Agency Establishes Credibility For Yankee Home Builder Expanding Into Tampa, Florida
Paul Entin
presented with 1996 IABC EPIC Award
for "Excellence in Writing."
Pennsylvania-based home builder American Landmark Homes had been in operation for only 6 months when it purchased a 287 acre subdivision near Tampa, Florida. To establish a credible presence in the new market for the young company, the Agency established the following goals:
- To position American Landmark Homes as the builder of choice for homebuyers seeking dependable, personal service and quality construction
- To present ALH as a member of the Florida building community
- To create name awareness and recognition
- To stimulate the frequent exposure that prompts the targeted audience to contact American Landmark Homes
The Agency developed and began implementing a high profile publicity program. The introductory press release introduced American Landmark Homes to the local print media, as well as to the national building trade media, and in turn, to prospective home buyers, subcontractors, mortgage lenders, relocation companies and to the real estate and business communities of the Florida Suncoast Region.
With a budget of only $500.00, the press release sparked an explosion of print media activity, with several competing publications vying to be the first to introduce ALH to Tampa. Front page, full color feature articles in the Tampa Bay Business Journal and Tampa Tribune, and features in the St. Petersburg Times and Pocono Record were published within weeks of its release.
The published press release established ALH as a credible operation, helping to lure key personnel away from nationally acclaimed builders and also to secure a partnership agreement with Barnett Banks of Tampa for financing and relocation services.