What’s hot in the Central Valley? Wilson Homes’ latest concept neighborhood: Elev8ions at Harlan Ranch, now the fastest selling community in the Central Valley. Offering 1,203 to 1,595 square feet, up to 4 bedrooms, amazing turn-key packages—including front yard landscape maintenance—these detached homes quickly became a sensation, with 23 selling pre-grand opening!
Did we mention you can own one for just $1,176 down and $1,350 a month? These charming Balboa Island inspired cottage-style homes are now selling from the $100,000s.
If ever there was a time to bring something fresh to the market, this was it. And that’s exactly what Wilson Homes and William Hezmalhalch Architects (WHA) did.
The phones started ringing and the door knocking started as soon as the signs went up and the “Coming Soon” website was live. Why? With a reputation for high-quality home building, it is evident that when Wilson Homes builds a new community, people are eager to get in. When we first started working with the Wilson team, we were very excited about the opportunities ahead of us, for a few reasons. Leo Wilson built his legendary path in the custom-home arena and son, Todd Wilson, started in the company early on. They are a unique combination of proven, high-quality builders who have a strong foundation in tradition, but are true visionaries and true innovators. This was new, different, fresh and they were looking for the right approach to make the right impact. And it worked.
A fresh logo for a fresh take on community branding.
Elev8ions logo, seamlessly integrated throughout the campaign, is a fresh take on community branding geared towards single and young family homebuyers. The logo captures 8 founding principles of Wilson Homes’ vision each represented by 1 icon: eco smart, technology, quality, progressive home designs, friendly neighborhoods, detached homes, lifestyle oriented and flexible. Inspired by a wealth of meaning—perfection, love, friendship, prudence, balance and center—“8” represents all of the above, but most importantly, transcends cultures, religions and various areas of humanity. The spelling variation of “elevations” piques interest creates intrigue and invitation to learn more, thereby, engaging the buyer in a memorable and truly meaningful way.
No ordinary branding & marketing program would do—only select ingredients for a new and innovative brand of community.
While we held on to solutions that have traditionally worked in the past, we had the opportunity to share new and exciting solutions with Wilson Homes. Speaking of exciting, one important factor is that we started working with the Wilson team when architecture was still being designed, early on. While this may be a bit unexpected for some, at WHA, our Studio is brought into the mix much earlier on in the process, so that we may gain a deeper understanding of the vision, the opportunities, the challenges—in essence, the spirit of the community and it’s future inhabitants. Being in the room with the architect, Bill Hezmalhalch, the landscape designer, Terry, the builders, Leo Wilson, Todd Wilson and other key team members, brings a perspective unparalleled to that of starting with a 1 to 2 hour team “kick-off” meeting where an agency is to absorb months of planning, preparation, brainstorming and decision making.
We worked with Wilson Homes to develop the community’s brand and marketing materials from the ground up. From strategy, to focus groups, messaging and positioning, we developed the community’s name, tagline, logo, a 2.0 interactive website, email marketing platform, sales brochure, signage and social media program. As a completely new brand for the Wilsons, this was a big shift. Maintained are all of the key quality ingredients of a conventional home, but packaged in an attainable, uncompromised manner. The target audience had to be reached so they would know: this is a Wilson home, it’s detached, it’s attainable and it’s in Harlan Ranch, Clovis, CA. The marketing collateral needed to communicate this critical message—instantly.
Highlighting the incredible amenities and turn-key home inclusions.
Telling the story of 8 is critical to telling the story of “elev8ions.” Therefore, a large wall exhibit was designed and implemented as a way of engaging the viewer and driving home the “big” news of the founding principles. As the sales agent provides the virtual tour, the viewer casually absorbs the messages, reinforcing what makes Elev8ions a great community in which to own a home.
An oversized sales brochure that doubles as a community newsletter instantly communicating “this is big news!”
For this buyer and this unique community, we needed to communicate the big “news” with instant impact. The sales brochure design is in the format of a community newsletter, “In the Loop—Life at Elev8ions.” The brochure has all of the expected items—the floor plans, elevations, features—but presented in a manner that is interactive and will not appear stale over a period of time. Lifestyle images accompany the floor plans providing ideas of how to live in each particular space and the back cover highlights website activities and call-to-action to register. The imagery communicates “easy” living where individuals are smiling and enjoying the home spaces or the community amenities, balancing the suburban lifestyle with the “urban” feel of some of the homes.
Direct mail with impact.
A strategic blend of traditional and online advertising.
A variety of newspaper and Facebook ads are designed to promote events, virtual tours, turn-key ready homes, etc.
Integrated e-mail platform that sells, informs and motivates buyers and brokers.
An interactive, educational and socially integrated 2.0 website.
A fresh take on community branding, this 2.0 website has garnered many fans and happy homeowners. The design is clean featuring big bold titles, bright colors, highly specific imagery and loads of information easily accessed in a variety of user-based style. We have obtained over 100 registrants and sold over 40 homes. Elev8ions is now the fastest selling community in the Central Valley.
What makes this website engaging, entertaining and informative?
Virtual tours; Messages from the architect, interior designer & landscape architect (perfect for a new homebuyer); Floor plans demonstrating lifestyle options “Easy” emphasis and rich with imagery; 8 big ideas; “Smart & Easy Way to Buy;” Easy ways to connect and multiple ways to sign-up; Easy Pre-qualification; Homebuyer Testimonials; Turn-key Packages; Rotating image & message gallery.
An engaging social networking platform that gives fans options on their preferred method of communication & participation.
The Elev8ions Fan page is dedicated to communicating relevant information about the community—lifestyle, turn-key move-in ready homes, important events (not all geared towards selling) and useful advice for a new homeowner. Leveraging Facebook’s technology, events are posted and fans and friends (of Wilson Homes) are invited to participate. Polls are occasionally posted and “hot” news is a big hit with the fans!
The Team
Builder: Wilson Homes
Architect: William Hezmalhalch Architects, Inc. (WHA)
Colors & Materials: Donna Aldrich (WHA)
Virtual Tours: Focus 360
Interiors: Interior Lifestyles
Landscape: Broussard Landscaping
Branding / Marketing / Social / Website / Print / Signage / Advertising: Placewright Design
