Gold Award Winners Announced for National Sales and Marketing Awards NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Council (NSMC) has announced Gold Award Winners for The Nationals new home sales and marketing awards. Home builders, developers, associates and consultants. The Nationals salutes and honors the best in the building industry for their determination, integrity, creativity and endurance. Gold Award Winners are the top vote recipients in each category and emerged from the Silver Awards Winners, the finalists for the Gold Award. Gold Awards in each category were presented as part of the International Builders' Show, the awards ceremony on January 19th at Caesars Palace and drew more than 700 attendees. "The Nationals are the most prestigious awards of their kind, setting the benchmark for innovations in new home design, marketing and sales," said Christy Beck, chairperson of the Nationals. "NAHB's commitment to recognizing originality, imagination and success has been exemplified by its award winners since the competition's inception." Started in 1982 as the Institute of Residential Marketing, The Nationals award program continues to recognize superior new home sales and marketing achievements. With 57 categories across various disciplines of the new home industry, the awards honor excellence in product and community design, advertising, marketing and sales achievements by individuals and sales teams. During a three-day judging process, a panel of 7 industry professionals from across the country determined the Silver and Gold award winners from a field of over 1,300 entries. The Nationals are co-sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. View the digital winners book with full list of Silver and Gold Award winners www.thenationals.com For more information, e-mail Lisa Parrish, or call at 800-658-2751 or 909-987-2758. National Sales & Marketing Council - William “Bill Molster” Award Honoree Mitch Levinson, MBA, MIRM, CSP, CAPS, CGP mRelevance LEGENDS OF RESIDENTIAL MARKETING 2016 HONOREE David Miles, MIRM, CSP, CAASH President and Brand Strategist, Milesbrand Below is the full list of Nationals Gold Award Winners featuring the marketing statement. Category 01 - Rookie Sales Person of The Year Gold Award Winners Kaitlin Smith Two Structures LLC Oklahoma City, OK Rookie Sales Person of the Year Kaitlin’s success is her drive to succeed and her willingness to study and “perform” her sales training. She has a talent to study what she needs to do and perform what she has studied. She improves on her process and it shows in her video shops. She has sold 2 homes on a customer’s first visit. She really believes she is going to sell a home when she meets with potential customers. Category 02 - Sales Person of The Year Gold Award Winner Ernie Kyger Van Metre Homes Brambleton, Virginia Sales Person of the Year We would all like to be the sales person who makes quotas, and exceeds quotas. We would all like to be the sales person who exceeds the business plan and generates even more profit than had been expected. We would all like to be the sales person who sees obstacles as challenges and is driven to overcome those challenges and “unfavorable” market conditions, and achieve the “miracle success story!” I think it is a safe bet that every sales person who has been deemed worthy of nomination for this award, has accomplished these things in the past. I like making my bosses feel happy, and I like making my customers feel happy. It also makes me feel happy, but not necessarily, heroic Category 03 - Sales Team of The Year Gold Award Winners Edwin Blanco, David Wrenn & Andy Tungka The Marketing Directors Jersey City, NJ Edwin and David had a great deal of professional respect for one another before teaming up at Charles & Co. They looked forward to the opportunity to work together and learn from each other. Both of them had a reputation of great success as individual salespeople and of possessing a competitive spirit. They were able to translate that individual success to our team environment and channel that competitive spirit not against each other, but against the competition. This was facilitated in part by Andy who served as the glue of the team, the organizer and all‐important curator of leasing information, and a more than capable salesperson. From day one, everyone helped foster a winning team spirit in the office. As a team they were given the task of leasing up the building with the least amenities, low advertising budget, fewest incentives, and highest prices at a high velocity in a market ripe with competition. (Also, the least air conditioning.) They relied on each other, performed as a team, remained dedicated, and are proud to say we succeeded. Category 04 - Online Sales Counselor of the Year Gold Award Winner Jen Barkan Rose & Womble Realty Suffolk, VA Online Sales Counselor of the Year Jennifer Barkan has built an amazing program at Rose & Womble Realty. She faces some unique challenges creating an online sales program that services multiple builders. She created this role for the New Homes Division and essentially had to “convince” their builder clients to let her manage her leads. She was able to do this by demonstrating how powerful the online sales program could be, which is now embraced by 10 builder partners. Jen built the program based on speedy responses, diligent follow up, and by being pleasantly persistent. Jennifer is the “face” and “voice” of her builder partners and represents them well. Beyond building up a solid program she created the “Ask Jen Live” program featuring puppies from the SPCA and was recognized by the local news media. And as if she had any free time, she is also working with her alma mater, Old Dominion University, on creating a sales and marketing curriculum. She is a poster child for the Online Sales Specialist role Category 05 - Sales Manager of the Year Gold Award Winner Martin Brady The Marketing Directors New York, NY Sales Manager of the Year Marty is a born leader. His loyalty and perseverance balances his challenging and inquisitive mind. He is always pushing limits to improve the status quo: for himself, for his people, for his builders, and for his employer. He is articulate and direct, inspiring trust and devotion from a 30+ person sales force. He never settles for “good enough” and always strives for “best.” His sharp wit, tempered by his kind heart, reaches all. He gets results. Marty is a gem – an asset the industry can point to as today’s professional, sophisticated, effective Sales Manager. Category 06 - Marketing Director of the Year Gold Award Winner Jann Rowe FivePoint Aliso Viejo, CA With experience as consultant, builder client and agency representative, Jann brought a wide perspective to strategic planning, creative concepts, market research, team organizing and leadership and budgeting and implementation of the master marketing program. Her key marketing challenge with Beacon Park was to foster its identity as a distinctive new opportunity, while sustaining the vibrant community brand she and the FivePoint marketing team established with the launch of Pavilion Park. She has done this in a revitalized new home market that is also more competitive, with new home choices dramatically multiplied and new home shoppers careful and savvy. We applaud her amazing energy, intellect, integrity, perseverance and joy in all that she is involved in. Category 07 - Sales & Marketing Council of the Year – 3 Winners Gold Award Winners Sales & Marketing Council of the Year – Under 200 Members Greater Sales & Marketing Council of Southern California Building Industry Association of Southern California Irvine, CA Sales & Marketing Council of the Year – 200 to 300 Members TBBA Sales & Marketing Council Tampa Bay Builders Association Tampa, Florida Sales & Marketing Council of the Year – Over 300 Members Triange SMC of Raleigh Wake Counties HBA of Raleigh & Wake County Raleigh, NC Category 08 - Best Logo Design Gold Award The Cannery Davis, CA Builder/Developer: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Ad Agency: Paolucci