Brand Positioning Research – L&P Marketing

The marketing and branding agency and their homebuilder client learned quickly and efficiently that the message in question had meaning within the company but was not ready as a leading brand identity for consumers. The homebuilder saved time and money by evaluating the message before developing materials or trying the message in the marketplace. The marketing and branding agency was then able to use the results of consumer priorities to create messaging that would sell homes in multiple markets.

“Our deep experience with placemaking and homebuilding marketing has demonstrated time and again the value in starting with research to get to the core message drivers, saving our clients time and money. Maureen Ladley of Ladley & Associates was the ideal partner for this assignment.”

-Renee Lewis, CEO and Founder of L&P Marketing

Summary

L&P Marketing, a branding and marketing agency, is developing messaging to differentiate a homebuilder client from its competition.

In the first phase of research, the homebuilder’s employees participated in a survey to gather the internal company perceptions on the message-related brand identity. The employees responded to questions related to the subject as a primary differentiator. In the second phase of research, consumer focus groups in the homebuilder’s largest markets tested messaging concepts.

Messaging based on the company’s specific messaging question was found to be impactful for a small percentage of participants but was shown not to be strong enough to be a leading differentiator.

Challenge

Develop a brand identity message to differentiate a homebuilder from other quality builders to communicate the company’s unique culture with the right messaging with potential homebuyers.

Solution

Phase One: Employee Survey
To reach a large number of employees in multiple locations, use an online survey to gather perceptions and feedback. The survey tested the particular question along with other message concepts relating to the company’s culture and mission and other drivers as potential differentiators. L&P Marketing translated employee perceptions into potential marketing messages.

Phase Two: Consumer Focus Groups
Conduct focus groups in the homebuilder’s largest markets. Recruited participants match the profiles of the homebuilder’s prospective future buyers. Participants discussed home purchase differentiators and discussed and ranked specific marketing messages.

Discovery: Ladley and Associates Reports Findings

• A small percentage of consumers found the specific message in question to be a strong purchase motivator, but none ranked it as a primary purchase driver
• A larger percentage of consumers found it difficult to understand how the message in question related directly to their purchase decision
• Consumers indicated that a reputation for quality, customer service, stylishness, and value was more important in differentiating one homebuilder from another
• While consumers indicated that their choice of a homebuilder was unlikely to be influenced by the particular message tested, the concept was important to a portion of consumers, guiding the homebuilding to the appropriate use of the message