Tonight’s the Night

27 Apr 2012 2 Comments

by John Amardeil in Activities, Awards

It’s almost time: in only a few hours, at 6 pm tonight, almost everyone in the industry will arrive, spiffed up and ready to have a good time, to the Paramount Event Venue on Weston and Highway 407.

The occasion? 2012’s BILD Awards.

Having already blogged about BAM’s list of nominations, (and having also campaigned for you to vote for Pathways as the winner of the new People’s Choice Award), all I can I say at this point is that we’re really excited about our nominations, and hope we’ll take a bunch of prizes home!

Oh, and I should probably warn you — we’re bringing noise makers.

Will we see you at the Awards tonight?

Vote for us! BILD’s New People’s Choice Award

23 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Awards

As I said about a month ago, I am thrilled that BAM’s nominated for eight BILD awards this year.

Adding to my excitement, BILD just introduced a new category to the awards. Called the People’s Choice Award, it aims to get both consumers and BILD members to vote on what they think is the best project in the GTA.

Among the communities nominated for this new award is Pathways in Caledon East, which already has five other nominations, including the coveted Best Project of the Year and Best Social Media Campaign (a nomination I’m particularly proud of).

Every release at Pathways has been a success.

Homebuyers were hungry for information from the beginning.

Hosting frequent activities played a key role in fostering a sense of community.

The Pathways Facebook page proved an important part of the campaign, thanks to a stream of relevant content and sweepstakes.

Having worked so hard on Pathways along with the builder, Brookfield Homes, my team and I are thrilled to see it all recognized. We love having yet another delighted client and yet another community brimming with happy homeowners.

Of course, we’d love it even more if Pathways won the new People’s Choice Award.

So check out its social media campaign, composed of a blog and a Facebook page. If you live in Caledon East, drop by to see the homes for yourself. You’ll find it’s a fantastic community, one where people love living.

Convinced yet? Click here to vote for Pathways!

Do You Sell Benefits or Features?

08 Feb 2012 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Awards, Case Studies

Mason Homes' Green for Life

Who wouldn't?

I was very pleased to learn last week that Mason Homes won EnerQuality’s award for Best Green Marketing Campaign (which we developed).

Called Green for Life, said campaign highlights the immediate, practical benefits that homeowners can derive from living in a Mason home and a Mason community. These include increased health and well-being, as well as saving money thanks to reduced water and energy consumption.

In other words, Green for Life is first and foremost about comfort, economy, and happiness. Saving the environment takes a back seat to the daily reality of most people’s lives.

In this, Green for Life differs from other builders’ green-themed campaigns that make the conservation of natural resources their main selling point.

This doesn’t make either product significantly different from the other. For example, most of these homes are Energy Star qualified. It’s their branding that differs.

To be sure, Mason homeowners are preserving the planet and reducing energy consumption. It’s just that they were sold on a different benefit.

My point? You don’t have to be different to be branded and perceived as different. More importantly, you’re better off not promoting features—it’s by drawing attention to benefits that you will succeed in creating perceived value.

As the article announcing Mason Homes’ award said: Green for Life and Mason Homes did “outstanding work in successfully integrating energy efficiency and a green message into their overall marketing program.”

Many people in the industry still work hard at selling features. In our experience, it’s the benefits that people want to hear about.

Client Wins Not One Award But Five

25 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Awards

I’m happy and honoured to report that our longtime client Mason Homes just won five awards at the Peterborough & The Kawarthas Home Builders Association’s 2011 Kawartha Awards of Distinction.

The Port Hope Golf & Country Club logo. We used blue throughout the entire campaign to echo the nearby lake and to inspire a sense of fulfillment and peace.

The awards are:

All five awards are for Mason Homes’ Port Hope Golf & Country Club community, for which BAM designed the entire campaign.

Port Hope Golf & Country Club’s active adult homebuyers know it’s never too late to have fun — an idea we expressed throughout the entire campaign.

How we did it

Having decided to target empty nesters, we designed everything (from the categories recognized above to the homes themselves) so that it would reflect the fulfillment of our demographic’s needs and desires.

The brochure matches the logo and overall community design in its simplicity (as well as the use of blue).

Knowing most people at that stage in their lives value straightforward recreation, we stuck to a simple, yet elegant design philosophy.

The overall effect is accessible, casual, and friendly — one that represents a carefree life in a safe space.

(We also embraced a musical theme throughout the project, peppering the website, brochure, and sales office with lyrics from classic songs. As well, we ventured into the realm of touchscreens when we opened the Presentation Centre, an event I blogged about here.)

The sales office is elegant, yet understated and tasteful. We used modern touchscreens, which has been a huge hit with homebuyers. The curving walls and desk are inspired by the community’s musical theme.

BAM and Mason Homes have put a lot of work into this community and it’s thrilling to see it recognized.

A Client Wins an Award

18 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Awards

On September 30, given the sudden passing of industry leader and friend Stephen Dupuis, I delayed the post I’d written for the week and blogged instead about Stephen and what his loss meant for us all.

The delayed post, however, dealt with something too important to permanently omit. For on the same night, our client Brookfield Homes won the prestigious Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) award for Best Low-Rise Project Sales Brochure.

I was honoured to receive the award on-stage along with Brookfield Homes staff.

Designed for Brookfield Homes’ Pathways community, the brochure is full of soft colours and vivid renderings, designed to appeal to readers and to be pleasurable to flip through. Pages fold out to reveal more information beneath, inviting exploration, which complements the theme of the community.

Indeed, the idea was to recreate in readers the feeling of following a pathway as they read through, thanks to the use of pathway-like shapes and natural-looking swooshes that bring you to the next page.

Check out our awards gallery here.

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