Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Open New Channels of Creativity - Part 2

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: More Gatsby Co-Marketing Art Deco Style!

May 10, 2013

Co-marketing is a great way to create a buzz about your luxury real estate marketing practice and expand your sphere of influence. The key is to find the right non-competitive partners who share the same target market as you.

In our previous post, we had mentioned that Tiffany was co-marketing with Gastby by designing the jewelry worn in the movie, which is available for purchase on their website. The inside of the store pictured above, has a wonderful art deco period couch with deco rug, wallpaper and a TV screen featuring clips from the film.

Another window features long strands of pearls, very fashionable jewelry of the era with glasses of champagne, yes, another co-marketer the champagne in the movie is Imperial Moet & Chandon, which can be seen in the picture below in the Brooks Brothers window.

While strolling through Beverly Hills in the wee hours of the morning prior to our appointment, we noticed another co-marketer of Gastby's, Brooks Brothers. Brooks Brothers designed the menswear for the movie. Their store windows showed of the clothing of the Gatsby era, which can be purchased in store or on the website.

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals should think outside the box of the usual suspects with whom to co-market. We hope you are inspired by The Great Gastby movie co-marketers which are many, and include The New York Plaza Hotel with their Gatsby themed suite, iTunes with the sound track of the movie on their home page,& American Idol who featured their finalists singing a track from the movie as well as Will- I- Am who performed a number from the movie.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Open New Channels of Creativity

May 8, 2013

A major part of our luxury real estate personal and company branding practice involves developing strategies to help our clients gain or sustain market leadership and also coaching them to execute their strategies. From our perspective, the art of coaching is essentially this:

Encouragement to shift from reacting to current conditions to proactively creating new channels of creativity through which inspired, innovative action can flow.

Contrary to the majority of business coaches we believe that holding our clients accountable for anything is an utter waste of time-theirs and ours. For those of you who seek to consistently command the lion’s share of your marketplace, or a niche therein, there is absolutely no need for motivation tactics from your coach.

If you feel the need to be held accountable to achieve a goal of this caliber, motivation is the last thing that will work. It may be a quick fix at best, and it will not produce enduring results. Your passion and your competition should keep you engaged in the game and on your toes. Or, you might as well get out of the game, altogether.

There is no amount of wheedling, prodding, cajoling, coaxing, persuading, sweet-talking, enticing, invalidating, flattering or intimidating that will get you where you want to go.

Unwavering support and encouragement to dissolve your own self-doubts (the only thing that can stop you from consistently realizing your dreams) is the “secret sauce” that is required from your coach.

In this article series, we will discuss how proactively opening new channels of creativity can not only be the catalyst to attract new and exciting opportunities, but also to open the flood-gates of bountiful career satisfaction and self-actualization.

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The Language of Luxury to Cover the Club e-Luxe International Summit Live in Paris

May 6, 2013

We are excited to announce that The Language of Luxury has been invited by our LOL media partner, Luxe Corp, to cover the Club e-Luxe International Summit in Paris on June 12, 2013. This is the premier annual event on marketing via digital media for the luxury goods and services industry. We will be broadcasting live from Paris online during and after the event.

Some of the luxury companies that have participated in recent Club e-Luxe events include LVMH, Gucci Group, Cartier, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Burberry, Boucheron, Hermès, Piaget, Chopard, Fabergé, Vertu, Hublot, Dior, Coty, Pernod Ricard, Rémy Martin, Sonia Rykiel, L’Oréal, Lanvin and several others.

The event will focus on the theme of “The Web Economy: Understanding How Digital Media is Re-writing the Rules of Luxury & Transforming Value Creation". In addition to Web Economy, some of the topics to be addressed are: Digital Luxury Scorecard, Social Economy & Luxury, E-Commerce Economy & Luxury, Mobile Economy & Luxury, Digital Private Data Currency, E-Services Economy & Luxury, E-Communications Economy & Luxury, Digital Legal Frameworks, Virtual Reality Value, Digital Luxury Value in Asia and others.

