An artful and strategic placemaking story is the first step in giving your buyers what they want. Well-crafted, it lays down the very stepping stones of their path to homeownership.
So, what is placemaking? There isn’t one universal definition, but one way to think of it is as a way of making a place, community, or public space appealing to people so they want to come again and again, instilling with it a sense of pride. Placemaking for master-planned communities is not only about location and attractiveness; it’s making an emotional connection with your audience by speaking to their desires and aspirations with tangible offerings in a way that is meaningful and relevant to them. For example, Citro helps buyers envision a compelling lifestyle that draws from an amenity-rich semi-urban community set in a spectacular agricultural setting.
In Part 1 of our placemaking series, we’ll focus on placemaking for highly amenitized communities.
An abundance of amenities
You’re in an enviable position in the eyes of competitors: your community has it all. Ideal location, resort-level outdoor amenities, lifestyle programming and premium home designs at competitive prices. It seems like a good problem to have, but without a focused and differentiating message, it can be tempting to talk about everything – and end up with a generic laundry list of features.
Elevating the right offering – at the right time – can maximize interest and lead to engagement. In 2020, behaviors changed dramatically during the pandemic – homebuyers needed their home to be a retreat, and were searching for bigger kitchens, home office and study spaces, as well as outdoor spaces and amenities. Suddenly, nice-to-have offerings became must-haves, and savvy brands pivoted to placemaking messaging around the amenities that buyers found most meaningful at the time.
Heart-warming moments from Ireland
What insights do you have about your buyers today, and how can you connect with them on an emotional level? When traveling was at a standstill during the pandemic, Tourism Ireland knew they needed to keep Ireland top-of-mind for future visits. Though there are many reasons people visit Ireland – lush scenery, welcoming culture and rich heritage come to mind – Tourism Ireland led their placemaking initiative with human connections instead. Through inspirational video content like virtual tours of Irish towns, learning how to do an Irish dance and even real-time heart rate data from two of its visitors, which was shared on social channels, they connected people to Ireland with the memorable #FillYourHeartWithIreland campaign. The strategic insight of “heart-warming moments” trumped other attributes they could’ve led with because it played on a global, real-time sentiment and thus gained buzz during an unusually challenging year.
Listen and learn
Social listening, targeted focus groups and research studies help to uncover what your buyers want most in a new home community right now. So does directly asking the people on your interest lists. Depending on location, outdoor amenities and comfortable access to a friendly community might be at the top of their list. Fitness, culture or pet-loving spaces may be their love language. Whatever it is, be sure you find out, and then make it easy for them to know about the aspects of your community that will help them live their best life.
Up next in our series, how to craft and elevate your community’s story when it has no obvious leading features. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you think your brand might benefit from fresh strategic thinking and a new and compelling placemaking story, that’s what we do. Connect with Barbara Wray at barbara@wickmarketing.com or (512) 479-9834 to talk it over.