Salling & Martin Communication Arts Statement: Keeping in mind the classic and authentic characteristics of Davis, this Community’s logo was concepted and designed to reflect the historic importance of cycling within Davis with the iconic bike wheel. In this case, the bike wheel is also accompanied by a stem and leaf sprouting from the top of it, signifying the city’s agricultural roots. This fact also pays homage to the community being located on the site of the former Hunt Wesson Plant and the community being designed and built as CA’s first ever farm-to-table new home company with working urban farm, Farm House welcome center, and barn . Supplementary to the fresh and farm-like logo mark, the font casing was chosen to align with the homebuilder’s style guide - best shown in the form of a rotated “the” and strong font selections for outdoor, billboard, signage and other large scale executions. The logo and its hidden iconic significance combine the past, present, and future of Davis, truly illustrating that life tastes better here within this Community. Category 09 - Best Graphic Continuity Gold Award East United Toronto, ON, Canada Developer: SigNature Developments Ad Agency: Blackjet Inc. Statement: Objective: To sell our target a neighborhood instead of a condo by producing material that remains true to the eclectic roots of the area. Target: Our target is 30-40 year olds who identify with the culture of the West End but are growing tired of the perceived ‘soulless’ condo developments that are beginning to dominate those neighborhoods. Narrative Statement: The graphic continuity of this project was achieved by using assets that reflect the eclecticism of the neighbourhood. That’s why each letter of the logo uses a different font for every character. It’s also why we designed a logo that would look exceptional in a number mediums, from the 10ft. iron sculpture outside the presentation centre, to the woodcutting inside. The consistent colour palette of black, cream, and orange earth tones help bind all the elements together across all platforms. We then took these considerations and used them to create graphic continuity across touch points. The project brochure cover and subsequent pages, for instance, are printed on natural card stock to emphasize that unpolished aesthetic. From digital assets to sales merchandising, all touch points have the unmistakable mark of the eclectic Downtown East and the project itself. Category 10A - Best Brochure for a Community Gold Award Timber Newark, CA Builder: Trumark Homes Marketing Director: Mark Higgins Ad Agency: Gunn | Jerkens Marketing Communications Statement: To capture the spirit of a fresh new community is to create a brochure that’s equally as fresh. With the target market of young tech-savvy Silicon Valley professionals and families, the mission was to communicate a new, balanced lifestyle in reach of it all—and to do so in a way that created a sense of discovery. Subtle, organic and understated, the brochure cleverly welcomes viewers to the community’s two new neighborhoods, with each natural craft paperclad cover serving as the introduction to one neighborhood and echoing the overall community theme of timber. Embossing and debossing of names and graphics add a tactile element, complemented by the large rubber bands along the binding, which serve as a visual cue that ties into the community’s logo. Inside, inspirational copy, warm imagery, a subtle color palette and open floor plans invite viewers to explore a new way of life just across the bridge from Silicon Valley’s heart, presenting shorter commutes, more opportunities and a home to let dreams take root. Category 10B - Best Brochure for a High Rise Community Gold Award Winner 160 Madison New York, NY Ad Agency: RODE Advertising Statement: The challenge this project presented was marketing a slick, modern glass tower in an emerging residential neighborhood of Manhattan and branding it in a warm and welcoming way to the target demographic. The target market was young, urban professionals looking for a luxury rental in a vibrant neighborhood. The brochure design focused on a series of black and white images, “moments”, artfully photographed by French photographer Guillame Gaudet. In addition to the black and white photography, the renderings for the property were also created in black and white. The copper color was integrated throughout, adding touches of warmth and reflecting the wood present within the property. By focusing on the “moments” and using modern touches such as the neighborhood word map and vellum, the brochure did more than feature the building. It created an aspirational lifestyle for prospective tenants who could envision themselves renting in this luxurious tower. Category 10C - Best Brochure for a Master Planned Community Gold Award Tres Santos Todos Santos, Mexico Builder: MIRA Companies Marketing Director: Wayne Trudeau Ad Agency: Greenhaus Statement: This was the first consumer-facing piece for the community, and needed to not only educate about the vision for the community, but also the actual town where the community was being developed. Part of the charm of Todos Santos is the people. So a big component of the brochure was photography of the people that already live in the village. Another challenge was that no components of the new community existed yet. The large newspaper format allowed us to showcase beautiful photos of the area from a renowned surf photographer, to excite the target audience about the community that would later become an extension of the town. Category 11 - Best Direct Mail Program Dual Gold Award Honors East United Toronto, ON, Canada Developer: SigNature Developments Ad Agency: Blackjet Inc. Statement: An ongoing theme within the campaign is the rivalry between East and West. This rivalry was embellished on a series of t-shirts adorned with East-centric mantras that playfully jabbed at the West’s ‘trendy’ perception. The t-shirts feature sayings like ‘I eat organic because it’s good, not the in thing’ and have become a way for our fiercely loyal community to literally wear their Downtown East pride and the motif made it’s way into a number campaign assets. In order to reach the more specific, broker community we sent out custom t-shirts that read ‘I like East United because I get exclusive access’ as a direct mail invite to an exclusive broker event. The box, t-shirt inside, and invite all continue the visual and spiritual continuity of the project, making for a one-of-a-kind direct mail piece. True Homes Broker Campaign Charlotte, NC Builder: True Homes Marketing Director: Chris Ashley Ad Agency: Milesbrand Statement: This builder employs a proprietary Realtor Strategy that, among other things, requires each sales professional to build relationships with a pre-qualified list of Realtors who have demonstrated a historic track record of sales in comparable price ranges to the products this builder offers. Strategy: • This Direct Mail campaign is 100% focused on supporting the sales counselors in their efforts to connect with - and build ongoing relationships with – Realtors. • A series of unique, interactive direct mail pieces were created to stop Realtors in their tracks and encourage interaction with each piece to learn how this builder is committed to their success. Results: Through October of 2015, 72% of sales contracts include a Realtor. More importantly, 56% of all sales can be tracked back to Realtor’s who have sold at least one home per year for this builder for 2 or more years. Category 12 - Best Social Media Campaign Gold Award Art Shoppe Toronto, ON Canada Builders: Freed Developments & Capital Developments Marketing Director: Kalliopi Karkas Ad Agency: Montana Steele Strategic Marketing Statement: Overall Major marketing objectives: To create an identity that is unique and with impact, that would engage buyers emotionally Leverage an iconic address in a very desirable neighbourhood, and establish something trend-setting, fresh and bold Any unusual constraints or opportunities? Located south of the main urban activity areas in a