Creative naming of real estate projects is the first step in marketing

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a great line from Shakespeare for Romeo & Juliette but when it comes to real estate marketing, names matter.

Every real estate development has at least one thing in common with all other projects - they all require a name.  However, the act of naming a real estate project is by no means a simple process. Naming is the first step in creating a brand and identity for the development.  Using estates, village, hill, tower, plaza, orchards, parks, or the court makes you a copycat at worst and unmemorable at best. So, how do you break out of the real estate naming rut and avoid names like Rivers Edge,  Franklin Tower or Birch Park? 

A quick scan of the New York Times magazine illustrates that top New York real estate development firms use impressive names to market their luxury condominium projects. These names often convey a sense of place and location and work as a mnemonic device that encourages prospective clients to remember the project. The right name can grow interest in the project and increase the price of real estate. 

The process for naming a real estate project is defined a set of steps. These include a comprehensive look into the location of the project, the real estate developers brand, brainstorming of name ideas, and filtering through names to find one that entails brevity, effectiveness, and distinctiveness. An example of this includes developers of new luxury towers in New York City, who have implemented extravagant marketing operations to reach out to potential consumers. In the midst of the creating of a name, it's important to consider the keyword value in search engines and to plan the promotion of the development on Google and YouTube through pay per click and remarketing campaigns. 

In an article entitled Naming Process written by Courtney & Co., a design and branding company located in New York City, the procedure of naming a company or project are described. By choosing a compelling name for your project, it distinguishes your real estate development from others.

Here's a step by step synopsis of choosing great name.

1. Take a comprehensive look into the company’s brand and past projects. This is conducted to gain a better understanding of the developers project.

2. The competition is then observed to compare you with others and see where you stand. 

3. Your building or development's positioning in the market is determined by analyzing the aspects of the development and your corporate brand against competitors and researching the names used by those competitors.

4. The tactical aspect of name creation begins with brainstorming and building a master list of names. In a recent naming exercise for Mount Snow, Peak Resorts, we developed an unedited list of 200 names before we started the process of elimination.

5. Looking up available domain names by searching online using GoDaddy, Network Solutions or other domain search portals.
Names are then filtered through a process that evaluates each name’s distinctiveness, brevity, appropriateness, pronunciation, likability, extendibility, and protectability.

6. The chosen name for your project is then trademarked, creatively applied and lastly implemented.

Keep the following in mind when brainstorming names for your next real estate project. 

There are various domains including descriptive, invented, experiential and evocative. 

Descriptive names illustrate the uniqueness of the development project or only entails of someone’s name as the name. "Trump Tower" is an example of this. 

Invented names can be made up from Greek or Latin roots, or may be names made up purely to sound good or look appealing in print.

Experiential names have more to do with the buyer's experience living with the new project, rather than the actual company or location.

Evocative names are that are unique and capture the projects substance without directly describing it.

The New York Times article, Call Me ‘Mansion,' describes “The new mansions of Manhattan” as slightly downsized versions of a traditional mansion that are attached to larger developments by way of an attended lobby. These modernized mansions still meet the size requirement of needing to have 25 feet or more of frontage to earn the designated title. By referring to these high-class condominiums as mansions, the allure of the units is increasingly higher than if they were to be called townhouses. The creators of these living spaces utilized the steps of the naming process to convey a sense of place and leave prospective buyers with a memorable title. After all, who doesn’t want to live in a mansion?

Real estate companies, to effectively market and name their projects, can implement this naming process. By following simple yet productive steps enticing names such as 432 Park, a simple yet enticing descriptive name for an up and coming luxury tower in NYC, can be created. Or by referring to real estate as mansions to establish a sense of place and luxury. The naming process and innovative brand marketing are critical for businesses to distinguish themselves from competitors and draw attention from potential consumers to their brand.

About Michael Conway

I'm the owner and strategist at Means-of-Production. My firm builds Squarespace websites, Houzz profiles, and content marketing and advertising solutions for architects, interior designers, design-build contractors and landscape design firms. Our all-in-one marketing tactics attract the right clients with exceptional architectural photography and brand messaging that sets you apart from the competition.