Advertising techniques

[trainspotter]

Well hello to all and sundry. I am sure that most of you have been manipulated by the mass media in some way or another. You have purchased something because a TV/radio/newspaper/internet advert told you to in some subliminal way.

I am in the throes of starting a building company (housing residential project home style) I have the nuts and bolts down pat. THIS IS NOT WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. I am looking for input on what makes you buy a product ie what do you respond to in the way of advertising? Gimmicks? Giveaways? Service? What are you looking for?

REMEMBER this is a HOUSING BUILDING COMPANY !!!! I am looking for advertising "hooks" to do specifically with the building industry. Can you please write your thoughts on what direction I should take in the way of "advertising" a "specialised" form of media and product. I know what media works for what reason, so I am not looking for advice on what media works best.

Feel free to PM me if you think you have a winner that requires further investigation.

To give you some direction .... the building company is to be called HOME BUILDING CORPORATION Pty Ltd T/as "Voyager Homes"

Feel free to write a 15 second radio advert. Write a script for a 30 second TV segment. Knock yourselves out with ideas !! OPen to all submissions.

I have not spoken to Joe Blow about if there could be a "prize or monetary reward" if advertising material is used in campaign? I am more than happy to come to some agreement.

 

[nunthewiser]

Building co ...........

first thing i want is QUALITY!

i want to be rest assured that whatever my project is , that it will be built with QUALITY first and foremost ..........

 

[beerwm]

woah, thats a pretty big step - best of luck to you.

Are you talking about a company like Hallmark Homes - which has set housing designs? or like building to a customers design/preference?

 

[wayneL]

Appeal to people's status anxiety.

 

[trainspotter]

Building co ...........

first thing i want is QUALITY!

i want to be rest assured that whatever my project is , that it will be built with QUALITY first and foremost ..........

Thank you NUN ... Affordable QUALITY is where I will be coming from. "Affordable" being the key word.

 

[trainspotter]

woah, thats a pretty big step - best of luck to you.

Are you talking about a company like Hallmark Homes - which has set housing designs? or like building to a customers design/preference?

Will have set or project home designs available a well as dealing with "individual" one off client homes.

 

[trainspotter]

Appeal to people's status anxiety.

Punching for the middle of the road people. 2nd and 3rd tier homebuyers. They know what they want and understand the process of construction. Keeping up with the Jones's is a GREAT idea though WayneL. Care to expand?

 

[nunthewiser]

Thank you NUN ... Affordable QUALITY is where I will be coming from. "Affordable" being the key word.

No worries , showing you go the EXTRA mile as in service always helps ... ie. personalized service , home visiting ie queries,samples etc etc

word of mouth up these parts works wonders .

im not sure how far u want this venture to go ... midwest? or australia wide?

 

[trainspotter]

Starting small Nun. Looking at regional service to start with. Local houses in year one and see where it goes from there. Have plans for statewide in year two. Superior service is the main backbone of the company I am building. Training staff is critical to success and they will be very customer orientated. Lotsa builders scream QUALITY (but you pay for it) ... I want the whole package ... affordability, service, quality etc. ... the whole 9 yards.

 

[explod]

Qualfied in commercial art from a youth have noticed that, advertising/signs/cards/stationary need to have a simple clear message in the best possible contrasting colours, that do not compete (ie dazzle) but stand out. The classic of course in black on yellow

If you would like some input on drafts feel free to p/m

Often laugh when I see business cards whith huge fancy lettering outlining a firms name, but what the business is about requires a magnifying glass.

What you are about must dominate

If you are a "builder", then that one word must be the dominant

 

[bassmanpete]

When buying a new home which is more important, quality or affordability? Or do YOU want both?

By stressing the 'you' the implication is that the vast majority of people would pick one or the other but your target buyer is more sophisticated and discerning than the great unwashed.

This was the first headline that came into my head but when working on an advertising campaign you need to come up with ten or a dozen or even more and pick the best one. Try them out on friends and relatives and see what 'grabs' them.

 

[trainspotter]

EXCELLENT bassmanpete ... exactly what I am looking for ! My target audience has the experience of construction of homes and require BOTH to be a trigger point to buy..

Quick idea that jumped into my head when typing this response is of a set of judicial scales (like picture below) on one side is a house, the other side is a bunch of cash. The scale is perfectly balanced. The voiceover says "With Voyager Homes you can have both!"

