City marketing campaigns

As I travel frequently (attending conferences and training for the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing), I see lots of advertising in the in-flight magazines. Most cities or metropolitan areas invest lots of money in advertising campaigns to encourage tourism  to their areas, and it seems as though every CVB or Chamber of Commerce goes through a major campaign re-invention every few years. I've been quite impressed over the last couple of years with the city of Birmingham's advertising campaign. While their initial approach was the Diverse"city," they've expanded their approach by highlighting letters of the city's name in the same way to continue the theme. If any of you have noticed their ads, I think it's a great example of a successful and very focused marketing campaign.

Marketing Must-Do

Sharon and I just returned from the Leaders in Luxury Conference in Dallas, TX, where we saw some gorgeous marketing pieces from around the country. One tip to share, though: if you're taking materials to out-of-town conferences, make sure that your city and state are clearly identified. Many people reproduce ads or fliers used in local marketing where that information is not included, and it makes materials useless to agents from elsewhere in the country!

Branding

Branding is all about consistency. It's important for your ads and marketing pieces to be consistent - in logo, photos, font, colors, etc. You also need to be consistent in quality - if you're in the luxury market, the quality of the publication, the look and feel of the paper, and the clarity of the advertisement all are part of the branding.

Tami Simms-Powel, Real Estate Agent serving St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.