JohnAmardeil.com

I’ve always maintained good marketing is only possible when you really know what your company is about — when you really know what problem it solves for your clients, and when you live by this identity 24/7.

In the Lakeside Showroom, homebuyers will be able to browse home designs on touchscreens. Read more here.

In BAM’s case, our identity is closely related to our name. Not just because it stands for Builder Advertising and Marketing, but also because we seek to create an impact. Making sure we take our clients’ world by storm is something we must do if we are to remain to true to our company’s vision.

Luckily, our team does just that — day in and day out. Consider all the communities we’ve successfully opened in less than two months:

1. Lakeside
2. Triumph
3. Villagio
4. Imagine
5. And now Ten88

That’s not all — we’re also implementing a series of innovations and leading edge items, including multi media displays, web portals, and multi stage openings to different audiences like insiders, brokers and registrants.

It’s one of the benefits of having a small team of dedicated people. People who care, understand the client, and identify with the company’s vision.

What’s your company’s identity? Can it be summarized in a quick sentence?

One of the keys to a vibrant city is people-friendly public spaces. Having just returned from Paris, where I’ve already spent two weeks this year, I can attest that when it comes to such spaces, Toronto still lags behind Europe.

Take this tiny canal in downtown Paris:

Located near Place de la République, it fills nightly with people who meet their friends. Thanks to the lax enforcement of municipal laws, they eat and drink wine and beer together. Overnight, the city cleans up any mess and empties the large quantity of public waste bins.

Besides its famous cafés, public spaces are one important factor contributing to Paris’ allure. In the famous Luxembourg Gardens, you could easily spend an entire day watching puppet theatre or playing basketball, petanque or chess. Parks are often filled with people having lunch, chatting and laughing the day away. So comfortable are they that many remove their shoes.

Admittedly, more people may have no choice but to use these spaces now that the French economy is in such bad shape. After all, it’s much cheaper to buy food and wine from a store than to eat out. Likewise, it’s easier on the pockets to meet friends by the river or watch an impromptu hoops game.

But so what? Public spaces enhance livability, bring communities together, and play a key part in the savoir vivre that Europeans have always understood so well.

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.

Much is said about Toronto’s so-called status as a world-class city. But having just returned from a weekend in Paris, I can attest we still have a long way to go.

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?