Creating a new campaign is a very exciting process. I’m sure we all agree about that. Nothing compares with the brainstorming, the tossing of ideas, the criticisms, the jokes that happen when you work hard with your team.
One of the challenges that makes this process so fun is trying to present every campaign in a new, thrilling manner.
Take empty nesters. Their kids have moved out. They’re either retired or close to it. Arguably, their outlook of life is not as eager or ambitious as when they became parents or bought their first home.
This is probably why many campaigns aimed at the empty-nester market seem quiet and discreet and almost crusty. Thinking the campaign should mirror what’s perceived as the demographics’ lifestyle, many marketers come up with campaigns that are at best virtually undistinguishable from one another, and at worst just plain ineffective.
Likewise, when it comes to first-time homeowners, many marketers try to conjure a vibrant, sexy lifestyle that they believe reflects the one their target demographic has (or wants to have).
What do consumers want?
All too often we forget in the advertising and marketing industries that people don’t think of campaigns. In fact, they don’t even care for campaigns. They just think about lifestyles.
Yet many new home community campaigns barely touch on lifestyle, promoting instead features and floorplans. Of the few that do actively sell lifestyle, most end up looking generic and uninspired.
So, the first step towards making your target consumer choose the lifestyle you’re promoting is simply to put yourself in their shoes — to look at things from their perspective.
Sometimes, if you work hard enough, this can help you find a lifestyle that your target audience didn’t even know was possible, one that excites them and makes them happy.
In the case of the empty-nester market, our campaign for the Port Hope Golf & Country Club did away with tradition and painted an optimistic image, active image, featuring unexpected touches such as touchscreens in the sales office and musical lyrics peppered on the website.
As a result, Port Hope Golf & Country buyers felt empowered to live an active lifestyle, to understand and appreciate technology, and to feel optimistic about the years ahead.
Concerning first-time homeowners, our latest campaign, Treetops, also tries to break with tradition. The community itself will be extraordinary, featuring 1,800 semis and detached homes in Alliston, Ontario, all of them adjacent to the Nottawasaga Inn and Resort, which offers a stunning array of activities, and is surrounded by 50 acres of forest and parks.
That said, none of the aforementioned are the reasons why they’ll buy a Treetops home — they’ll do it because they want to partake in the lifestyle reflected in this video. It’s a lifestyle that’s not just about being active, but also about happiness and romance and joy. A lifestyle where a touch of the whimsical is present every day, and where life extends beyond your backyard into a fantastic community.
How do we make that happen? For starters, by putting ourselves in the consumers’ shoes.
JohnAmardeil.com 