Memorability The Music of
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B
ob Hope
crooned about them for decades. Barbra Streisand had a hit song about them in the 70s. In 2008, it’s home builders who are singing the praises of memories . . . memory points that distinguish their models from every other builder in their markets. In order to meet this challenge, the entire team of builder, landplanner, architect, marketing director, and merchandiser must come together in perfect harmony in the earliest planning stages of the community. 
By John Limiero and Cindy Adair Photos by Eric Lucero with EL Imagery
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Toll Brothers Trabuco in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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The Music of memorability
The last few months have not been easy for our industry, as trouble in the sub-prime market has limited funding and eroded confidence. But according to recent NAHB housing forecast teleconference, with help from the Congress and the Federal Reserve, the housing industry will begin its recovery in the second half of this year. That’s good news for builders, but how do you position yourself to take advantage of the recovery? And what can you do in the meantime to capture your share of the market? The answer is clear: Make sure that your homes stand out in the hearts and minds of home buyers. That’s why memory points in strategically merchandised rooms have never been more important.
Seth Ring, senior project manager at Toll Brothers Southern California Division, offers this advice: “In this market, there is so much creative advertising cornering the consumers that it is good to remember what works— solid construction, innovative designs, a strong reputation, and a way to enlighten the consumer with memorable and tasteful merchandising.” One model complex newly opened in Orange County, Calif., is making memories and building perceived value with features, finishes, and creative touches that consumers just can’t forget. Toll Brothers’ Legends at Vista Del Verde in Yorba Linda, Calif., offers 79 luxury homesites on an 18-hole championship golf course
Toll Brothers Trabuco in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California www.smimagazine.com
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Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
with walking, hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. With amenities like this, the community is tailor made for multiple ages and active families. Ring adds, “From the beginning, together with our merchandiser, our goal was to create a lasting memory for anyone who visited our model complex. It’s
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that memory that will turn a visitor into a potential sales lead and a potential sales lead into a buyer.”
Kids are Key There’s no better way to stick in the hearts and minds of a family market than catering to the kids. One only need to look at successful spin-off retailers such as
Pottery Barn Kids and Gap Kids as proof that today’s “mini-me’s” are a market force to be reckoned with. At the September grand opening of the model complex at Legends, parents jaws dropped and children were transfixed. The object of the more than 500 visitors’ attention? A full-scale www.smimagazine.com
The Music of memorability
The carousel is set in a nursery personalized for baby girl twins “Abigail” and “Madison,” and is poised at the foot of their cribs to catch their waking little eyes—and those of the model home visitors. “The opportunity of constructing a project like this was like a father telling his son he just purchased a candy store and he needs someone as his taste-tester,” quipped Ring. Another retailer who’s all about kids is Libby Lu, purveyor of all things for girl “’tweens” (ages 6 to 12). Merchandisers at Legends played on this popularity in a creative ‘tween room decorated in Libby Lu’s signature pink and black. Fun references to the girlcentered shop (like purses, shoes, and fairy tale dress-up dreams) were sprinkled throughout. Mul-
working carousel, complete with motion, lights, and music. Merchandisers created the carousel with the help of a Hollywood set designer. It’s that type of detailed work that raises the bar for memorable models. The carousel has created the latest buzz in and around Yorba Linda, according to Ring. www.smimagazine.com
tiple disco balls hanging from the ceiling signal party possibilities. The playful theme extends to the girl’s bathroom with Libby Lu-like hearts adorning the wallpaper and black and white tile embellishing the walls. For the soon-to-be driving set, who couldn’t resist a MiniCooper room? Research shows that 51% of buyers for the MiniCooper are women (The Power Information Network, a unit of the McGraw-Hill Cos.). Merchandisers ran with this information and incorporated Mini-Cooper dreams into the older sister’s room. The car is emblazoned around the room in a graphic border, in artwork, and in bedding. A carpeted “roadway” rolls up to a life-size Mini-Cooper with
Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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The Music of memorability
working headlights descending from the “Hollywood Hills.” Last but not least, the boys on the block need a high-tech room full of video game possibilities that promise never-ending fun. Contemporary built-in bunk beds, iChairs, and laptops pepper the space with fun and memorability. To top off all of this, the T.V. built into the ceiling of the bunk is more than any little techie could want.
On the Outs Another way to capture the attention of today’s buyers is by demonstrating irresistible outdoor spaces. Whatever you’ve been offering in the way of exteriors, pools, balconies and outdoor kitchens, offer even more in 2008! Outdoor rooms, even in cooler climates, have become an important “hot button.” Ring points to the lavish interior courtyard at Legends, complete with an outdoor entertainment center that families can’t resist. “There was no design fantasy our team had to leave behind,” he says, for instance, for sports enthusiasts and USC alums, the indoor/outdoor bonus room dressed for USC football watching. The school’s signature cardinal and gold colors wrap the walls, and flooring mimics the markings of a football field, complete with the USC logo. A glassencased cabinet proudly displays The Trojans’ popular Dwayne Jarrett’s number-eight jersey. A mural of a crowded football stadium covers two full walls, and a 2007 Rose Bowl plaque completes the uber-fan’s fantasy setting. The back wall echoes the coliseum arches and the ceiling is painted to create a vision of the blue sky on game day.
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Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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The Music of memorability
Stadium seating for eight and a popcorn machine suggests movie watching possibilities will follow. Just outside on the patio, a pick-up truck emblazoned with a USC logo is poised with refreshments for the next “tailgate” party.
The Young at Heart What rooms will speak to Mom and Dad’s own playful hearts? How about a cigar den? The man of the family will come away from the Legends’ savoring his own domain. This study is outfitted with a glass-enclosed humidor, complete with cigar boxes from exotic locales. And a couple will crave the private adult time the fully-stocked, built-in wine cabinet will offer. And speaking of wine, a wine closet off the kitchen houses fermentation barrels promising exquisite bottles of home-aged wine for the oenophiles among us—or those who aspire to be. For master bedroom suites, the trend is all about hotel chic. Show
your prospects spa-like colors, downy bedding, and luxurious bathrooms that mimic the boutique hotels reminiscent of their last vacation. Don’t overlook the importance of brand names in the memorability game. Buyers don’t forget Sub-Zero refrigerators or Viking commercial-grade cooktops. Tout your brand-name products, such as Bruce Hardwood floors and Zodiac countertops, especially if they are standard features. You buyers will walk away impressed— and imprinted. Staying on top of today’s lifestyle trends and incorporating outstanding memory points in your models will keep you in the forefront of buyers’ minds. Throughout 2008, make sure that your model homes are—as Nat King Cole intoned in another timeless song—Unforgettable! smı
Toll Brothers Ironwood Tuscan in Legends at Vista Del Verde, Yorba Linda, California
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