Club e-Luxe which was created by Luxe Corp in 2006 in recognition of the important role of the internet, digital media and new technologies in luxury, has emerged to be the reference in digital luxury. The objective has remained to provide luxury companies with access to the most advanced strategies, knowledge, applications, systems, tools and concepts required for luxury to thrive online and offline in the context of new technologies and innovation.

Here is a link for more information:

Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Say Artisan Organic Cheese - Part 4

May 5, 2013

Chèvre with Peppercorns - Made with Goat's Milk

-BRAND POSITIONING-

In Part 3 of this Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding article series we discussed how Cowgirl Creamery, the Northern California (Sonoma County) producers of artisan organic cheeses, does not actually compete against global, mass-produced cheese brands, like Kraft’s Velveeta or Cheese Whiz. Their ideal customer is a sophisticated consumer with a discerning palate. We further clarified that the Cowgirl Creamery brand is sophisticated yet down to earth which resonates with the values of their ideal customers.

Red Hawk by Cowgirl Creamery - Made with Cow Milk

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals attempt to claim a similar brand position as they wrestle with their competition for the same target market. So, we posed this question:

“How can YOUR marketing message stand out in a sea of very similar communications from your competition who also claim they stand for the same thing?”

The answer is, get out of that wrestling match, all together! Find an uncontested or underserved lucrative market NICHE that you can serve better than anyone else and do so with passion. Here is a great example of another successful producer of artisan cheeses from the same county as Cowgirl Creamery.

Goat Milk Cheese VS Cow Milk Cheese

Goat cheese, or chèvre as it is called in France, has grown considerably in popularity in the United States. Laura Chenel is the recognized “pioneer” of American goat cheese production. From its humble beginnings in late 1970’s, Laura Chenel’s Chèvre has been acknowledged as America’s first name in chèvre.

The company’ state-of-the-art GOAT MILK ONLY creamery is located in Sonoma County’s famous Carneros region bordering Napa Valley. In 2006 Laura sold the company to the Rians Group, a French family of artisan cheese producers with a commitment to the same level of quality, tradition and artisan technique that Laura herself held.

Both Cowgirl Creamery and Laura Chenel’s Chèvre appeal to sophisticated consumers. Yet, like with Kraft cheeses, they are not really in direct competition with each other.

However, in relationship to OTHER GOAT CHEESE MAKERS, the harmonious blending of French technique and Sonoma terroir (geographic, geologic and climatic conditions), place Laura Chenel’s Chèvre more in the “highly sophisticated” end of the sophisticated spectrum for its brand position (see Part 3). Being the “first mover” in a new brand category further strengthens the authoritativeness of this brand position.

Your brand position is that part of your luxury brand identity and promise of value that you must actively communicate to your target market in such a way that it establishes a distinct advantage over your competition.

We hope you have enjoyed this article series on brand positioning and have understood the importance of articulating your own brand position. If you would like our assistance in clarifying and communicating your brand position in relationship to your competition, we would be delighted to be of assistance. That is our expertise.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Say Artisan Organic Cheese - Part 3

May 2, 2013

-BRAND POSITIONING-

In Part 2 of this article series we offered a definition of a brand position. Your brand position is that part of your luxury brand identity and promise of value that you must actively communicate to your target market in such a way that it establishes a distinct advantage over your competition. Sharply defining your brand position as a luxury real estate marketing professional is essential!

We explained that Cowgirl Creamery, the Northern California artisan organic cheese maker, is not actually competing with the likes of Kraft cheese. Their target market is sophisticated, discerning consumers, not those who prefer mass-produced products.So, how does Cowgirl Creamery stand out from their direct competitors-other artisan cheese brands who also target sophisticated customers? That is where the fine-tuning of one’s brand positioning comes into play.

People like to do business with people (and companies) who share their values and have compatible personalities. Yes, companies have brand personalities, too! What are some of the qualities that come to mind when you think of a cowgirl?

A cowgirl is a woman who tends cattle. She is a woman with true grit: determination, bravery, tenacity, fortitude, and courage.

If you value these characteristics you certainly can identify with Sue Conley and Peggy Smith the co-founders of Cowgirl Creamery. They both came to San Francisco, “on a hippie trip” in 1976 after completing their degrees at the University of Tennessee and established careers in some of San Francisco’s most famous kitchens.