crowded condo sub-market with lower PSFs encouraged the development of high-quality, lifestyle-oriented amenities, facilities and new linear city park Non-Traditional Building Form (Single Tower on a larger podium) allows for 2-Storey Lofts Lobbies by Karl Lagerfeld…the internationally renowned designer makes his first-ever trip to Toronto to announce his partnership with the developer in designing two lobbies in the Art Shoppe Lofts + Condos How objectives were met: The most notable initiative of the Art Shoppe Lofts + Condos social media campaign was the #LobbiesbyKarl event that framed the launch of the project. Style icon and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s collaboration with Art Shoppe Lofts + Condos and his first ever visit to Canada was marked by leveraging photo, video and live posts via Facebook and Twitter had the project trending on Twitter in Toronto the night of the launch party. More than 1,000 photos were tagged by users for the event generating over 1.5 million impressions and a 10% growth on Twitter. https://www.facebook.com/ArtShoppeLoftsCondos?fref=ts https://twitter.com/ArtShoppeCondos?lang=en https://twitter.com/search?f=images&vertical=default&q=%23lobbiesByKarl&src=typd&lang=en Category 13 - Best Email Marketing Campaign Gold Award Schumacher Homes Proactive Nurturing Campaign Canton, OH Builder: Schumacher Homes Marketing Director: Mary Schumacher Becker, MIRM, CSP, CMP Ad Agency: In House Statement: The home buying decision takes many research avenues before the homeowner is ready to build. Depending on where the customer is on their search – early, middle, or ready to build stage – they’re looking for answers to different questions. We redesigned our nurturing campaign from “one-size-fits-all” approach to one tailored to the needs of particular personas. We combined multiple messages into a single eblast so customer feels less overwhelmed by the number of communications. Strategic elements of this campaign and data to support why this campaign should win include: Primary objective of the campaign is to increase customer knowledge and identify “who” the customer is so we can provide information that best moves them toward the buying decision. Just under 39,000 recipients in our nurturing campaign data base Proactive campaign based on the customer’s previous engagements i.e if they’ve visited our locations they get a different campaign than someone who hasn’t. Our campaign actually “learns” customer behavior as it progresses and provides information accordingly. More visually appealing and quicker paths to answers Increase in open rate of welcome email from 19% to 53% and increase in overall click thrus of 24%. Link: http://dev.schumacherhomes.com/NurturingCampaign/index Category 14 - Best Web Banners/Rich Media Advertising Gold Award Winner Candelas Arvada, CO Developers: Terra Causa Capital, LLC/GF Properties Group Marketing Director: Creig D Veldhuizen, CFA Ad Agency: InterCommunicationsInc How do you successfully market a project that’s located near the former site of one of the most radioactively contaminated areas in the nation? That was the tremendous challenge facing developers of this master-planned community situated adjacent to the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility. Although cleanup efforts are complete, the facility continues to disrupt marketing efforts with negative PR and online commentary. Targeted to Denver-area buyers including young families, move-ups and affluent older buyers, this campaign met the primary objective of increasing brand awareness and successfully positioning the project as the next great place on Colorado’s Front Range. Featuring provocative imagery and compelling copy, the banners captured the many dimensions of the community—and true essence of its Life Wide Open themeline. Part of a digital effort that helped the community become the second-most successful project in the Denver area in terms of sales, the campaign achieved: Total visitor traffic up 43% with unique visitors up 71% Jan-Aug 2015 over Jan-Aug 2014 Page views up 20% compared to Jan-Aug 2014 Given the exceptional online metrics and sales results, and satisfying the biggest challenge of mitigating perceived risk of the Rocky Flats issue, this campaign warrants category recognition. http://intercommobile.com/client/candelas/ads_2015/ Category 15 - Best Digital Marketing Campaign Gold Award Brookfield Residential - PureBlue Home Campaign Bristow, VA Builder: Brookfield Residential Ad Agency: NDG Communications Statement: Primary Objective: To make all the complex details and features of energy-efficient concept home easily digestible. Target Demographic: ● All home shoppers in the D.C. Metro area ● Added emphasis on: ○ Those interested in new homes ○ Those interested in energy efficiency ○ Those interested in healthy living ○ Those interested in home technology Why Does It Deserve to Win? ● The complexity of new energy-efficient concept home was made appealing and understandable to the everyday home shopper ● Wide-ranging digital campaign was focused and cohesive, including: ○ Microsite ○ Mini-documentary ○ On-site touchscreen display ○ On-site tablet display ○ Email campaign ○ Banner ads ○ Social media ○ Multimedia press release ● Campaign successfully generated increased traffic to the community ● Campaign led to several major media opportunities, raising the public profile of the homebuilder Biggest Challenges to Overcome ● Making the complex subject matter easy to understand for the average homebuyer ● Communicating both the environmental and financial benefits of the home’s features Maintaining a consistent and connected feel among a diverse collection of digital deliverables Category 16 - Best Print Ad (Color or Black & White) Gold Award East United – T-shirt Ad Toronto, ON, Canada Developer: SigNature Developments Ad Agency: Blackjet Inc. Statement: Target: Our target is 30-40 year olds who identify with the culture of the West End but are growing tired of the perceived ‘soulless’ condo developments that are beginning to dominate those neighborhoods. Narrative Statement: In order to achieve our marketing objective we positioned the Downtown East as a rival of the West End and fleshed out a campaign based on a series of t-shirts adorned with East-centric mantras that playfully jabbed at the West’s ‘trendy’ perception. The t-shirts feature sayings like ‘I eat organic because it’s good, not the in thing' and have become a way for our fiercely loyal community to literally wear their Downtown East pride and the motif made it’s way into a number campaign assets. We even used the t-shirt motif in this double-sided single-page print ad, the front of which features what’s become known as the East United anthem. The back features the back of the shirt utilizing the medium to it’s full potential by mimicking the front and back of a t-shirt. Category 17 - Best Print Campaign - Series of Ads (2 or more) Gold Award Winner The New Home Company Corporate Reflection Ad Aliso Viejo, CA Builder/Developer: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Ad Agency: Paolucci Salling & Martin Communication Arts Statement: The story of home is a personal one. It is one that each person connects with in his/her own unique and emotional way. In many ways, the idea of “home” is one of the truest reflections of an individual soul, their aspirations and their dreams. This builder’s corporate ad campaign aspired to bring that sensibility to live through the “reflection campaign”. It was a branded campaign that showcased a wide variety of buyer demographics and visually showcased the concept of each residence being a reflection of the human living it through a pool, glass table and an iPad. Creatively it is a concept that is strong, impactful and elevated in tone. To ensure this message was accurately delivered, a tremendous focus was placed on the medium to deliver this branded campaign. A media strategy was developed that placed C Magazine and its prominence as a California lifestyle publication as the delivery outlet. Secondly, a strategy was