Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Many Faces of Luxury

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to understand the many faces and accompanying personalities that define a luxury brand.  The above Beverly Hills camouflage is on Rodeo Drive which is "the" street for the big brands, and now for the soon  to open Tory Burch store. This particular store front camouflage billboard shows the color of the brand and the image of the brand.  We would refer to it as sophisticated luxury, as are the next door neighbors, Cartier and Roberto Cavalli.  In luxury real estate marketing materials, this type of look translates well to metropolitan and urban areas.

This next camouflage facade is located on Beverly Drive, which is one street beyond Rodeo Drive. Beverly Drive retail differs a different experience from Rodeo Drive.  We would refer to it as casual hip relaxed luxury.  It makes sense that Lucky Brand chose to locate there, right next to Nate N Al delicatessen, which has been a Beverly Hills icon for over 65 years.  The other side of the site is Z Gallerie, a  contemporary furniture and home accessories shop.  In marketing materials, this type of look would translate well to the mid luxury range which differs in each marketplace.

In future posts, we will point out more luxury faces and brand personalities.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Courage of Kindness

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” Mark Twain

Whenever we are asked to define what it takes to be a great luxury real estate marketing professional, our answer is: “Cultivate the courage of kindness”.  Kindness (and a good sense of humor, of course), is the ultimate luxury.

Courage is defined in the dictionary as: “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.”  Kindness is defined as: “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.”

It takes courage not to react when someone is disagreeable, or to automatically assess someone as being less than you, incompetent or one of “those” people.  Our minds are constantly labeling and pigeonholing people and situations into categories.

For instance, while driving. someone honks at you or tries to cut you off. It is natural to react by honking back and letting out a stream of expletives, etc. 

How can you stop your mind from doing that?  Perhaps, you could entertain the thought that the reason they are going crazy is that they may be having the worst day of their life.  It does take courage to for you to let them pass you, instead.

Here is an example of the courage of kindness in luxury real estate.

One of our clients sold a lovely estate to a couple.  The couple was very happy.  Several months later our client received a call from the wife saying the house was haunted! The ghost was telling her, in the middle of the night, “Get out of my house, or else!”  She wanted our client to put the house on the market, immediately. Her husband did not want to sell; nor did he hear the ghost.  

Our client knew that selling the home would be a colossal mistake.  Instead of trying to talk her out of the sale, she came up with a brilliant solution.   Knowing the wife was a devout Catholic she sought the help of the local priest. With the client’s permission, the priest came over to bless the house.  After he did that, the ghost disappeared. 

This instance of courageous kindness developed its own momentum.  Our client regularly gets referrals from the couple, as well as from the priest, even though she is not a member of his church.

Taking a moment to practice kindness by overriding the mind’s automatic evaluations, takes courage.  In the long run if we all did that we would be better people for it. We would also become outstanding luxury real estate marketing professionals.

“There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies.  My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.” Dalai Lama

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Do You Have a Local Brand Strategy?

In presenting your luxury real estate marketing plan to your sellers, you should emphasize your strategy for marketing locally as well as globally.  Do you have a local brand strategy?

We have found, in working with luxury real estate marketing professionals, that even in the most desirable luxury real estate markets, the global buyers represent a miniscule percentage when compared to local buyers.  There is no question that there is an increase in global buyers especially in Hawaii, Florida and some major US cities.  But, the global buyer statistics are not commensurate with the emphasis that much of the luxury real estate media is touting.

To win big in luxury real estate marketing, concentrate on building your local brand!  Aim for achieving top-of-mind status.

You may have heard of the Central California wine brand, Firestone.  It was made famous when the son of the winery owner was on the TV show, The Bachelor.  Firestone originally produced only beer, and then branched out into wine. Recently, they sold the winery, but created a new local beer brand, “805” which is the telephone area code for the three adjacent counties that include Santa Barbara.

Focusing, with laser sharp precision on the local market, 805 signs are starting to be proudly displayed in local restaurants, in the local Trader Joes markets and on local billboards.  Achieving brand recognition at an accelerated pace is what great brand strategy is all about.  The entire exercise is geared to catapult a brand with zero brand recognition to top-of-mind status, fast!

How can you accelerate the pace at which your local brand achieves top-of-mind status?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power of Top of Mind Status Part 2

As we stated in part 1, those  luxury real estate marketing professionals who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership, achieving top-of-mind status is the ultimate goal.  The first brand name that comes to mind commands the lion’s share of the business in a brand category within a given marketplace or niche therein.  But, dominating a brand category requires the consistent execution of brand strategy.