Their brand story, their background, their provenance in the culinary industry, establishes a brand position of down to earth sophistication. To express the down to earth dimension of their brand, their logo uses a “western” font and a silhouette of a cowgirl on a horse.

To amplify their expertise you can find all of the awards their cheeses have won on their website. To communicate their authoritativeness and also to extend their online offerings beyond their own menu of cheeses, you can find an extensive library of cheeses that the company sells on a wholesale basis.

The entire purpose of clarifying your brand position is to make it quick and easy for your IDEAL CLIENTS OR CUSTOMERS to recognize that you are like them so they will be inclined to do business with you.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of down to earth sophisticated consumers are the highly sophisticated consumers who want to distance themselves from the more down to earth variety. To many this may come across as “snooty” or pretentious. But, this is not necessarily the case.

In the late 1970s through the 80s, The Helmsley Palace Hotel in New York ran an advertising campaign that communicated brilliantly to this segment of the luxury hotel market. In one ad owner, Leona Helmsley, was pictured with the plush Turkish towels they provided to guests with a quote that went something like this: “I would not settle for anything less than the finest Turkish towels, why should you?”

Brand positioning is all about clearly conveying your extraordinary promise of value to your ideal clients with an emphasis on how your value proposition is more advantageous than your competitors’. But, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, how can you get your message to stand out in a sea of very similar communications from your competition. Stay tuned for the answer in Part 4.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Say Artisan Organic Cheese - Part 2

May 1, 2013

Brand Position, Continued

A common concern expressed by our luxury real estate personal and company branding clients is coming across as too pretentious with their new brand identity. Some have trepidation about alienating prior clients whose homes may not be in the top tier of the price range in their marketplace. Others just do not want to be perceived as “snooty”.

One of the reasons we selected the cheese makers, Cowgirl Creamery, as the focal point of this article series is because they exemplify a luxury brand that is down to earth. Their brand is definitely sophisticated, but by no means pretentious.

In Part 1 we discussed how, unlike Kraft cheeses that are mass produced for a global market, Cowgirl Creamery is a local (Northern, CA) artisan and they use only organic milk. These two companies have entirely different target markets. Local, artisan and organic represent, in a nutshell, their brand position that they actively communicate to a sophisticated and discerning target market.

One of our favorite dining experiences was in a restaurant in the town of Parma, Italy. As soon as we were seated at the table, huge chunks of delicious, locally produced, aged Parmesan cheese was served along with freshly baked hot crusty Italian bread, compliments of the house.

Once you have an experience like this it is next to impossible to even consider sprinkling pre-grated, non-aged Parmesan cheese from a green cardboard container, on your pasta. Yet, there is a huge target market that is delighted with the convenience of Kraft’s boxed Parmesan cheese.

Your brand position is that part of your luxury brand identity and promise of value that you must actively communicate to your target market in such a way that it establishes a distinct advantage over your competition. In the case of Cowgirl Creamery they are not actually competing with Kraft. They compete with other cheese artisans.

In marketing luxury real estate, when your competition is also sophisticated you may need to refine your brand position even further. There are many levels of sophistication, a full range within a spectrum from completely unpretentious to highly sophisticated. That is what we will cover in Part 3 of this article series. You may be surprised to discover that what some may consider “snootiness”, in some cases, can work very much to your advantage.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Say Artisan Organic Cheese

April 29, 2013

Recently, a website was called to our attention, in the realm of luxury goods and services, that exemplifies many of the principles that we focus upon in our luxury real estate personal and company branding practice. In this article series we will cover the principles that make Cowgirl Creamery a candidate for our Brilliance in Branding Award. In Part 1 we will discuss the principle of brand positioning, the importance of which often alludes luxury real estate marketing professionals in their personal and company branding.

- Brand Positioning -

We were first introduced to Cowgirl Creamery several years ago when we visited one of their retail stores located in a San Francisco culinary hot spot, the Ferry Building. On our first encounter, we thought the clever attention-getting brand name stood out and we immediately knew what that brand stood for. Their brand position is crystal clear.

