Why do we easily recall some places and not others? Why do we want to visit
some places and not others? When does a location mean something to us? What is
it that turns a town, a site, a piece of real estate into a place we want to be?
What distinguishes "that coveted spot" from the others which fail to
rouse our interest?
The "hard factors" usually mentioned in
the real estate business are: situation, economic activity, catchment area, transport
network and other economic, ecological and social considerations.
However, these factors alone do not turn a piece of property or a location into a coveted real estate brand.
Furthermore, the addition of cultural and tourist qualities to the list are often not the salt in the soup. They do not constitute what we in the world of Corporate- und Product-Brands call "Identity" - i.e. that special something that makes a product or a company unique and inimitable.
When it comes to successful brands for real estate, locations and towns, the creative process is much more complex, necessitating a complete analysis of all the hard as well as the many soft factors such as history, symbolism, and perception.
As the
good books say: "Towns, locations and real estate can only develop into successful
brands with their own unique, independent identity when a clear, semiotic composition
of a comprehensive set of relationships of hard and soft factors is apparent to
all and when all relevant communicative aspects are considered."
In
other words, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We at brandscapes know
how to put it all together.
