Formula for a successful off-plan marketing campaign

3D visualisations make the project look like it already exists while aspirational interior renders let the purchaser imagine themselves in the space. A well-crafted brand and thoughtful marketing collateral gives the development personality and a tactile quality that brings it to life in the minds of purchasers. The framework of deposits, contracts, specifications and plans provides the safety net of shared expectations and legal guard rails. And the myriad of professionals working on the project gives it depth and credibility, as does the developer’s own experience and track record.

When all these things come together, purchasers are willing to take a leap of faith and invest. If enough of them make this leap, the pre-sales target is hit; the bank funding kicks in; and construction can move forward.

A Proven Methodology

If trust is the critical factor in selling off the plans, then you need to entrust your marketing to the best. Over the past decade, One to One Hundred has created comprehensive marketing campaigns for dozens of off-plan projects ranging from modest terraced housing developments through to boutique apartment buildings, large greenfield subdivisions and New Zealand’s highest residential tower.

During this period, we also produced 3D renderings for hundreds of other projects working with other brand and marketing agencies. All this experience creating - and observing - campaigns has allowed us to develop a proven sales funnel to drive sales.

We believe that this methodology works regardless of the project; we certainly have enough successful developments across all the residential verticals to support this. Although there are many parts to this process (all of which we do in-house), each one adds to the brand as a whole, making it more cohesive and compelling. It culminates in a campaign that not just instills trust, but is also distinctive, attractive and magnetic.

Brand Strategy

Before beginning work on any project, it’s important to lay solid foundations on which to build trust. The purpose of brand strategy is to position a development in the market correctly, differentiating it from its competitors and making sure that its key features are clearly communicated to the target audience(s).

For a small project, brand strategy might be as simple as doing some light investigation into the local suburb; researching similar developments in the area; and establishing a target audience. For a really large project, it can involve multiple interviews, workshops and presentations to discern the vision, values, story, big idea, key messages, brand hierarchy etc – all leading to informed naming options for the project.

We include brand strategy on every project because we believe that if we can get the brand aligned with the project, then every element that follows will gel harmoniously. The development will be memorable, alluring, and make sense to people.

Visual Identity

Project branding is an opportunity to use graphic design to signal where this development sits in the market through well understood visual cues. It is a visual interpretation of the brand strategy and usually involves a logo, fonts, colour palette, layout style, photography style etc.

A brand that is true to the project will enhance its best qualities and resonate with the target audience – and in doing so, create trust with buyers. A misaligned brand, on the other hand, will feel confused - or at worst, deceitful.

We are proud to have a diverse collection of design styles in our portfolio as it speaks to the huge range of projects we’ve worked on over the years.

Renders

3D rendering is one of the most important elements in a successful off-plan sales campaign. Buyers have come to expect a very high level of accuracy, detail and realism in architectural renders. Whilst they are still labelled as ‘Artist Impressions’, visualisations have moved far past being indicative to become the backbone of trust in the off-plan sales experience.

While there is plenty of skill and knowledge involved in achieving accurate, photoreal renders, it is artistic flair and style that sets them apart from the competition. This is where One to One Hundred excels; our render sets create a visual narrative that captures the essence of a development. They are beautiful, considered and compelling.

We offer 3D animations (walkthroughs) and virtual tours (real-time interactive virtual reality) for larger projects but see a comprehensive render set (4-6 for a small project, 8-10 for a medium and 12-15 for a large) as a critical part of the sales funnel. 3D renders feature in very output we create and are key to the digital marketing campaigns below.

Website

A standalone website is a critical component of our sales funnel. For the digital marketing campaign to work, a thoughtfully designed website is required to capture this traffic and convert interest into leads. Glasshouse Digital assists by installing Google Analytics so that the entire campaign can be tracked from end to end (something that cannot be done if you are driving traffic to Trademe or Real Estate listings). This is the only way that the funnel’s efficacy can be properly measured and optimised - meaning you get the best value for your advertising spend.