developed to place and run consecutive pages with a final page focused on a complete portfolio of new home opportunities. This effort was a brand based tactical strategy. The results for this print campaign will be seen over time and in various ways – buyer retention, referrals, immediate interest generated and long-term awareness. Category 18 - Best Radio Commercial Gold Award Winner Beacon Park at Great Park Neighborhoods – There’s a place Irvine, CA Developer: FivePoint Marketing Director: Jann Rowe Ad Agency: Strada Advertising Statement: Goal: Radio spots that would boost project recognition and homebuyer interest, supporting a marketing campaign that encompasses the multiple ways we receive information today. This entertaining trifecta offers a gentle spoof of snake-oil claims of a stress-free Utopia, having your cake and eating it, too, and being part of a perfect family. Just for fun approach draws listeners in quickly, offers a subtle call to action and exits promptly. Scripts for all reinforce the “Life will be different here” brand message, all with a light and humorous touch. Rotating in regular Pandora placements August 1 through 31, these spots strengthened pre and post grand opening, with 1,769,000 impressions, 2,238 website clicks and an average Click Through Rate of .78%. Category 19 - Best TV Commercial ( Broadcast or You Tube) Dual Gold Award Winners Bridgeland Cypress, TX By: Bridgeland – the Howard Hughes Corporation Marketing Director: Lona Shipp Agency: John Manlove Marketing & Communications (Agency) Kerry Brown (Director) LAB Films (Production) Post Asylum (Post-production and music) Statement With striking cinematography and an unforgettable sound track, the spot highlights the qualities for which our community has become known. With more than 3,000 acres dedicated to lakes, trails and parks, our community offers the tranquility of a seemingly untouched natural environment while also providing the convenience of modern facilities – elements we strived to depict in the new spot. With a target market of single-family home buyers, the objective was for viewers to get a strong sense of what life in the community is like. We established a vision for the commercial that featured emotional, memorable imagery and a beautiful balance of lyrics and melody. Alongside the vibrant footage, we worked to develop an original song that would resonate with audiences. After auditioning multiple singers, we chose 24-year-old, Dallas-based performer Riley Deaver because of her voice’s unique, jazzy character. The spot ran for six weeks on select cable channels and main networks during the morning and evening news. The commercial spurred a 61% increase in web traffic and 21 sales, a 250% uptick from the year before. Immediately following the commercial’s debut, viewers began to inquire about downloading the song. As a result, “We’ve Arrived,” featuring Riley Deaver by Hook Society is now available on iTunes and all other major digital music sites. Trio Environments – Branding Spot Denver, CO By: Trio Environments Marketing Director: Carrie Tempel Producer: Kyle Johnson Statement: GOAL: As an interior designer and merchandising firm, we made a strategic decision to utilize video as our key lead generation and branding tool. We wanted to leverage the numerous strengths video provides including SEO benefits for organic search, proven ability to improve Google quality scores on our website based on increasing relevance and time on site, increase likes and engagement on social media, utilization in email marketing and to maximize the power of sight and sound in the way only video can do to deliver our stories. STRATEGY: Develop an ongoing series of videos to promote the firm and build broad, national awareness. For the first video, we focused on positioning the firm’s founder, President and visionary leader as the face of the brand by telling her story of dedication and commitment to the industry she loves. RESULTS: Results have exceeded expectations. At the time of roll-out the video generated 15% in new “Likes” and followers to the firm’s social media sites. It also helped to generate three new projects within the first 30 days. A second video has already been produced and a third is in the works with a print component added to support the video strategy in 2016. Category 20 - Best Overall Advertising Gold Award Winner Ashton Woods - Keyhole Campaign Roswell, GA Builder: Ashton Woods Marketing Directors: Carrie Schonberg (VP) & Michael Ianzito (DIR) Ad Agency: Anomaly, Toronto, Canada; Frederick-Swanston, Alpharetta, GA Statement: Where does inspiration for an exceptionally designed home come from? That’s the question this multi-media campaign seeks to answer. For us, exceptional design can come from anywhere – oftentimes outside the world of homebuilding. We recognize it in the spires of a French cathedral or in the towering redwoods in a national park. Targeting discerning homebuyers who value high design, this campaign’s goal is to communicate how we are redefining what it means to be a homebuilder, giving audiences a “keyhole peek” into the core of our design philosophy. Rich media ads begin on the sculpted ceiling of the Arc de Triomphe as the keyhole slowly reveals the neoclassic interior it inspired. The campaign then takes you deep among the aged oak casts of a Lisbon port cellar -- inspiration for one of our exceptionally crafted wine rooms. From online dynamic banners to mesh construction barriers, the “Keyhole” campaign is being executed in a wide array of media. Most recently it has been adapted locally with a print ad celebrating Atlanta’s iconic High Museum – inspiration for one of our contemporary kitchen designs. Each communication carries a specific call to action and our new tag line: “Home to Inspiration” ® Category 21 - Best Special Promotion - Limited Time Marketing Promotion Gold Award Winner The Tribute – Realtor/Broker Pick your Prize Promotion The Colony, TX Developer: Matthews Southwest Marketing Director: Mary Day Ad Agency: Anderson Hanson Blanton Statement: Pick Your Prize had a sales period of January 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015. The top ten selling Realtors attended a lavish party in September where they chose, in ranking order, from 14 incredible fantasy prizes (incredible sports packages, shopping sprees, vacations, etc.). The community developed strategic efforts specifically designed to increase Realtor awareness, generate excitement, and to consistently stay top-of-mind with this non-traditional program: A Top Ten ranking system meant Realtors could never settle because they could lose their spot in the top ten. The fact that the #1 Realtor had first pick, etc. increased competition even among the very top selling Realtors. A high-end catalog reminiscent of the Neiman’s holiday catalog was created and distributed to top Realtors and at Realtor events to promote the fabulous prizes options. Agents liked the flexible program where they could choose a prize that fit their interests and schedules. We visited office meetings to present each quarter’s top-selling agent with a special prize and recognition in front of their peers, allowing us to simultaneously increase awareness of our program. The Top Ten leaderboard provided opportunities to stay in continuous contact with our Realtor database to update them on current standings. Our monthly emails to ‘contenders’ averaged a high 42% open rate, and our monthly e-blasts to our Realtor database of over 5,000 agents averaged an impressive 17% open rate. A prize poll was included on the promotion website to encourage engagement with the Realtor community and monitor which prize options were the most popular (getting the agent “vested” in their prize choice). Realtors could (and did) monitor their position on the leaderboard via the Pick Your Prize web page, which also listed agents “on the bubble” and showed weekly changes in ranking points. With each new home sale, the agent received a personalized congratulatory e-mail and themed gift, each of which tied in to one of the 14 prize options, with a reminder message about the promotion. Full-page ads ran in Realtor publications with contest information and information on newly delivered lots. “Champagne Brunch” limo tours showcased the community and give a full Pick Your Prize presentation on-site. We delivered promotion-themed gifts to the top 31 Realtor offices in the area (2,200 agents with each delivery). 