A real estate development group (which we branded MetroPartners because of their unique approach to urban redevelopment) engaged us to help them brand and market two buildings near the Yonkers waterfront (an up-and-coming area). Awareness of the area was relatively low and many urban dwellers were resistant to venturing north to the "burbs."

Imagine – The developers wanted to fill their units – 66main and The Lofts at METRO92 as quickly as possible and reinforce to prospective tenants that the Yonkers waterfront is the hot place to live outside the NYC area…filled with history, culture, great restaurants, artists (and other cool folk), things to do, and (of course) great river views. The buildings would also feature fabulous luxury amenities found nowhere else in the area, such as in-unit washer/dryers and brand-new state of the art appliances.

Focus – We created great names, personalities, and brands for the buildings, a fully integrated marketing/advertising plan, and a month-by-month plan and tracking and analysis system (to ensure we didn’t overspend on things that weren’t working). We examined how other real estate companies did their marketing, but chose to selectively "break rules" in our strategy.

Buzz –  Green, online, breakthrough, ubiquitous and experiential were some of the keywords we’d use to describe the campaign. From the fold-out "coaster" brochure (on recycled stock) to the YouTube contest (which was featured on ABC-TV news) to the consistent web presence (including SEO, social media, and targeted e-blasts) to the series of "Yonkers Loves Renters" events (featuring a custom "geothermal" cocktail), we attracted thousands of visitors to the site.

Profit – Less than six months after our marketing program started, virtually all the units are rented. (We drove more than 20K visits to the website.) Hundreds of new Yonkers-ites are elated with their new dwelling places. The developer won awards and was featured in lots of media (including the Holy Grail – The NY Times real estate section). Van Der Donk is smiling in heaven.