One to One Hundred designs and implements bespoke websites which work seamlessly across desktop, tablet and mobile. The sites are designed to be attractive and informative, with a deliberate focus on generating leads. We recommend providing only enough content to pique a buyer’s interest, but not enough that they can make a decision – which encourages them to enquire to receive more information.

We set up an email enquiry form that automatically populates a Google Spreadsheet with each enquiry. This spreadsheet is available to the agent, client and any other stakeholder, allowing for coordinated responses to leads.

Brochures

Some developments are not large enough to warrant the cost of designing and printing a brochure, but for those that are, brochures deliver an important tactility to a project. They are something the prospective buyer can hold in their hand, leave on their coffee table and show to friends and family. They are a tangible object in an otherwise intangible campaign.

A nicely-crafted brochure also speaks to the quality of the development while the small details - foils, die cuts, stock, paper weights, stitching, binding – add a new dimension to the brand. Each of our brochures is a work of art that perfectly encapsulates a development with meaningful copy, curated photography and seductive renders.

Display Suites

One to One Hundred has designed and coordinated numerous display suites ranging from single rooms in a real estate office through to large retail spaces with full mock apartments. Like brochures, display suites add massively to the sales experience – and thus to the trust in the development – through the perceived investment.

By providing a dedicated space for a buyer to meet an agent,  the display suite allows us to expand the brand into an environment through signage, wall graphics, installations and furniture, while also providing vital sales tools such as floor plans, level views, physical models and touchscreens.

Information Packs

For smaller projects where brochures and display suites are well outside of budget, we can create digital information packs (PDF) with all the key sales information such as renders, floor plans, specifications, FAQs and purchase process. This document collates all the various outputs from the architect and formats them into simple, attractive and easy-to-read content in line with the brand design.

Digital Marketing

The digital marketing campaign is the opening to the funnel and the start of the sales experience designed to take prospective purchasers from discovering the development; getting them interested on the website; enquiring to receive more sensitive information; then closing the sale with impressive brand collateral.

The campaign is usually a two-prong attack. Firstly, a well-crafted Google Adwords campaign captures anyone searching for relevant search terms. The fact that these people are searching for a particular property type in your suburb means that they are a hot lead and worth bidding for. Secondly, a Facebook and Instagram campaign casts a wide net and utilizes the amazing targeting available through Meta.

Glasshouse Digital are our partner of choice for all our clients’ digital campaigns. Their methodology of running multiple Facebook/Instagram campaigns in parallel, each aimed at a different (but relevant) demographic – and with messaging tailored to suit that buyer - allows clients to test their assumptions about what types of buyers will be interested in their development. For instance, a campaign for a terraced housing development in a city fringe suburb might have different campaigns for first home buyers, young professionals and downsizers, but also campaigns that are geo-targeted to the surrounding suburbs and another for people that have shown interest in the local school.

Each of the campaigns runs with an equal budget for the first month, at which time the data points to which audiences are actually driving leads and sales, and the budgets adjusted accordingly. Over the following months, the messaging can be optimized; different renders can be tested. Qualifying details such as pricing can be added or removed. In this way, the number of leads should increase each month but the media spend can actually decrease.

Our experience is that clients can achieve hundreds of quality leads with a modest budget, especially when compared to print. When paired with a quality set of brand collateral – all generated in-house by One to One Hundred - this simple funnel delivers impressive results. Agents are given the leads and the tools they need to instill trust and excitement in a project.

Tailored for your project

The above services can be tailored to any project, big or small, but will always retain the key elements of the funnel: a considered brand; stellar renders; bespoke website; and digital campaign.

Obviously any project needs to meet market demand in terms of type of unit, design, features, location and price – but by utilizing this proven process, we can ensure that the right buyers see your project and are taken through a carefully-designed journey that will produce leads and close sales.