110 different Realtors sold 177 homes with limited inventory during the promotion– some builders were completely out of lots for the summer and early fall. The interest when new lots were released was unprecedented. We saw many Realtors who had never sold in the community start making sales during this promotion – and we continue to hear dialogue about their prize choices! The unique, non-trip promotion proved wildly successful. Category 22 - Best Marketing of Green/Sustainable Program CANCELLED Category 23 - Best Microsite/Website for an Associate and Supplier Gold Award Winner www.cdcdesigns.com Irvine, CA CDC Designs Marketing Director: Sarah Breen Design: J Stokes Statement: In early 2012 our company launched new branding and a new website. Amazingly, just two short years later we found our web technology to be outdated as the emerging mobile platforms, larger format graphics and faster loading speed became a concern. As a consultant providing design services that are always on the cutting edge, having a website that matches this goal is a must. Approaching this new platform, we also saw the opportunity to showcase our company culture and add more personality to our online presence. Our objectives in launching this new site are that users will quickly understand our firm’s services, view images of our work in a full screen format while also having the opportunity to see a project at a glance and share what makes our company unique by leadership interviews that speak in the true voice of our brand. Concurrently with the development of this new website, our offices were undergoing a full scale renovation and we felt that adding a separate section in our portfolio to show our workspace would be a great way to share who we are as a company, for our clients and as a recruiting tool for talent. Category 24 - Best Microsite/Website for a Builder Gold Award Winner http://www.schumacherhomes.com Canton, OH Schumacher Homes Marketing Director: Mary Schumacher Becker, MIRM, CSP, CMP Design: In House Statement: We completely redesigned our website not only visually, but strategically going into the 2015 selling season. Felt it was important to make our site more about what the customer needs to make their home buying journey informative and valuable – and less about what it was that we as a company wanted them to do. If you give them what they want – and make the path as clear and simple as possible, they will make the decision that ultimately works for both parties involved. Some of the strategic elements of this campaign and data to support why this campaign should win include: Top three objectives: o Make it easier for customer to get information they are looking for o Identify where in the buying cycle the customer is and address them accordingly o Increase number of users and their interaction Developed a new selling proposition – “Your inspiration has a home” Created a password protected format that made it possible for our customers to save images on their own “Inspiration boards” Increased # of sessions by 21% and # of unique users by 24% Number of pages viewed up 27% and bounce rate declined 31% Category 25 - Best Microsite/Website for a Community Gold Award Winner www.therockwellsf.com San Francisco, CA Builder: Oyster Development Marketing Director: Dana Van Galder – Polaris Pacific Design: Allis Inc Statement: The website had three main objectives: 1. Allow the user to receive important buying information including floor plans, finishes, amenities and neighborhood context 2. Create a user experience that elevated the information and gave the buyers a glimpse into their prospective lifestyle 3. Aggressively push the barriers of technology with integration of video, high-fashion photography and engaging content that aligned with our deeply tech-oriented audience in San Francisco This website broke boundaries in branding, technology, and effectiveness standards. We weren’t creative, just for the sake of being creative, we gave people the information they want, but served it in a way that drew them in and kept them wanting more. The biggest challenge for this project was having the client take a leap of faith. A leap of faith that creating a website that not only aligned with our target demographic, it moved past a ‘real estate’ website, to a product website you may see the tech space. We believe this website should win as it achieved the triple threat: marketing, sales and technology excellence. Category 26 - Best Computer Generated Sales Tools Gold Award Winner LUMINA San Francisco, CA Builder: Tishman Speyer Marketing Director: Lindsay Lessman - Polaris Pacific Ad Agency: Polaris Pacific/Allis Link to videos: https://vimeo.com/126631243 https://vimeo.com/125748053 Statement: The development’s Sales Gallery is a world-class destination for discerning buyers, featuring a full-sized, fully furnished two-bedroom residence along with interactive and immersive visualization displays. A state-of-the-art, four station, interactive table surrounding a dynamic five-foot architectural model is the centerpiece of the Sales Gallery, bringing each residence to life before completion. The interactive technology allows prospective residents to explore the community’s many floor plan options, explore views from each residence, and discover the amenities of the SoMa neighborhood. An elaborate projection wall in the model home showcases panoramic views, simulating low-, mid and high-points in the development from different vantage points, including the San Francisco Bay and the City skyline, as well as time-lapse views transitioning from daytime to nighttime. A separate interactive table reveals the full range of the projects’ entertaining, fitness and rejuvenation spaces. This project features two towers of 42 and 37 stories and two plaza buildings of eight stories each, all connected by a shared amenity podium. Each of the 656 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences offers the finest high-grade features and finishes with intuitive touches for modern living, as well as a lavish array of amenities. Category 27 - Best Marketing Promotion by Supplier or Industry Partner Gold Award Winner Huber Engineered Woods – 2015 Prove It Tour Promotion Charlotte, NC Huber Engineered Woods Marketing Director: Scott Long Statement: Building professionals want to see proof that products will perform as advertised before deciding to use them on their jobsites, and there’s no better way to prove performance than live, hands-on product demonstrations. That’s why our mobile marketing fleet includes vans and walk-thru enclosed trailers that give building pros the chance to interact with our products, see them in action and compare them directly to competing products. Our mobile marketing fleet is a live testing and education facility on wheels, giving building pros an incredible opportunity to receive in-depth installation and building science education directly from our trained company representatives. In addition to these builder benefits, our dealers thrive from having our events at their locations. Our events engage their sales representatives, excite their local builders and ultimately drive more sales through their location. In total, our mobile marketing tour conducts 400 events and interacts with over 5,000 builders and dealer personnel per year -- and the program is rapidly evolving to keep up with the demand for more of our events. To demonstrate our investment, we conduct phone surveys with attendees to prove an impressive ROI of $6 per $1 invested. Category 28 - Building Industry Community Spirit Award Dual Gold Award Winners Charity Water Initiative Newport Beach, CA By: Trumark Homes Ad Agency: Gunn | Jerkens Marketing Communications