Now we are getting somewhere !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nunthewiser]

emphasis on job completion within the allocated /quoted time frame is always a biggy

so many times i hear ppl complain about how there building dragging on way over time. depending on realistic circumstances maybe offer a job completion time guarentee ??

i dunno m8 just bouncing stuff back to ya as it pops up in my hazy mind

Build a few various types on them blocks , sell all apart from a cupl and use as display/advert homes ?

sorry if you already covered all this i may be wasting your time

 

[trainspotter]

Qualfied in commercial art from a youth have noticed that, advertising/signs/cards/stationary need to have a simple clear message in the best possible contrasting colours, that do not compete (ie dazzle) but stand out. The classic of course in black on yellow

If you would like some input on drafts feel free to p/m

Often laugh when I see business cards whith huge fancy lettering outlining a firms name, but what the business is about requires a magnifying glass.

What you are about must dominate

If you are a "builder", then that one word must be the dominant

Very cool explod. Will PM you for email addy and run past you the logo etc. I already have plus other designs etc that will require your input.

 

[trainspotter]

emphasis on job completion within the allocated /quoted time frame is always a biggy

so many times i hear ppl complain about how there building dragging on way over time. depending on realistic circumstances maybe offer a job completion time guarentee ??

i dunno m8 just bouncing stuff back to ya as it pops up in my hazy mind

Build a few various types on them blocks , sell all apart from a cupl and use as display/advert homes ?

sorry if you already covered all this i may be wasting your time

Nuffin is a waste of time when it comes to talking to a Nun ! LLOLOLOL

Maybe restrictive for building times due to inclement weather when it comes to building. If you nominate a date in a building contract there is recourse for the builder and the owner. If it precipitates from the sky for 4 weeks and the brickies cannot get on site you are BUGGERED with time schedules. Been there done that.

 

[wayneL]

Hmmmmmm quality AND affordability.

Businesses that bleet about quality often spend heaps to get that message out, hence the price tag.

Marketing is expensive.

To maintain affordability and service, you need to keep costs down somewhere.

The old business maxim I always like to follow is "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity". An intelligent guerilla campaign can be very effective in a local area, and cheap.

Maybe turnover will be less than some of those clowns that let their egos run away with them (often advertising is about the owner's ego), but the bottom line can be more satisfying.

You need a good old USP for a start.

 

[Julia]

When buying a new home which is more important, quality or affordability? Or do YOU want both?

By stressing the 'you' the implication is that the vast majority of people would pick one or the other but your target buyer is more sophisticated and discerning than the great unwashed.

This was the first headline that came into my head but when working on an advertising campaign you need to come up with ten or a dozen or even more and pick the best one. Try them out on friends and relatives and see what 'grabs' them.

I really like this. It would appeal to most people as we all like to imagine we are more discerning than the next person.

The thing I would be looking for as a potential consumer is a watertight guarantee that the project will be finished on time and on budget, and it would need to include some clear compensation for me if you were to go broke, walk away etc.
(Not, of course, suggesting that you would, TS, but a lot of people have been burned by builders failing to complete the job.)
Best of luck.

 

[Julia]

PS I reckon you should hire Bassmanpete as marketing consultant.

Bassmanpete, do you need an agent to negotiate terms?

 

[trainspotter]

It is achievable to provide both to the clientelle and still be profitable without egos being involved. Like I said I am looking at the "everyman" syndrome. Not the rarified air and not the bottom of the barell stuff. Seasoned campaigners that know what they want. They have built before so they know what they are getting. Affordability and Quality can be synonomous with a smattering of superior customer service sprinkled on top. On to something here I am thinking.

Julia, building contracts that I have dealt with previously (about 500 of them) have a time constraint with penalty clauses attached. Due to inclement weather and the vagueness of the solicitors wording it is near impossible to enforce. I used to over exaggerate the date and when the home was finished early it was a BONUS !! But I am hearing what you are telling me and will work this into my model. Thank you !!

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

When buying a new home which is more important, quality or affordability? Or do YOU want both?

By stressing the 'you' the implication is that the vast majority of people would pick one or the other but your target buyer is more sophisticated and discerning than the great unwashed.

This was the first headline that came into my head but when working on an advertising campaign you need to come up with ten or a dozen or even more and pick the best one. Try them out on friends and relatives and see what 'grabs' them.

Very wise mate.

Does it extend to wives??

gg