PICTURE THIS SCENE: A MEADOW OF WILDFLOWERS UNDER A big blue sky with groves of Ponderosa pines and Mount Bachelor or the Deschutes River in the background. That's the image Newland Communities wanted to portray in a direct mail piece for RiverRim, a 145-acre, 458-home development in Bend, ore
Hoping to rekindle visitors' memories of the area's outdoor splendor and natural amenities, the developer focused on folks in surrounding states through targeted direct mail lists and inquiries at its sales center. “The postcards leveraged the natural beauty of the area,” says Andy Skiver, president of The Skiver Group, an Irvine, Calif., advertising agency hired by Newland Communities to market the project through the developer's Vancouver, Wash., office. “We wanted to play off what nature gave us.”
Using picturesque photos with a clever play on words (for instance, “Every home comes complete with running water” fronted a photo of the Deschutes River), each of the three postcards mimicked the project's advertising campaign. “When we launched a new ad, we sent out a new postcard,” says Skiver. This translated to prospects receiving the direct mail tickler about every three months.
To date, Newland Communities has sold an average of 165 homes per year at RiverRim since its opening in mid-2002. The postcard series, launched simultaneously with the project, is in its third iteration, a testament to the abundance of natural beauty available for its creative content.
Campaign Details Program: Direct mail (postcard series); Developer: Newland Communities, La Jolla, Calif. (Vancouver, Wash., office); Cost: $.50 each, creative and production for 20,000 printed units (not including postage); Ad agency: The Skiver Group, Irvine, Calif.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: Bend, OR.