Statement: Where others merely see future homesites, this builder sees an opportunity to make a positive difference. To reach their goal of enriching community here and around the world, the builder set out to build homes that foster a better future, the enthusiasm to connect and the compassion to give back, starting with their partnership with charity: water, a nonprofit that uses donations to fund international water projects. For every 25 to 50 homes they develop, the builder donates one new well to provide safe, clean water to villages and people who need it most. Community spirit is also seen in the website, where a “Live Well” webpage raises awareness of the worldwide water predicament, encouraging homeowners to unite and embrace philanthropy. In addition, their efforts to cultivate communities shaped by friendship, diversity and compassion ultimately help mold the global home we all create, resulting in change felt in every community. Operation Coming Home Raleigh, NC By: United States Veterans Corps & HBA Raleigh-Wake County Leaders: Andrew Ladner & Tim Minton Statement: The Unites States Veterans Corps (USVC) and the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County work together in Operation: Coming Home to aid local military service members who were severely wounded in combat, by fulfilling their desire to live the American Dream of home ownership. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our military forces and we strive to honor these wounded American Heroes by giving them a completely free home of their own, customized to meet their specific needs. Individuals and companies generously sponsor or donate the homesite, labor and supplies to make this happen. From 10/1/14 – 10/1/15 two heroes received homes and a third home was built for another hero. US Marine Corporal Ryan Wightman received the key to Hero Home#9 on 3/26/15; US Army SSG Tim Payne was welcomed into Hero Home #10 on 6/25/15; and Hero Home #11 for US Army National Guard SGT Kyle Snyder was constructed with the dedication ceremony to be held on 10/27/15. The HBA of Raleigh-Wake County and USVC continue to select new recipients. This is our way to contribute as much as we possibly can—for our heroes who have sacrificed so much for us. Judges Special Awards Massey Street of Hope at Hallsley Midlothian, VA By: East West Communities/ Massey Cancer Center Marketing Director: Connie Pollard Ad Agency: Becker & Calliott Marketing Summerlin: The HomeAid Partnership Las Vegas, NV By: Summerlin - The Howard Hughes Corporation/ HomeAid of Southern Nevada Marketing Director: Danielle Bisterfeldt Category 29 - Best Sales/Leasing Center Gold Award Winner The Oaks Meridian, Idaho Coleman Homes Builder: Coleman Homes Marketing Director: Susan Stanley Design: MWC Design & Display Statement: We wanted to create a welcoming, interactive sales center for visitors to enjoy and incorporate our new interactive plat maps. Built in a 3-car garage with an RV bay, we had a lot of space to fill. We installed 3 large fans, 3 custom pendant lights and accents like a brick wall, corrugated metal and wood-meets-metal impact graphics. These touches bring the outside rural surroundings inside. We also added a beautiful quartz hospitality bar, where coffee, water and snacks are available for anyone who stops by. Enticing them with a treat or two makes it easier for them to stay a while and explore what we have to offer on interactive floorplan touch-screens. We did away with topo-tables that were a maintenance nightmare and replaced them with an interactive plat map that is easily updated with the click of a mouse. Visitors can explore the maps on the four big screens, two at work stations and two hanging from the ceiling. These screens can also be used to make a huge impact as you walk in and see lifestyle photos displayed from the website. Category 30 - Best Sales/Welcome Center Gold Award Winner Windsong Ranch Prosper, TX Developer: Terra Verde Group Design: Creative License, Intl Statement: In a sea of Texas Ranch communities, this master planned community stands out as a bright, modern gem. Located in the heart of the Amenity Center, the Welcome Center targets a wide range of suburban buyers from first move-up families to empty nesters. Adjacent to the Fitness Center, resort swimming pools and outdoor gathering spaces, the Welcome Center flows into a colorful coffee bar and snack shop that brings visitors into the recreational lifestyle of the community and provide a cool drink for the model home tour. Bright colors welcome guests and fill the modern space and create an uplifting energy. Pierce cut metal display panels emulate the windswept fields of Texas and monitors embedded in a community table provide information about the community and homebuilders. Tree rounds harvested from the area and an insert of turf and river rocks accentuate the custom furnishings and connect to the natural environment. Category 31 - Best Presentation Center Gold Award Winner East United Toronto, ON, Canada Developer: SigNature Developments Designer – The Design Agency Fabricator – Solutionworx Inc Statement: The presentation centre was designed to inspire a fresh vision for urban life while reflecting the unique and diverse character of Toronto’s Downtown East. The model suite is partially constructed in wireframe and traced in light, converting the suite into a canvas onto which the owners can envision a home. Finish options are displayed as one collage, loosely divided into three schemes, which were inspired by the personalities of three unique areas in the surrounding neighbourhood - the artist, the foodie, and the sleek business personality. The availability board is a decorative but functional highlight featuring keys mounted on a series of found, antique doors. We also built a successful pop-up shop featuring the various branded materials that were used in the campaign, hats, mugs, bags, and of course t-shirts. Category 32 - Best Clubhouse Gold Award Winner The Cannery Davis, CA Builder/Developer: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Architect: Robert Hidey Architects Interiors: Meridian Interiors Statement: The Ranch House is a Community Clubhouse that serves as an amenity in this 547unit Master Planned Development. This farm-to-table new home Community is the first of its kind in California. Its creation was inspired by the agricultural roots and environmental innovation aimed to nourish a healthier and more sustainable way of life. A tribute to the historic American farming and ranching heritage, The Ranch House was designed with simple geometric forms incorporating gable roofs, vertically proportioned windows, and a variety of textures to characterize the style. Richly detailed barn door entries invite visitors inside the spacious contemporary interior, accented by high-beamed ceilings and flanked by the architectural feature of two covered loggias. The porch is both deep and wide and encourages significant outdoor living, also permitting residents to connect with neighbors and their community. Residents will be excited by the spa and sprawling AAU pool, which is comprised of five lanes and specially certified to host swim meets. In addition, there is a fully operational Prep Kitchen for entertaining and a Game Room that includes a shuffleboard table, a pool table, two flat screen TVs, and multiple high top tables. Category 33 - Best Design Center Gold Award Winner Edward Andrews Homes - Design Center Atlanta, GA Builder: Edward Andrews Homes Marketing Director: Caroline Simmel Design: Cooper Carey & Debbie Naftel Architect: Cooper Carey & Choate Construction Statement: Our Design Center offers a technology-driven and approachable design experience to deliver homes that meet each buyer’s design preferences, lifestyle, budget and timeline. While our competitors do little-to-no upfront customer research, our process starts with buyers completing a digital style quiz based on a matrix of algorithms and a lifestyle questionnaire. With these results, our designers present a cultivated array of selections that align with the