In our recent travels, we noticed how people are willing to wait in line for a particular brand or service.  The first shot was taken at the Louis Vuitton store in Paris on a Sunday afternoon.  This was the second time we had seen lines there.  No other luxury brand had a line. The Louis Vuitton brand is the #1 brand in the world.  Buying a Louis Vuitton product in Paris (the origin) means even more to the people standing line, than buying it in their hometown, even though Louis Vuitton had stores worldwide including one in Outer Mongolia.

This shot was taken on Rue des Rosiers at “The Ace of Falafels” whose slogan translate as ”always imitated, never equaled”.  We had read in several guidebooks about this restaurant and rave reviews abound.  Just to make sure of the accuracy of these reviews, we asked one of the local merchants, and she was equally enthusiastic about this place.  So, we got in line and had one of the best Middle Eastern lunches.  Waiting in line was worth it.  Right across the street was another falafel place, and no one was waiting there.

Lines create buzz.  It makes one want to find out what all the fuss is about.  When Krispy Kreme was at its peak, and went public, we reported that people were lined up outside at their stores, and prior to the opening of the store in Australia for 48 hours.  Those lines are gone now.  Was it a fad? Or, Was it a lack of consistently executing brand strategy?  What do you think?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: The Value of Unexpected Appreciation

Many successful luxury real estate marketing professionals have a core referral base.  It is important to acknowledge these individuals often and thank them for their patronage and support.

Here is a case in point:

Yesterday, at our front door, we found two packages, addressed to each one of us, from Fed Ex.  We were delighted to each receive a books specifically selected for each of us.  The books were a gift from the service professional that we work with. The accompanying note, written on beautiful linen stationary read:

“I am pleased to share with you one of (the company’s) favorite traditions, the Summer Reading List.  This year’s selection represents some of the most compelling titles of the past year ranging from art, learning to lead, finding success and latest trends, as well as stories of giving back, rising to the top and survival. The books were chosen from hundreds of submissions from our colleagues around the world, and as I looked through the list, I thought you (Alexandra) would enjoy Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg”. Ron’s note read, “ I thought you would enjoy The Soundtrack of My Life, by Clive Davis”.

It was an unexpected appreciation for the value we bring to this person and his company.   We did not need a gift to continue to treasure this relationship, however, this gesture was a reflection of the value we bring to each other’s lives.  We loved the fact that he took the time to make an individualized selection.   Receiving a hard cover book in the day of e-books made it a stand out.

What can you do that is an unexpected appreciation those who comprise your core referral base?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Let Them Eat Cake, And…

We are often asked for creative luxury real estate marketing tips.  One of the ways to get new listings or buyers is to create an event.  Among the many emails we received this morning was this one from Williams-Sonoma.  Here is an excerpt:

Happy Birthday, Julia

Join us in celebrating Julia Child’s 101^st birthday, August 15th, with all-day tastings of Beef Bourguignone and birthday cake!  The legendary chef was a frequent visitor of Williams Sonoma store and a good friend to our founder, Chuck Williams.

Julia Child is an iconic figure in the culinary and foodie world.  Many credit her for bringing French cuisine to America.  

“Her first cooking show on television in 1963, was called, The French Chef on WGBH.  The show ran nationally for ten years and won Peabody and Emmy Awards, including the first Emmy award for an educational program.  It was also the first show captioned for the deaf.” Wikipedia

Here is great example of a fine luxury real estate marketing event  that generates great results for one of our clients.  One of our wine country clients has a regular wine and food event in their office.  Local chefs and wineries are invited to create a hors d’oeuvres party, and pair wines with those morsels.  Even if your marketplace is not in the wine country, this type of event can produce great results providing your clientele enjoys wine and fine cooking.

What will you do for your next event?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Malibu, CA

From the outside looking in Malibu has a very high profile due, in part, to the paparazzi and the media shining a spotlight on its glamorous surface. Certainly, it is known as getaway for many Hollywood celebrities and titans of business. The sitcom, Two and a Half Men takes place here. Even some Malibu real estate agents became local celebrities when they were featured on the reality TV show, Million Dollar Listing. But, beneath the surface Malibu has the intrinsic values of a small, rural California coastal beach town with a Mediterranean climate and a close-knit community. This, plus its close proximity to the diverse amenities of Los Angeles and easy access to the entire globe, makes Malibu one of the top 50 luxury real estate markets in the world. To view the beautiful homes of Malibu, click below

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