INDUSTRY FOCUS
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the brand
GOLF OR LAMBORGHINI?
Consumers are flooded with choice in today’s
market – whether it’s deciding where to have
coffee or what running shoes to buy, or
purchasing a new car or property. In fact, this
applies just as much to a potential owner
choosing one residential estate over another, or
to anyone looking for a round of golf, dinner or
target market and pull them towards your product.
“It’s also vital that this is ongoing,” comments
Collett, “and not just when launching an estate or
marketing unsold properties, or merely advertising
the estate in the regional newsletter.
“Ultimately brand recognition is a major contributor
to the value of a product. In the property world,
place to live on a golf estate.
brand-building can be a contributing factor to
When you’re choosing a new vehicle, isn’t the
where a property is valued at a given amount,
ultimate question: What is my dream car – a Citi
increased property values. An example of this is
but the aspirational values created by brand
Golf or a Lamborghini Countach?
association fuel a consumer’s desire to live in
What is the deciding factor? Is it what’s under
demand a higher price.”
the bonnet or the brand value? In the case of a
the community, thus creating the opportunity to
may include the real value an HOA has to
There are a number of different ways of
achieving brand benefits when creating a
marketing strategy.
offer, whether it be a state-of-the-art children’s
Research your target market: Identify your
residential estate represented by a homeowners’
association (HOA), “what’s under the bonnet”
playground, an amphitheatre, a superb golf
course, beautiful common areas, fishing dams,
a restaurant or simply great value for money.
“Many companies ignore the importance of brand
value and reputation,” says Dionne Collett, ownerdirector of Take Note Reputation Management.
The question is “Does the average HOA send
true market, not your perceived market, and
communicate your brand in terms of their desires
and not what you believe should be of interest
to them.
Identify what is unique about the estate
and the community: Communicate the brand
benefits in a confident way to gain the attention
of your market.
this message and does the message reflect
Create an emotional connection: Where
with their brand through internal and external
possible, make use of all five senses (sight,
communications as well as in communications
hearing, smell, touch and taste). Give potential
to the public at large?”
customers a sense of belonging and add an
exclusive element to the brand, positioning your
It is critical to identify the brand benefits of the
product a cut above the rest. Each of the five
product, whether you’re marketing a packet of
senses can relate to criteria we wish to use to
crisps or a property development. These benefits
attract people to our communities.
need to become readily familiar and identifiable to
Keep your marketing strategy up to date:
the consumer – in our case the resident, golfer,
This should be a dynamic approach. Due to
diner or buyer. Benefits are often intangible, but
the fast pace of our ever-changing environment
they still need to create an emotion in your
and communication platforms, it is necessary