PROJECT BUILD BREAKS NEW GROUND

An invitation to help shape our region is extended to the Okanagan’s developers, contractors, builders, suppliers, trades, realtors and professional service providers. The door is open for everyone to get involved in Project Build, a collaborative initiative to raise funds for the community’s future, to be managed by the Central Okanagan Foundation, “COF.”

Derek Trethewey of the Okanagan Land Development Corporation kicked off the project with a contribution to COF of $275,000 - donation of a building site in The Lakes valued at $140,000 and an additional $135,000 in funds. (more…)

Have you ever considered Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Likely not. But your customers are when they make their purchasing decisions.

In 1954 Abraham Maslow first published his theory on how humans make choices. He established a hierarchy that stated that once our physiological needs were met – the absolute basics: breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion; that we then moved up the pyramid and wanted make sure our safety was taken care of, then we could move to love and belonging, finally esteem and then self-actualization. (more…)

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There has been a lot in the news recently about housing starts, house prices and what is happening in the Okanagan and Kelowna real estate market. Being so intimately involved with so many clients in the development industry, we’re seeing what’s happening from the inside.

As so many new developments are coming on stream, and there are more on the horizon, consumers are being given greater choice and they are quick to recognize this as an opportunity to better pricing on an overabundance of product.

Is your product aimed at the right market?
The real estate offering has to be properly differentiated and targeted to the right market. We’ve seen many examples of a great product aimed at the wrong market. Often with repositioning, the appropriate consumer can be attracted and the development will start moving - but there are a lot of costs associated with this error. As well as increased marketing costs, additional time for the sales process means capital and finance costs are incurred and loss of opportunity within the marketplace. The audience doesn’t take well to this type of confused messaging.

Build on a solid foundation.
It is becoming increasingly important that developers build on their reputation and illustrate a proven history. Consumers are more sophisticated, and more leery. They’ve also heard the media reports about projects that didn’t get built. Make sure you can prove to them that you will be there to actually build the project and are around for the long term.

Is everyone singing the same song?
If the brand is the personality – then make sure your project doesn’t have a personality disorder. The brand should be consistently presented throughout all consumer touch points so that the consumer can easily understand the product offering from many perspectives. This means that the brand styling has to be consistently applied. Whether it is the visuals that are in the ads and the discovery centre, or the style of radio commercials and the sales person. Make sure it all works together and reflects the message you want to be conveying.

As consumers become more sophisticated and product choices mount, appropriate marketing for recreational and residential properties will become increasingly important to the success of the projects. Madhouse Creative has worked on the marketing for over $1.25 billion worth of real estate projects throughout the Okanagan and Washington state, our experience has enabled us to build strategies that will reach the consumer, to craft the right message that will resonate with consumers and to create collateral that will support the brand.

The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) of Kelowna announced the Silver Award Winners for the Tommies - the Symbol of Home Building Excellence, at their AGM on November 7, 2006.

“Considering it was the first time entering the Tommies, Madhouse Creative definitely held our own. With an astounding seven silvers, we’re very proud of the showing. Recognition from within our clients’ own industry speaks to the level of work that our clients encourage and trust us to do for them”, explains Scott Davis, one of the Principals and Creative Directors of Madhouse. “This is also great recognition for the level of talent, skill and expertise that each member of our team brings to the projects.”

Hats off to our clients, and thank you for the opportunity to work with you.

• The Aspens, Treetops Development Corporation for Excellence in Logo Design

• North at Big White, Larch Development Group for Excellence in Brochure Design

• The Aspens at Big White, Treetops Development Corporation for Excellence in Brochure Design

• Sonoma Pines, The Rykon Group for Excellence in Print Advertising

• Copperhill, Eldorado Ranch Developments for Excellence in Print Advertising

• Legacy, R&B Construction for Excellence in Website Design

• North at Big White, Larch Development Group for Excellence in Website Design

Read the news release: http://www.chbakelowna.bc.ca/fullnews.html?sectionID=208

Marketing is much bigger. A good way to think about marketing is to envision a pyramid. Marketing is at the top clearly defining the direction of a business or organization while advertising and public relations are at the base supporting the marketing function.

Think of it this way. Marketing is everything you do to make your product or service more visible, more desirable and more profitable. Your marketing plan will clearly define the big picture and provide focus and direction based on the 4 Ps of Marketing: Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion.

Whether it’s sending an invoice, handling a complaint call, running a radio ad or sending an e-mail, you’re marketing your business if you’re touching a customer or a potential customer.

That said, let’s talk about ways to use marketing to increase business and get new customers. While there are many tactics available, there are 5 categories that will simplify your efforts and help you get better results. Develop a plan that includes five key components: Advertising; Public Relations; Special Promotions; Community Relations; and Customer Relations (more…)

Well if you are a first time visitor to our site, then you have no idea what the site looked liked before, so really it would not be a new site and blog system, but just a site and blog system.

If you are returning to the site to check up on us, or get some ideas, then welcome back. We would be thrilled to hear what you think.

Changing over a website design and server is kind of like going to Disneyland when you are about 27 years old, it really sounds like a good idea, and then you get there and realize the ‘true’ magic of the place must only be present when you are under 13.

Then after walking around the place and spending 9 bucks on a goofy hot dog,

(which for some reason the bun is way to small for the meat portion, so you start and end with two difficult and kind of uncomfortable bites)

…you come back to a place with a Red Roof, realize a travel agent stuck you in the middle of Anaheim, and the closest spot to anything remotely fun, is about and hour and away.

So.. we hope you enjoy the new look, and I would encourage you to tell us what you think!

A full service advertising agency, Madhouse Creative specializes in real estate developments and tourism marketing. Madhouse Creative has carved out a great niche in these areas in the Kelowna and Okanagan marketplace.

“There is such a strong overlap between these two sectors, we couldn’t ignore where the market was taking us. Many of the visitors to the Okanagan Valley end up coming back for the lifestyle. We are utilizing the experience and insight we gain from working with our tourism clients to benefit our developers, and vice versa”, states Tammy Moore, Principal of Madhouse Creative. With experience in marketing over $1.25 billion worth of real estate, Madhouse is actively involved with a mix of single family, multi-family townhomes and condos in both recreational and residential markets from Washington State and throughout the Okanagan Valley. Madhouse Creative has also assisted Tourism Kelowna with the implementation of their new brand identity, as well as attracting events to the community. Some of our other tourism clients include Manteo and Lakefront Resort, Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and Rentchalets at Big White.

Take a quick look at some of our recent land development work

We would like to welcome Darren Hull to the Madhouse Creative Team. Darren has joined us to assist and strengthen our web design, development, and interactive department.

With a background in usability, positioning and development of effective websites and interactive projects, Darren will be a great asset to our team. We look forward to being able to offer our clients greater resources and tools that will strengthen their web presence and track campaign effectiveness.

Darren also knows how to wield a camera and has been doing commercial and portrait photography for over 15 years, first in Vancouver and now the Okanagan Valley.

GiftTRAP has been getting outstanding reviews. For a board game that was released less than six months ago, the response has been overwhelming. From the launch in New York to the Essen Game Festival in Germany, GiftTRAP has been well received by industry and consumers alike.

Now the press is picking up the story. After being showcased on the local media through CHBC, Shaw Cable and Okanagan radio stations, GiftTRAP is about to hit Venture Magazine on CBC.

Madhouse Creative developed the name, brand and design of the game. We’ve also assisted with the marketing, tradeshow booth and collateral materials to support this great product.