordable city, but we still have much to learn in terms of making our streets and our city truly enjoyable. Better public transit will play a key role, as will the current high-rise condo boom.

Have you been to Paris? Which trait did you find yourself wishing we had back here?