Before making the switch to the agency side of the world, I spent 13 years in residential homebuilding.  So when I say that homebuilders are traditionally slow to change, or completely resistant in some cases, I kinda know what I’m talking about.

Now before you forward-thinking homebuilders get pissed, I’m not saying that all builders are this way, but there sure are a lot of them.  And to make sure that was still the case, I asked a few about what they are doing, or not doing, by way of online, digital & social media marketing:

“We’ve been blogging for quite some time and are starting to incorporate social media elements.”

“We can credit 2 of our last 9 sales to social media.  Our buyers use it in their personal lives, so we will continue to be where they are.”

“We are old school and we know it.  We do some online listings, but not much. And yes, it is frustrating that I can’t connect with out younger, tech savvy buyers.”

“Not doing anything really.  Just not sure what we’d get out of it.”

From one end of the spectrum to the other, right?

We’ll one of our very forward thinking clients, who happens to be a master-planned community developer, allowed us to do an experiment so that we could prove to our guest builders (as well as ourselves), that we don’t have to be in the newspaper – you know, that thing that gets ink on your fingers when you read it.

The Experiment:

1. From August 2010 – October 2010 (Yes, it’s not quite over) all marketing and advertising for La Costa Greens and La Costa Oaks would be online (banner ads, PPC and email).
2. To make sure we didn’t muddy the waters with any outside influence like home shoppers who are already familiar with our communities, we directed all the advertising to a brand new landing page, LaCostaLife.com.

Need further convincing, homebuilders? Here’s what the results are at the 8 week mark:

• More that 5,100 visitors and counting (93% Unique)
• 47% from Banner Ads
  • 40% from PPC
• 68% increase in traffic to the La Costa Oaks website
• 24% increase in traffic to the La Costa Greens website

Pretty darn good wouldn’t you say? Well our client thinks so – so we are extending the program through the end of the year and are expanding the La Costa Life landing page in to a mini-site which will incorporate a blog and social media elements (We will, of course, keep you posted on what we are confident will be a very successful online marketing program!).

So what do you think, are we proving to you that it can be done? Any other suggestions you have for our slow to change homebuilding friends?

It’s official – the Pacific Coast Builders Conference is in its “50s!” And just like its fellow Baby Boomers, PCBC 2010 embraced social media both in the seminars they offered and in the way they promoted the conference.

This year’s conference offered lots of great social, digital and online media learning opportunities like Winning in a Web 2.0 World and A Whole New World: Transforming your Brand & Marketing Program Online.  But what made the conference stand out is that it also practiced what it preached…

This year PCBC had an active presence on four of the top social media sites. Check out how they did below:

PCBC on LinkedIn: 144 member Group

PCBC on Facebook: A combined 686 Fans & Likes. Plus nearly 200 people RSVP’d the Facebook generated party, People Connecting By Cocktails.  (Having attended this outstanding event myself, I can tell you that attendance number was surpassed!)

PCBC on Twitter:  1,357 followers of @PCBC_TheShow, plus the hash tag #PCBC2010 was use more than 150 times in just over 2 days.

As an attendee, and a marketer it was refreshing to see the conference embrace social media so completely. PCBC, thank you for showing us once again that you are a forward thinking conference and proving to us all that growing up doesn’t mean growing old!

I wrote and produced the video for this blog entry because I wanted to share a little insight on what goes on behind-the-scenes at an agency that does marketing and advertising for home builders.  A client of ours, Brookfield Homes, recently had their model grand opening of their newest community, Rockrose, which is based in Carlsbad, CA.  This community, designed with eco-savvy features from the inside out, serves a growing niche within the housing marketplace. We were tasked with sharing this message and getting people excited to come out and learn more about it.

We started work on marketing the Rockrose grand opening all the way back in December. BG worked with the Brookfield team to produce banner ads, page peals, print advertising, radio spots and mobile marketing projects; all designed to raise awareness about the model home grand opening event.

After months of getting the word out, we were excited to see the results of our marketing efforts this weekend. We headed up to North County, equipped with our flip cam, and took some video footage to show you exactly what makes these homes so cool.   Enjoy the tour!