buyers’ tastes. Instead of being overwhelmed with options, customers can more comfortably approach the design experience and more confidently make decisions. Just as our design experience differentiates us from other homebuilders, our Design Center offers unparalleled aesthetics, pairing natural elements with muted tones and creating a designneutral look to avoid influencing customers. A two-story ceiling of open beams complements the elegantly rustic workstations below, centered around individual flat screens for viewing digital floor plans, renderings and inspirational images. Additionally, the Design Center includes private design labs, conceal-and-reveal cabinetry with samples, a serving bar and a relaxing patio. Since the Design Center's launch in late 2014, it has become our number-one selling asset thanks to the space's combination of technology and striking design, which helps customers feel secure in partnering with us. Category 34 - Best Signage for an Urban Community Gold Award Winner East United Toronto, ON, Canada Developer: SigNature Developments Signage: Blackjet Inc. / Curb Sign, Inc. Statement: The goal of our Presentation Signage was to develop a graphic continuity that would authentically reflect the eclecticism of the Downtown East while maintaining the unalterable, heritage facade of the building. In order to do this we had a 10ft. iron sculpture of the project logo handcrafted by a master iron sculptor placed in front of the office. It serves both the utilitarian purpose of grabbing attention and also acting as an individual campaign piece in and of itself. Category 34A - Best Signage for an Community Gold Award Winner The Cannery Davis, CA Builder/Developer: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Signage: Outdoor Dimensions Statement: The signage was designed in alignment with the overall vision and branding of California’s first farm-to-table community. The design features throughout reflect the organic, lifestyle rich, essence of the community. The goal was to use images to reflect a way of living. Elements were chosen that were simple, pure, and natural that represent sustainable and organic components. All model and wayfinding structures were made out of natural wood. The entry monument and Logo on The Barn were made from an aged corten steel that is visible, yet subtle. The graphic continuity was critical from the entry monument letters that sit on the top of the wall and logo mark on the Barn to all of the wayfinding and model signage at each neighborhood. The entire signage program acts as a stylish, functional accessory to a one of a kind unique community. Fonts as well as neighborhood names and colors follow the project’s inspirations of connectivity, and the iconic logo of a bike wheel with a stem and leaf sprouting off of it brings to life the classic attributes of Davis living with cycling and its agricultural roots, as the community was built where the Hunt Wesson Plant originally stood. Category 35A – Best Landscape for a Master Planned Community Gold Award Winner Wesbrook Village Vancouver, BC Builder/Developer: UBC Properties Trust Marketing Director: Ashley Willard Bauman Landscape: Perry + Associates Statement: A 115 acre neighbourhood with over 37 of those acres devoted to six parks and abundant open space. Perimeter tree buffers and adjacent forest provide a natural setting. Parks are established as nodes within blocks of development sites, connected by a network of “green streets”. The green street park system touches each development site to allow movement throughout the neighbourhood on foot and bike. A separate roadway system with sidewalks and landscaped boulevards completes a fine-grained internal circulation system. Trails and walkways connect directly to other parts of the campus and to the adjacent 1,800 acre Regional Park. The park and open space system is designed to encourage community gathering and interaction, provide areas for active and passive play, organized sports, community gardens, and water flow. In addition to the amenity and visual value, the network of channels and ponds functions as part of an overall stormwater management strategy to replicate pre-development run-off conditions. Five parks were completed early in the development cycle so that new residents have completed facilities at their doorstep as soon as buildings are completed. The presence of completed park amenities is often mentioned as a key factor in the market appeal of the neighbourhood. Category 36 – Best Outdoor Living Space Gold Award Winner Bluffs at Bella Vista - The Laurel Porter Ranch, CA Builder: Toll Brothers Inc. Marketing Director: Dottie Sweeney Landscape: Land Creative Statement: The Laurel Plan plays on the flavors of a hidden Spanish resort getaway, with gardens that features different outdoor spaces and activities that offers luxurious privacy, as well as provide dramatic viewpoints in a modern Mediterranean pool garden setting. Elegant understated formal stone and tile materials complement the Spanish architecture of this luxurious resort-style home. An outdoor courtyard bar and a spirited water table invite to pause and spend a warm summer evening in this intimate setting, under the twinkling lights of the Moroccan inspired ceiling. Down the hall and out through the open California room, a playful sunken pool with numerous water spouts, is surrounded by multi-level destination terraces for various garden activities, surrounded by lush Mediterranean plantings and palms. An intimate fire pit hovers above a private wood poolside deck with tanning lounge beds below, and balances out a raised terrace that beckons for evening dinner parties while gazing at canyon views reminiscent of the Andalusian country side. Category 37 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced under $350,000 Gold Award Winner Vista Dulce – The Botticelli Las Vegas, NV Builder: Toll Brothers, Inc. Marketing Director: Dottie Sweeney Interiors: Ryan Young Interiors Statement: A quintessential example of organic style, this home’s spacious floor plan is the perfect design to create a warm and cozy home. Wood accents, earth tones and mid-century style furniture help further define this fresh home’s features. Colors of citron, green and grey combined with grey-washed wood floors throughout both levels of the home, give the added style the growing young family craves. The Kitchen’s rich finishes and open layout adjacent to the indoor/outdoor dining room, implies an easy transitional entertaining space. A quaint and charming outdoor loggia is complimented by a built-in outdoor grilling and relaxation area. Luxurious fabrics, delicate artwork, and natural textures captivate the buyer to succumb to the implicit romance in the master bedroom. Dual closets with glass sliding doors create a boutique style entrance to the master bathroom. Chiseled stone countertops mixed with copper tiles accentuate the expansive shower for two. A home office and bonus room loft give the extra living space the family needs. This home is perfect for a growing family excited to entertain where their friends and family can truly relax. Category 38 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced $350,000 to $500,000 Gold Award Winner Toll Brothers at Blackstone – The Costellana Peoria, AZ Builder: Toll Brothers, Inc. Marketing Director: Kari Laszlo Interiors: Ryan Young Interiors Statement: This single-story luxury home has a quaint feel with multiple textures but light, almost feminine fabrics. Layer of texture with the stone posts and fireplace, plus the beamed ceilings and reclaimed wood furnishings serve to ground the design while still allowing the house to feel light and airy. The same theme is carried throughout the home with the wood treatment on the kitchen celling and floor while leaving the space in between almost whimsical. Even the den and guest suite feel light yet elegant. The feminine tufted bench at the end of the master bed plays with the contemporary art work hanging above which flows seamlessly into the master bath. Category 39 