When companies hire on an agency, they hire them on for a specific reason. Whether it is branding, public relations, or advertising, they have a goal in mind and they want their agency to get them there as quickly as possible.

Over three years ago, Laurel Bay Homes, came to Bailey Gardiner to help them sell their condominiums in Bankers Hill. I wasn’t here in the very beginning, but I’ve worked on this account for the last 2.5 years. In that period I have partaken in numerous different strategies, creative campaigns and media buys. Our advertising consisted of everything from out-of-home, to online, to newspapers to traditional print.

Before creating the final campaign, we conducted a survey among everyone who had bought a Laurel Bay home within the last year. Our goal was to learn more about the types of people that bought at Laurel Bay, where they were coming from and where they had heard about Laurel Bay. What we learned was this:

- #1 reason people bought was the location

- 71% bought at Laurel Bay for a second home

- 80% of buyers did not live in San Diego

- 51 was the average age

- The vast majority had heard of Laurel Bay from a Realtor

With this information, we learned that we really should be targeting people in drive markets (primarily LA, OC and Phoenix) instead of placing a lot of our advertising in San Diego. We also focused on targeting Realtors more by calling out the incentives Laurel Bay offered them.

With this shift, we were able to help Laurel Bay officially sell out in December 2009.

It’s bittersweet that this goal has been accomplished. On one side, we helped the client achieve exactly what they wanted. On the other, that means they are no longer our client. It was strange for me to see my very first client leave, but I understand that this is just another part of the agency world.

So, to Laurel Bay, thank you for a great three years and congratulations on selling out!