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Nationals Gold Awards Generate Sales
 In a challenging market, The Nationals — the National Sales and Marketing awards can provide more than just industry recognition. Winning the gold can translate into sales success.
The Nationals, sponsored by NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Council, honor the best in architectural achievement, product and community design, advertising and promotion, interior merchandising and Web site design. They are the largest and most prestigious competition for new-home sales and marketing professionals and communities.
The case studies of three 2007 gold award winners that follow show how winning the award can be used as a powerful marketing tool that validates consumer interest through third-party credibility that translates into sales. That kind of consumer validation is hard to come by these days.
The winners have promoted their awards and products through traditional public relations, community involvement and with accolades gained from these efforts. They capitalized on the credibility and buzz generated by the awards to help drive traffic to their sales offices and give prospective customers the reassurance they need to buy.
Using Traditional PR Tools
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D.R. Horton’s Port Marluna neighborhood at Seabridge. Photo by Look Photography | Builder D.R. Horton earned Master Planned Community of the Year honors for its Seabridge marina community in Oxnard, Calif.
D.R. Horton promoted the honor in all its communications materials — including print advertising, onsite merchandising, press releases and online marketing.
By publicizing the significance of the national recognition, D.R. Horton was able to position Seabridge as an even more desirable and sought-after place to live.
Getting the Community Involved
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Barratt American promoted winning the Nationals gold award in a community advertisement for Aragon.
By Promar Designs |
Barratt American won in the Best Attached Home Plan Under $500,000 category for its innovative Plan 1 at Aragon in La Mesa, Calif. The three-story, 1,052-square-foot unit is part of a Mediterranean-style, 58-unit community designed for the “mingles” buyer profile ― singles who buy together.
The homes offered two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and an attached two-car garage, among other features attractive to the targeted “mingles” buyers. Aragon was built in La Mesa’s urban renewal zone on the site of an abandoned trailer park.
After winning the award, the company publicized the honor in the San Diego area using targeted media lists and focused press releases, advertorials and advertisements.
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Larry Clemens, president of Barratt American’s Urban Division, and La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid
Photo by Jack Smith
| But Barratt American didn’t stop there. The builder presented a duplicate of the award to the mayor of La Mesa, Art Madrid, during special ceremonies to honor and recognize the city’s participation in the creation of the award-winning neighborhood and community.
“Aragon’s win was recognition for the entire city of La Mesa and we wanted to find a way to present it as such,” said Lenette Hewitt, former Barratt American vice president of sales and marketing. “With this ceremony, the city and its citizens not only gained confidence in Barratt American as a builder but in the quality of the product that the company provides.”
The presentation to the city was reported in the local media and gave the builder additional news coverage that would not have been possible otherwise.
“The win and presentation helped to not only generate more business within the city of La Mesa itself, it also provided a perfect opportunity to gain new business opportunities,” Hewitt said.
The community has sold out.
Environmental Accolades
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The Del Sur Ranch House advertisement featuring its Nationals gold award win.
By Lance Gordon |
Builder/developer Black Mountain Ranch, LLC earned a gold award for its environmentally-sound Ranch House welcome center for its Del Sur master-planned community in San Diego, Calif.
The Ranch House boasts such innovative design features as interior cabinets made from sunflower husks, flooring made from wheat waste and stones quarried from the property for its fireplace, façade and landscape walls. These and other green and sustainable features set the tone for Del Sur and it’s marketing.
After winning the award, Tamara Tatich, of Black Mountain Ranch, displayed it prominently in the Ranch House. As planned, prospective buyers noticed it.
“When potential buyers see the award and ask about it, it provides such credibility to all the positive things that this community has done,” Tatich said. “Receiving an award from The Nationals speaks volumes about the quality of the product and this, in turn, validates buyers’ positive feelings and perhaps gives them that needed push to become part of something that ranked highest in the nation.”
“As a developer, acquiring industry recognition is an important component in a successful land sales program,” Tatich continued. “The home builder is our customer and publicizing awards as prestigious as The Nationals gold award through industry media hits our target audience of builders and distinguishes us from the competition.”
Putting It All Together
Sales and marketing teams should be aware that the category they enter and the current state of their project could ultimately determine how a Nationals win might beef up their sales efforts.
If the award recognizes an actively selling project and honors an aspect of the project that benefits consumers or helps validate their attraction to the project, then advertising the award or taking a more grassroots marketing approach just might make the effort worth its weight in, well, gold.
Julia Simms, a 25-year veteran of the public relations and marketing communications business, is the president and founder of j. simms agency based in San Diego. Specializing in advertising, branding, media relations and publicity campaigns for home builders and land developer, j. simms agency provides complete integrated marketing services, establishing brand recognition and market position for its clients through targeted campaigns. For more information, e-mail Simms, call her at 858-689-9909 or visit www.jsimmsagency.com.
This article was originally published in NAHB's Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine.
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