When you think of Kraft cheese, Velveeta or Cheese Whiz (both made by Kraft Foods) do you think of a luxury brands? Cowgirl Creamery stands for local (Northern California) artisan organic cheeses. In just three words they differentiate themselves making it impossible to confuse them with the global conglomerate’s brands.

You can find Cowgirl Creamery cheeses in Whole Foods Markets. But, you most likely will not find their products other large food market chains. Kraft stands for consistently reliable, people-pleasing cheese for the masses. This does not imply that their cheeses are inferior. They just appeal to a different target market.

Your luxury real estate brand and your website provide the best opportunity to communicate your extraordinary promise of value and how you are distinct from your competition. If you do not instantaneously let your target market and potential referral base know your brand position, that is, what you stand for, how you are distinct and also how you want to be perceived, they will pigeonhole you by default. Once that happens it becomes very difficult to get them to re-categorize you in their minds on your own terms.

In subsequent articles in this series we will cover more principles of branding that are exemplified in Cowgirl Creamery company branding.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Are You Spinning Your Wheels in Social Media

April 26, 2013

Without a focused strategy and a unique “point of view” as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you are just spinning your wheels with social media. And, this becomes a colossal waste of time! Without original content, you might as well re-channel your energy on more productive means of developing new business.

Originality and innovation can be rewarded handsomely with viable business leads, but only when you consistently publish buzz-worthy, follow-worthy content through social media. To exercise your original thinking process you need to extrovert and see innovation everywhere you go.

When you think of a hamster in a cage exercising what image comes to mind first? Do you think of an exercise wheel made of wire mesh? Think again!

We recently took a trip to our local pet store to pick up some food for our cats, Zoe and Kobe. There we spotted a new and improved twist on an old product for small animals (not cats): A better exercise wheel! Instead of the typical wire mesh version, this blue plastic “flying saucer” exercise wheel has a unique value proposition not only for pets, but also for their owners. Both products promise better health and freedom from boredom for pets. But, this one is toe and tail safe and pets love the solid running surface. Best of all, it is easier to clean for you than the mesh version. Both wheels cost the same.

You might liken the wire mesh version of the exercise wheel to the incumbent market leader in your luxury real estate marketplace. The market leader enjoys top-of-mind status. That is, until some challenger comes along with a superior value proposition.

If you did not know, about the “flying saucer” exercise wheel until now (like us) it will be fairly difficult not to think about this product category challenger going forward. A shift in top-of-mind status can literally happen instantly, like it did for us in a flash! But, you need a strategy, an original approach, to pull this off. The plastic version of the wheel is most likely less expensive to produce.

This goes to show that you do not have to out-spend the incumbent market leader, you need to out-think your competition. This is exactly what we help our clients accomplish in our luxury real estate strategic branding practice.

When you publish original content, social media gives you the opportunity to show your target market how you think before they even meet you. But, out-smarting your competition requires strategic thinking. Conversely, social media can also show just how unoriginal you are if your content is canned. Given the psychographics of those who can afford to buy luxury real estate, you can be assured that these high net worth individuals are more prone to value innovation and originality.

Stop spinning your wheels with social media. Get focused. Be original and innovative. Or, get off the wheel.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Co-Marketing Art Deco Style!

April 22, 2013

Chrysler building in New York, photo by kts

Co-marketing is a great way to create a buzz about your luxury real estate marketing practice and expand your sphere of influence. The key is to find the right non-competitive partners who share the same target market as you.

Tiffany’s has a strong tradition of co-marketing with the movie industry. The classic film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, certainly created a buzz about the jeweler when it opened in 1961. The hit song Moon River gave the terrific press about movie (and Tiffany’s) “legs”, meaning that it continued to stay “top-of-mind” for years. Because the movie became a classic it is still viewed by generations of fans via Netflix and other online distribution channels.

Tiffany also co-marketed with the movie, Sweet Home Alabama to reach new generations with their primary marketing message, “buy your engagement ring at Tiffany’s”. Now they are co-marketing with the newest version of the Great Gatsby opening in May 2013.

To create a buzz for the movie and the company, Tiffany’s reproduced some if its art deco jewelry worn by actors in the film. You can actually purchase these pieces on their website. They also have temporarily transformed the look of their store in New York by adding art deco applique to the exterior of the building and by designing Great Gatsby window displays.

The Great Gatsby story took place in the “Jazz Age” when the art deco style flourished. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, this is one of the architectural styles that would well be worth studying. The iconic Chrysler Building in New York is still a monument to that era. Let the Great Gatsby and Tiffany’s co-marketing venture inspire you seek your own co-marketing partners.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Nature Can Inspire Extraordinary Design -Part 5

April 17, 2013

www.RodgersandBurton.com

Authenticity, in communicating your personal or company branding through luxury real estate website design is paramount! Your colors need to be authentic not only in expressing your personal preferences but also in reflecting your local environment. For example, if you use a photo of a beach in the Bahamas to represent your New England shoreline, the colors of the sand and the ocean will portray an unauthentic marketing message.

For our client’s, the market leading team of Neena Rodgers and Diana Burton, it was important that we researched and found the right image of a Chesapeake Bay oyster to incorporate into their brand identity. Connoisseurs of oysters would have spotted the difference immediately, if we used a non-local oyster. Of course, for research purposes, these ladies treated us to some of the best oysters we have ever tasted, harvested that morning, when we visited them in Virginia.

Inspired by the local natural colors that reflected the Virginia luxury waterfront lifestyle we chose a color palette and brand theme that also reflected the personalities of these accomplished professionals who represent well over 50% of all top tier listings in their area. Had we used an oyster from another locale for the color scheme, the “DNA” of their brand identity would have been completely different and unauthentic.

Rodgers & Burton Brand Identity Color Palette

Check out the difference between the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Oyster color palette and the palette from oysters from another locale depicted below.

Chesapeake Bay Oyster Color Palette

Other Oysters- Not Virginia Chesapeake Bay Oysters

Other Oysters Color Palette

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to read the entire series that was inspired by a behind-the-scene tour of our Santa Barbara Natural History Museum.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Nature Can Inspire Extraordinary Design -Part 4

April 15, 2013

This article series on Luxury Real Estate Website Design was inspired by a special behind-the-scene tour of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum and a private viewing of their sample collection of sea shells and other mollusks. In Part 3 we showed an example of creating a Wine Country personal brand identity based on the colors of red and white wine: burgundy and gold. Here, in Part 4, we circle back to our samples of shells and focus on the texture of the sea scallops that are also variations of burgundy and gold colors.

In the same way a change in one minor component of DNA creates an entirely different species, so it is true that slightly different combinations or variations of colors and textures can create an entirely different brand. Certainly, there are a number of luxury real estate marketing professionals in the Wine Country. But, expressing one agent’s personal brand by factoring in unique gradations of colors and textures that reflect personal values and personality traits, results in a brand identity that stands out from all rest.

Texture is created graphically through light and shadow of colors and also the repetition of patterns. Notice how the proportions of burgundy and gold seen in the stripes and the spaces between stripes of these two scallops depicted above create two distinct designs and identities. The difference in DNA between the two is minor yet the outward appearance is quite dissimilar.

Scallop on Left

Wine Country Burgundy (from Part 3)

Scallop on Right

One of the greatest challenges of luxury real estate marketing professionals is expressing their unique promise of value. In our luxury real estate strategic branding and website design practice that is exactly what we help them to do. In Part 5 we will show how an oyster, from the Chesapeake Bay, inspired the team brand identity of the luxury real estate market leaders in Virginia waterfront homes.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Nature Can Inspire Extraordinary Design -Part 3

April 10, 2013

In luxury real estate website design and personal branding, we “dial-in” to our client’s DNA, their unique brand identity as expressed through their favorite colors, their personality, their values and other dimensions of their personal brand that make them stand out from the competition. In selecting brand colors it is important to also dial-in to the environment of the marketplace, which is what we covered in Part 2. Tempering one’s personal color favorites with the influence of one’s natural surrounding can create the perfect harmony of colors.

Here, in Part 3, we discuss the opposite approach in color selection: Taking color cues from the environment and amplifying the theme to express the DNA of the personal or company brand.

The use of texture combined with color can change the entire mood of the brand identity and reflect what is unique about the brand. For example, it can express a full range of nuances in the spectrum between an informal brand and formal brand, between a contemporary brand and more traditional brand.

Maurice Tegellaar LogoOur client, Maurice Tegelaar, is a leading Wine Country expert in Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley. Inspired by just the colors of red and white wine, together we chose a burgundy and gold theme for his personal brand. However, if you look closely you will notice that there are many subtle shades and hues of red and gold in his brand identity.

Together, these colors create a more formal mood, a level of sophistication that contrasts with the rather casual and informal environment of the Wine Country. Yet, the contemporary font provides an edgy detail.

Prior to becoming a top luxury real estate marketing professional, Maurice was a CPA involved in financial management operating out of San Francisco. He also has extensive experience in interior design and a keen appreciation for architectural details. Maurice’s brand style is understated, unconventional, contemporary sophistication—timeless and elegant, yet with a charming wit.

To express Maurice’s brand we used gradations of color to create a clean, smooth texture. If you look closely you will see many nuances of burgundy and gold colors, although at a glance it looks like just two colors.

In Part 4, we will circle back to the environment as the dominant influence of color selection. We will show how an expanded palette of burgundy and gold tones express themselves in sea scallops and also how an oyster, from the Chesapeake Bay, inspired the team brand identity of the luxury real estate market leaders in Virginia waterfront homes.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Nature Can Inspire Extraordinary Design -Part 2

April 9, 2013

Many luxury home markets are in vacation destinations, which means buyers are seeking a relief from the stress of their current environment when they purchase a vacation home. Therefore, using intense colors in your personal and company branding may be jarring to your target market. In our fast-paced world of luxury real estate marketing it is a good idea to slow down to a snail’s pace every so often to appreciate the exquisite subtlety of colors in nature that can be more soothing to the eye.

It is important to select colors for your brand identity and website design that are your personal favorites. However, tempering the shades and hues of your favorite colors to harmonize with local colors is often advisable. Conversely, if your personal favorites are subdued and your marketplace is more likely you may consider amping up your color scheme.

Some of the obvious colors that are associated with luxury goods are burgundy, forest green, gold and black. Although, the simple use of two or three colors is often effective, an expanded color palate can add a rich diversity to the visual experience.

Green shells (left)

Snail shells (right)

In our luxury real estate strategic branding and website design practice, we often look to nature for inspiration when selecting a color palette for our clients based on their basic preferences. These snail shells provide some examples of non-obvious color schemes that depart from burgundy, forest green and gold.

Always keep in mind that everyone has personal color preferences. These colors may not resonate with you. There is an entire psychology of colors that we will delve into in future articles. Stay tuned for Part 3 where we take our color palette inspiration from sea scallops.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Nature Can Inspire Extraordinary Design - Part 1

April 8, 2013

In a recent article series, A Whale of a Good Time, we talked about the importance of setting aside time to get out, meet new people and pursue new interests that can broaden your knowledge base just for the joy of learning. On our behind-the-scenes tour of Santa Barbara’s Natural History Museum one of the curators showed us samples of the millions of sea-shells and mollusks that they keep for research purposes.

We had a wonderful time on this outing, and we were also thoroughly inspired by this particular exquisite collection. In the following articles in this series, we will demonstrate how Nature can be a fabulous source of inspiration for luxury real estate website design and branding.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Have a Whale of a Good Time!

April 5, 2013

One of the keys to being successful as a luxury real estate marketing professional is having a wide range of interests, which enables you to connect on many levels with your clients and referrals sources. Being more interested than interesting will serve you well in your career. Setting aside time in your busy schedule to develop new interests, and meet new people, is just as important to your own health and well being as it is to your career. And, you will have a whale of a good time in life if you do!

Recently, we were invited to join a select group of people for a private, behind the scenes tour of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The absolutely fascinating tour was conducted by two of the curators of the museum, both of whom are biologists. Dr. Krista Fahy is in charge of vertebrates and Patricia Sadeghian specializes in invertebrates, particularly crustaceans.

What made this an extraordinary experience was the level of passion that these professionals feel for their work and their commitment to excellence. We had no idea of the extent of research in which the museum is involved. Nor, did we realize the level of cooperation within the international community of Natural History Museums and universities throughout the world.

The skeleton of the 76-foot long, 10-12 year old blue whale (depicted here) weighs about 7000 pounds. Live, this whale weighed 140,000 pounds. Adults can live into their nineties and grow to 96 feet. Their calves consume 110 gallons of milk every day, and gain 200 lbs a day.

Blue whales, the largest known mammals, are found right off of our Santa Barbara coastline during their migration. At that time,(July-October) you can participate in a whale watching expedition by boat.

Get interested! Take the time to explore some of the wonders that are accessible in your own community. And, have a whale of a good time!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Great Marketing is Matchmaking - Part 2

April 2, 2013

In Part 1 of this article series we indicated that, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, a marketing mindset is an abundance-based mindset. A selling mindset is a scarcity-based mindset. A shift to a marketing mindset can make all the difference in the world to your bottom line. But, where do you begin?

1. Shift Your Focus and Your Attitude

First, you must shift your focus to a marketing mindset where you are OPEN to perceiving an abundance of potential new clients in your marketplace. Here is the catch, however: If you do not also shift your general attitude, that is, your mental mindset from scarcity-based to abundance-based, then you simply will not perceive the new opportunities!

2. Narrow Your Focus. Identify an Uncontested or Under served Market Niche That You Can Dominate

You must identify a lucrative uncontested or under served market niche that you can dominate and also be passionate about serving better than anyone else. By shifting your mindset from selling to marketing, you will discover that this niche has an abundance of potential client matches for you, a demand, in fact, for someone just like you. Here is how this principle played out in the field of online relationship matchmaking.

Match.com and eHarmony.com are two of the biggest online relationship matchmaking services. The competition is fierce at the top for customers in this field. Does it make any sense to start another matchmaking service? Why fight over crumbs that the market leaders leave behind? That would involve a scarcity-based mindset.

Three companies answered this question by identifying an under served segment of the overall market and set out to serve their niche far better than the big brands. OurTime.com specializes in the 50+year olds seeking a mate. BlackPeopleMeet.com serves African American singles. And, ChristianMingle.com is the online community created specifically for Christian singles looking to find friends, romance or marriage.

The customers of these online matchmaking services are more likely to find the right matches because the focus of the service is more aligned with their particular needs and values. It is highly unlikely that the big brands can serve these customers as well as those who specialize in their niches.

By offering a superior value proposition to customers in these segments, the new companies are watching an abundance of “fish” jump into their boats rather than going fishing for prospects with a scarcity-based mindset. Customers believe that the likelihood of finding like-minded matches is greater within a more focused niche. Therefore, the trust factor starts out high and trust accelerates sales.

Can you see why you would not have to sell a 50-plus -year-old single on the value of using OurTime.com vs. Match.com? That is the difference between a marketing mindset and a selling mindset, between an abundance-based mindset and a scarcity-based mindset. It all begins with a shift in focus, a shift in attitude and a shift in mindset!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Great Marketing is Matchmaking

April 1, 2013

In marketing luxury real estate ideal transactions are those where buyers feels that they have found a home that is a perfect fit for their needs and wants at a price that is mutually acceptable to the seller. The same principle applies to marketing you; that is, finding clients who are an ideal match to your core values and your personality. When like-minded people who share similar values and compatible personalities do business together business relationships and transactions just flow more smoothly.

People like to do business with people they trust, those who share their values. People trust people like themselves. Trust accelerates sales. Mistrust introduces resistance and slows things down.

Great luxury real estate marketing is actually great matchmaking because, when you find clients who are the right matches, selling becomes irrelevant. If you find yourself selling, you are trying too hard to convince someone with dissimilar values that they should forego their own values (or buy something they actually do not need or want). It is like trying to pound a round peg in a square hole. It is stressful to you and the client.

