We’ve been pleased to work with our friends at Ornstein Leyton Company (OLC) on the branding and marketing of their newest project, Vineyards at Blue Point. And we’re excited to share some of our work here. As one of the only new 55+ lifestyle communities on Long Island, the Vineyards presented an outstanding opportunity for OLC… and for us, as well. The builder’s research showed that many potential buyers from the area were eager for a community like this to open. OLC hired Pace to develop everything from the logo, website and brochure, to ads, signage, floorplans and more. Our job was to reach these prospects and convince them that this was the perfect community for them. Mission accomplished!
The Challenge
A key challenge for this project, based on the client’s research, was to create marketing material that did not look like a typical 55+ community. This type of marketing often follows a predictable format. These buyers do not want to feel like they are in any way going to an old-fashioned “senior retirement community.” So we needed to create a campaign that looked and felt fun, fresh, exciting, and compelling.
The Work
We started by developing a unique logo for the community. The logo is a contemporary, stylized cluster of grapes, in the shape of a V (for Vineyards). This logo is used everywhere for continuity, along with a signature purple-wine color. Additionally, we chose a font that is contemporary and fresh; one that does not feel “old” or dated.
In all of our marketing efforts, we chose images showing the target market in atypical situations. We did not show usual graphics of active adults on bikes or playing tennis. Instead, we chose to show them in quirky, fun situations: lying on grass gazing at the sky, cruising in a convertible, etc.
Vineyards at Blue Point Website
We created the website (and all of our marketing material) with lots of references and images reflecting vineyards, which are prevalent in the area. We used our signature purple-wine color throughout. And we used lots of big, colorful, fun images and pictures that show 55+ adults who are not “old” or dated, but enjoying life in fun, atypical ways.
Homepage for The Vineyards at Blue Point website
Compared to other sites for active-adult communities in the area, the Vineyards site feels very contemporary, fresh, and vibrant. It doesn’t “feel” like a 55+ community. Key benefits/USPs of the community are boldly highlighted at the top of every page. And the community’s social media pages are clearly highlighted, to again convey that this is a modern community. The website is easy to navigate and overall very inviting.
The builder was able to use the website to build a substantial Interest List before the community opened for sales and before the models opened. And they have been able to effectively use that list/database for email outreach. We designed the brochure for The Vineyards to follow the same pattern and look as the website.
Vineyards at Blue Point Ad Campaign
We deployed a print advertising campaign for The Vineyards at Blue Point to reach our target audience. Our goal was to get readers to register for the interest list and attend the community’s grand opening. Our campaign was designed to help buyers imagine how good life will be “someday” when they move to The Vineyards. So each ad presented a different benefit of living there: never mowing the grass again; having a place to live where the grandchildren will love visiting; etc.
The headlines (“Someday I’ll…”) have different actions written in a font that looks hand scripted. It’s as if the reader/potential buyer is filling in the blanks with what she or he is looking forward to doing “someday.”
As the campaign advanced, we modified the ads to reflect the status of the community, And this culminated with the grand opening, when our ad announced “Someday is here!”
The Results
Response to The Vineyards at Blue Point has been nothing short of spectacular. The weekend after our very first ad for the community ran, over 100 new prospects visited the community. 60 of them claimed direct response from the ad. Since that first ad and consistently after,the campaign has been very well received. People comment that they like the ads because they are “different from other builders’ typical ads.” That’s exactly what we and the builder had hoped for. Also, we created some vital buzz on social media. Interested prospects and recent buyers frequently respond, comment and engage with one another and with the builder.
The community has sold well beyond the builder’s expectations. Homes in the first two phases sold rapidly, with 150 homes sold in just over a year.
Kudos to OLC for developing such an extraordinary and successful new community. And continued thanks to them for bringing us on board as their branding and marketing partner. It’s enormously rewarding to work on such an exciting project as The Vineyards at Blue Point!