Our long-term advertising client, Brookfield Homes, came to Bailey Gardiner with an advertising problem. Their high end community, Calabria, was close to being sold-out—but traffic to the sales office had slowed down.

They needed to attract fresh blood to boost sales, and they needed to do it fast. We came back with three creative advertising campaigns that capitalized on the unique attributes of the property:

1. Calabria is one of the last, new home communities left in San Diego that’s just a short drive from beaches, downtown, wineries, the airport, fine dining, golf courses and great parks—to name a few.
2. Although it’s location is central, Calabria is entirely surrounded by canyons which makes it feel secluded. Here, there is more wildlife, less noise and even the stars are brighter due to the light pollution.
3. These homes are top of the line. From quieter sinks, stairs and cabinets to floor plans that take advantage of every square inch, these houses are the creme-de-la-creme.
4. At the start of the campaign there were only 9 homes left. Urgency was a key component to our message.

This campaign had to be up and running fast. We presented three concepts that included ideas for behaviorally targeted web banners, eblasts, radio and print ads for publications catering to niche markets (business newsletters, relocators, etc.). Samples of the print for each campaign are below:

Campaign 1: The right combination

Campaign 2: Live far away from it all.. but still close

Campaign 3: Last chance

Brookfield radio spot
And the winner is… campaign #3! And we are proud to announce that since the start of the campaign, Brookfield has sold $5 million worth of homes at Calabria… and counting.

I’m just returning home from speaking at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) in San Francisco, where I led a presentation on social media marketing for the homebuilding community.  And although I was there to teach along with Jason Baer and Lora Heramb, I was also there to learn.  And I learned a great deal about where homebuilder marketing is headed.

Happily, I can report that the homebuilding community is wholeheartedly embracing the new world order.  Everyone I talked with understands that as the economy sparks back to life (and it is) and homes start selling again (and they are) that it will not be business as usual in homebuilder marketing.  I keep saying this economic downturn has been a game changer, and it every sense of the phrase, it has.

Homebuilders will not return en masse to the newspapers where they dropped thousands — if not millions — of dollars in advertising over the past many years.  Print advertising will not go away, but it will become much more targeted, more selective.  Broadcast media will experience the same new order – when the dollars do come back from builders, those now-savvy marketing directors will be asking about TV and radio station’s websites, email databases and other forms of online marketing tools.  Behavioral online advertising, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, and e-marketing are the stuff of strategic marketing discussion now.

This is no surprise.  All marketing executives now know the web is the place to be.  But what’s interesting is watching the homebuilding community eagerly gathering information for the upswing that is to come.  When the tide changes and the marketing dollars start to flow again, those “mature” dogs are learning some great new tricks.  They will be armed and ready.

SOOOOO cool.  Let the games begin.

As part of a recent exercise on social media for a homebuilder client, I searched for examples of other homebuilders using Twitter as a marketing tool.  Yep, you guessed it — not so much.  There are a few examples of builders doing it really well (check out @lennar for example), and yet there is so much more that can be done.

Twitter is a tool that builders can embrace because of it’s immediacy, intimacy and personality.  Relationships can be built with potential homebuyers through twitter, or at the very least those relationships can be strengthened through continued communication via builder tweets.  For example, a residential community could tweet about price changes, incentives and — yes, they are actually happening — new phase releases.  Sales associates could direct message buyers with updates on the construction of their new home, send links to photos of the development, and let them know about upcoming milestones and special events.  A builder could be tweeting about his or her blog (ahem, Steve Doyle) and letting all its existing and future homeowners about news and trends.  Twitter really is a very powerful tool for homebuilders, just waiting to be tapped.

Builder Magazine recently published a list of builders using twitter.  Let’s hope that since it was released in March, this list has grown substantially along with the growth of twitter.

And another recent article in Brand Republic News ranked that top 100 brands most mentioned on twitter.  And no surprise – not a single homebuilder brand made the list.  But give us a little time — I’ll bet by next year builders and real estate developers are all over twitter like bees on honey.  It’s just a natural combination

Follow me @jonjonbailey for more…

I’m preparing a presentation on social media marketing for homebuilders at the industry’s preeminent annual convention, The Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC).  As leaders in this relatively new marketing field, our marketing experts are asked frequently to speak on social media as it relates to a variety of industries — and part of our process is to identify success stories to share.  What’s difficult about this particular case is the dearth of examples I can cite in my presentation  — homebuilders are still in the very early stages of adoption of social media tactics.