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced $500,000 to $750,000 Gold Award Winner Avery at Claremore Manor Woodstock, GA Builder: Ashton Woods Marketing Director: Karen Reichert Interiors: Ashton Woods - Valerio Muraro Statement: The moment you enter downtown Woodstock, you sense a nostalgic charm ‐ from the train station that has been converted into a restaurant to the old‐world pharmacy. Young families move here for the small‐town feel, and our model incorporates the character of the city with its exposed brick walls and stained wood beams. A unique tile reminiscent of antique tiles fills the backsplash. Distressed bowls with apples accent the simple breakfast table. Layered runners with fringe, a mix of two different styles of chairs, and a wooden shutter create a distinct dining room. The study features an old Hollywood floor lamp and an antique book behind a white washed glass cabinet. In the master bath, paver tiles in a terracotta color compliment the brick accent wall. A rain shower head coupled with a handheld shower and wall‐mounted shower head create the perfect spa shower. Scissor lights and a custom reclaimed wood table with swivel stools create a wonderful game or craft table at which children and adults can gather. If you prefer lounging, two matching sectionals can be set in different configurations to accommodate smaller or larger movie nights with friends and family. Category 40 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced $750,000 to $1Million Gold Award Winner Pradera - Umbria Plan 6 Parker, CO Builder: Celebrity Custom Homes Marketing Director: Kurt Miller Interiors: Kimberly Timmons Interiors (KTI) Statement: Taking a modernist, but decidedly unpretentious approach with a calming monochromatic color palette this home is the ultimate in ranch home living designed to appeal to the luxury homebuyer. Secluded from the main home, off the courtyard up a flight of stairs is an inviting casita guesthouse. Once inside the entry hall you are drawn inside by the dramatic views of the private golf course just beyond the expansive outdoor room. The floor plan is segmented with entertaining spaces on one side of the entry while sleeping and study spaces are on the other. The entertaining portion of the home features a wine room viewable from the formal dining and elegant great room just off the gourmet kitchen. The master suite feels like an indulgent vacation getaway with two person steam shower and radiant heat bathtub. The lower level is resort living at its finest, with a large entertainment area and men’s lounge. The immense back patio, infinity edge pool and pool house, where glass garage doors lift to reveal a secondary living room, bar and spa like bath to complete this outdoor oasis. Carefully chosen finish materials and enhanced architectural details in every room create a customized unforgettable dream home. Category 41 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced $1Million to $1.5Million Gold Award Winner Riverstone - 9012 Plan Sugar Land, TX Builder: Newmark Homes Interiors: Five Star Interiors Statement: Upon entering through 16’ of glass storefront doors it is obvious that this home is unique. The neighborhood is well known for its traditional Mediterranean architecture and interiors. The builder and designer took a risk with a soft contemporary design. Walls, floors and cabinetry were purposefully kept light to reflect natural light from abundant windows. Site lines were respected to reveal the pool and lake views. Volume ceilings were accentuated by trim details, reverse coffers, lighting and metallic painting. Furnishings are elegant yet inviting as each room blends perfectly into the next. The Cream Travertine floors and soft white walls are accentuated by charcoal accent tiles. The two story closet in the Owners Suite is the stand out memory point of this home and was merchandised with designer clothing and accessories, exquisite finishes and amazing chandelier. The “jewelry” of this home is without a doubt the specialty lighting which sets the tone for the interior and adds sparkle as the perfect accessory to complete the design. This model has received rave reviews from buyers, prospects, and industry professionals looking for fresh finishes and design details that are new to this area. Category 42 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Model priced over $1.5Million Gold Award Winner Main House Encinitas, CA Builder: City Ventures Homebuilding, LLC Marketing Director: Amanda Larson Interiors: CDC Designs Statement: In this unique coastal community, the classic concept of compound living has been modernized at the luxury level. A ‘Coastal Collectible Living’ theme was chosen for this home marketed towards a growing family. The goal for this design was to make the spaces feel light, airy and beachy – casual California living at its finest. Driftwood flooring, white tongue and groove ceiling with rustic beam details, and stacked stone fireplace are shown in the great room. The gourmet kitchen features double islands, washed gray cabinetry and open shelving with a white marble backsplash. A secondary bedroom is merchandised as home office with built-in cabinetry, reverse trim and a custom rope light fixture. In the master suite, box beam ceilings, espresso wood furnishings, soft fabrics and antique metal accents create a feeling of relaxed elegance. The high-volume vaulted ceiling in the master bath presented a design challenge so our team featured the same stacked stone as the great room next to the stand-alone spa tub and anchored the space with a custom hanging light fixture. Category 43 – Best Interior Merchandising of a Custom Home Gold Award Winners Jacksonville Modern Jacksonville, FL Builder: Browdy & Browdy, Inc. Interiors: Phil Kean Design Group Statement: The objective and challenge of this interior design project was to create a warm sanctuary for this clean lined, contemporary home. 90% of the furniture was custom made and designed to fit the home. The tones and colors of the furniture pull directly from the surrounding cabinetry and finish materials. The beautiful cabinetry is a contemporary textured melamine used in the kitchen as well as for the TV surround in the family room. The warmth of the dark cabinetry grounds the spaces. A smoked mirror ceiling detail defines the dining space and creates a connection with the bar/wine room. The master bedroom features a horizontally wall-mounted upholstered headboard and the floating ceiling is painted one shade darker than the walls. In the master bath, the juxtaposition of the veined porcelain wall tile, pebble flooring and white soaking tub creates an organic, architectural space. The glass wall in the bathroom ensures unobstructed river views from this relaxing second floor master bathroom. We believe this interior design project deserves an award for its successful creation of seamless connections and definitions within the home while allowing the view to always be present and of most importance. Category 44 – Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home Priced Under $350,000 Gold Award Winner Astoria - The Charlotte Prescott, AZ Builder: Dorn Homes Architect: Felten Group Statement: Elevation options include Modern Farmhouse (pictured), Victorian, and Craftsman architecture Farmhouse architecture features steep pitched roof, rustic wood posts, exposed wood rafter tails at the overhangs, and exposed corbels at the gable ends. Single-story living and a low maintenance lock-and-go lifestyle to appeal to retirees. Designed for people searching for a brand new home, without loosing the “character” of the local historic homes. Exclusive Building Science, a holistic approach to home building to provide a healthy indoor environment, high performance home, and thousands of dollars saved off utility bills Due to the 45’ wide home-sites of the community, our team was challenged to create a product with a narrow width while still incorporating a 2-car front load garage and a dramatic entry statement. A stylish barn-door garage door and a defined front porch draw the eye to the home. