LUXURY REAL ESTATE MARKETING ESSENTIALS

By Ron & Alexandra Seigel, Partners--Napa Consultants, International

In luxury real estate marketing, your aim is for your personal brand to become a household name, like Tiffany. You want to achieve celebrity status in your marketplace. This means you are the first to come to mind when someone is asked, "Who is the top luxury real estate professional in town?" Ask just about anyone who knows their luxury brands, "Which luxury jewelry store is the best known in the America?" Tiffany will come to mind first almost every time.

The New York Times Weekend Arts section featured the headline "On the Beach, Under a Tiffany-Blue Sky." The article was about books to read on the beach. The Tiffany blue color is trademarked and was first seen in an 1891 New York Times advertisement. Whether or not skies are actually the color of Tiffany-blue is irrelevant. It is the associations with the brand that sets an emotional tone for the article.

The reference to Tiffany illustrates the potential power of the brand. As a jewelry store, Tiffany is the best known brand across America. It has a prestigious heritage. Tiffany jewels have been worn by famous US families, such as the Vanderbilt's, the Astor's, and also the J.P. Morgans.

The 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" starred Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. This love story brought more fame to the brand. Audrey Hepburn's character, Holly Golightly, walks into Tiffany because it is "the best place in the world, where nothing bad can take place." What a glorious association for a brand.

In 2002, Tiffany promoted to a new generation of consumers in "Sweet Home Alabama". This time, Reese Whiterspoon's character, Melanie, goes into Tiffany's during off hours with her boyfriend to pick out engagement rings. This was a brilliant example of product placement in a film. Driving to Tiffany's in a limousine and gaining access to the store for a private shopping spree evoked a wonderful romantic notion that dreams can come true (especially if they come in blue boxes).

When a brand transcends its own category of product or service, or is used as a standard within the same industry, it reaches the pinnacle of its power in our culture. "The Rolls Royce of watches" would be an example. When a brand becomes a common noun like "Kleenex" to describe a facial tissue, or a verb, such as "to Xerox" or "to Google" it also falls into this elite category. Would you like to become the Tiffany of your marketplace?

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