Now, this is a movement that has been slowly gaining in the real estate community for some time. Over the past two years, most builders decided to cease their print advertising in the local daily newspapers and other print outlets — whether that was forced by budget restraints or a desire to forge new territory. But still, with so many incredibly smart marketing professionals in this category, there are surprisingly few cases studies to share of savvy social media use.

And so, there is tremendous opportunity.  Homebuilders have some catching up to do, but they are a resourceful group and will tackle this new marketing world quickly.

My co-panelists, Lora Heramb from Brookfield Homes and Jason Baer from Convince & Convert, report similar findings — or lack thereof.  There are a few examples of real estate developers and companies out there giving it a go:

• lennar.com – their home page is optimized for social media, with their Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other links easily accessible and right up front.
• Builder Magazine’s Twitter list – A listing of builders using Twitter to connect with buyers.
• A new blog started for Sales & Marketing Directors in the building industry called smartdirectors.com.
• Steve Doyle, our Brookfield Homes client, has had tremendous success with his blog on the industry.

Yet, there is still much opportunity for success and leadership in the building industry.  As we start to work our way out of a devastating downturn that has left the entire industry reeling, those that are in place to do the rebuilding are generally the more seasoned professionals with years of industry experience. They know the industry has to change, that we will never go back to the ways we did it before.  Some will try, and will soon realize the consumer has shifted -  forever.  Those that shift along with the consumer mindset will see the greatest success.

Stay tuned for more success stories and case studies about homebuilders using social media.  Our agency is leading our clients into the deep end, and others are as well.  I’m sure next year at PCBC, we will have tons of great examples as builders innovate and expand.

It’s hard not to get stuck in the day to day chaos of the economy and all the factors that go into the mix.  I find myself looking at each market change under a microscope, wondering what it means to my clients.  Which is why I’m relieved to have some retrospective, bigger picture data about the housing industry.

A little over a week ago, the National Association of Realtors released their 2008 home buyer and home seller survey results.  The results reveal broad trends that shed light on where we’re moving within the industry.  Here are some stats I found interesting:

• 87% of people who researched their home purchase online also used a real estate agent
• First-time home buyers have increased significantly due to tax credit and improvements to the FHA loan program
• Percentage of buyers who purchased a home in foreclosure increased 600%
• 41% of buyers said commuting costs were “very important”
• 90% of buyers said environmental features were important to them

Although this survey is industry-specific, it also shows marketing trends that can be applied to clients across the board.  For the quick marketing bullets and charts, check out this blogpost.

It’s not often that a homebuilder is open enough, honest enough, brave enough to try his hand at blogging.  (Let’s face it — this is not a group known for its transparency).  But that’s just what Brookfield Homes San Diego President Steve Doyle has started to do, and in my humble opinion he’s off to a pretty great start.  Steve launched expectmoreinahome.com/blog recently, and he presents a unique voice amidst the jabber of a million real estate opinions.

In an industry that has been widely vilified in the local and national media, blamed for the downturn in the economy and taken its share of hard hits financially, Steve’s voice remains clear and true.  His leadership and opinions about things and subjects much broader than today’s home prices help us all see there is a bigger picture.  And what a picture it is.

Steve covers subjects like our region’s shrinking water supply, and how that affects the way we will live in the future.  I like that Steve isn’t afraid to address tough issues like the economics of housing, or green building – WHICH HIS COMPANY DOESN’T EVEN DO (YET).  Obviously, his mind works beyond just self-serving fodder designed to sell his houses.  His opinions run deep.  And this is a subject worthy of digging.

Keep up the good work, Steve.  We’re listening.

Back in 2006ish, local economists claimed that San Diego would be the first market in the country to experience the bursting of the housing bubble. Those same people also said that we would be first to recover. The Union-Tribune published a report that supports the growing belief that it is now time that San Diego to lead the charge out of this downturn.In 2005, San Diego was the 29th most overvalued market in the country. Now, the report says that San Diego is the most under-valued.So please, everyone, find a deal and buy a home, or two. I’m kinda over this downturn.