Essentially, if you feel you have to resort to selling, you need to step back, shift your mindset and re-examine your marketing. At some point you have convinced yourself that there is a scarcity of clients who are a match to your values and personality. That is ALWAYS an erroneous assumption, even though it appears to be the case from a scarcity-based mindset. Shifting to an abundance-based mindset, you suddenly discover an abundance of clients who are looking for you as ardently as you are looking for them because you have the potential to be a perfect fit.

A marketing mindset is an abundance-based mindset. A selling mindset is your clue that you have slipped into a scarcity-based mindset. Stay tuned for part two of this article series to discover how shifting your focus from a selling mindset to a marketing mindset can make all the difference in the world to the bottom line of your luxury real estate marketing practice.

Part 2

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Celebrate the Luxury of Diversity

March 29, 2013

America is known at the melting pot where different cultures live and work together. As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is paramount that you understand and appreciate the nature of your clients’ backgrounds, including their countries of origins, their cultures and the holidays they celebrate. This is a great time of the year to celebrate the luxury of diversity!

Springtime is a time for holiday and religious observations. Here are some of the holidays to be aware of this time of the year:

The month of March ends with the observance of the Christian celebration of Easter. In some countries (Central, and South American} the whole week prior to Easter Sunday is known as Santa Semana (the holy week). Many observe the holiday during the entire week by not working and going to church.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year begins on March 31^st. Nowruz is celebrated by the people of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Kashmir, Azerbaijan, the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, Syria and Georgia.

The Jewish Passover began on the 26^th and will be observed through April 2^nd. The Bahá'í Faith celebrates Ridvan (a twelve day period from April 21-May 2), signifying when Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed His Mission as God's Messenger for this age at a garden in Baghdad, which became known as the Garden of Ridván (Paradise).

This year, the Christian Orthodox faith celebrates its Easter on May 5^th, as they follow the Julian calendar, instead of the universal Gregorian calendar. One of the reasons the Christian Orthodox celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar is that Christ died after celebrating Passover, so it makes sense that their Easter would follow after that.

In our commercial real estate practice, we had clients of all faiths and cultures. They were always delighted that we knew their holidays. We were often invited to celebrate with them, learn their beliefs and taste their celebratory foods. Personally, (Alexandra here), I had the luxury of celebrating 2 Easters as my mother was Roman Catholic and my father was Greek Orthodox, and the same was true of Christmas. Ron and I also celebrated Passover with Jewish friends, and Nowruz with Iranian clients.

We wish everyone of every faith and culture a very happy celebration during this wonderful time of year. Celebrate the luxury of diversity!

* The illustration above is known at the diversity tree of love.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Define Your POV (Point of View)Part 2

March 26, 2013

In part 1 of this article series, we discussed the importance of having a Point of View (POV) as a journalist via the media of your blog. This is essential if you want to engage online readers and build a loyal audience of raving fans who are interested in what you are writing about, and are inspired to refer you, list with you, and buy from you.

Your goal is to engage the attention of your target audience. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. Think of all the online marketing that is vying for their attention. Your audience is actually voting with their attention. Why should they vote for you?

People give their attention to people and things that resonates with their values and with their personality. That is why it is so important to have a distinct Point of View that amplifies your values and your personality. With a distinct POV that is clearly articulated your target audience will be able to discover that you are attention-worthy, faster. With all of the competition for attention, this is now an imperative.

If you are a fan of seafood as we are, you have many choices as to where you buy your fish and shellfish. Every major supermarket chain has a seafood section and also sells frozen fish.

Here in Santa Barbara, we are very fortunate to have local fisherman who sell their catch of the day at the harbor and also at our local Farmers Market (when conditions are favorable). We also have a spectacular wholesale seafood distributor, Kanaloa, which sells local and imported seafood to restaurants and markets all over the country.

The quality and variety of Kanaloa’s fish is unparalleled in California. Lucky for us they are open to the public as well. But, what is their POV as a company? Here is their mission statement that thoroughly resonates with us making them worthy of our attention, our customer loyalty and rave reviews:

“Doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, for the right individual, for the right reason, with the right feeling…every time.”

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals and companies strive for excellence. But, few attain it consistently. Let Kanaloa be an inspiration to you. It certainly has inspired us.

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