Something new at St. Joseph, Abbotsford

When the stunning St. Joseph development in Abbotsford was ready to hit the market, it was clear that standing out from a sea of competitors would be critical. In any inner-city location in Melbourne, the plethora of apartment-style accommodation offers a lot of choice and, with the development team at Domain Hill especially adamant that their unique offering of warehouses and townhouses that formed the St Joseph development not be overlooked, it was important that marketing was strategic and in-touch with the target market. It was necessary to properly sell the virtues and let the spotlight shine on the best possible benefits on offer. Another issue to face was the vibrancy of the market itself. While off-the-plan buyers typically had little issue with purchasing properties within the $600,000-$650,000 bracket as investors at the time, St Josephs’ appeal lay with owner-occupiers and the necessity to create a campaign to convince them to jump into an off-the-plan development where the price point was closer to the $1million mark. As one of Melbourne’s oldest schools, the original building held an important place in the heart of Abbotsford and overcoming the stigma of developing that historic site was something needed to be managed well. The challenge was to create a multi-faceted approach to the campaign, that appealed to prospective buyers of the homes, but also quietened any potential ill-feeling amongst nearby residents.

Communicating that what was being preserved and integrated as part of the new project was, in fact, the historic building from 1893, rather than the less significant additional buildings on the site was the first challenge to be tackled – something that was decided after extensive research into the thoughts and feelings of local business-owners and passionate residents. With all boundaries firmly understood, we determined the unique elements that had to be captured to differentiate the campaign. This was not a cookie-cutter apartment project, creating a campaign that purposefully avoided any reference to the word ‘apartment’ was also a key strategy. By involving the community and motivating them to become advocates for something that would add beauty and charm to their much-loved suburb, rather than detract from it, the sales results for St Joseph were impressive and, beyond that, and perhaps even more importantly, the bar was raised to dizzying new heights to further build the Domain Hill brand behind the project as one that is an uncompromising industry leader.

Project marketing is rarely about only the individual project. Every project should be considered a brand building exercise for both product and developer. Get it right and reputation moves in a positive direction. By understanding the entire experience each potential buyer has with both the project and the project team, you’ll understand how important it is to develop campaigns that create genuine connections, building a sustainable reputation and boosting the opportunity for future sales results. We crafted a campaign strategy that took potential buyers on a contrasting journey, blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary brand experiences. The project display suite was constructed onsite, within the walls of one of the primary classrooms of the school. Regular events were held within this space, ensuring an open forum for people to feel involved in the new St. Joseph journey, whether they were potential purchasers or not. Effective strategy is about analysis and from there, brand positioning is achieved through creative, meaningful messaging that connects across print, digital, content and every aspect of imagery, design and storytelling. There is no denying that the property market is a competitive place but smart operators see that as an exciting challenge to overcome, rather than an insurmountable hurdle.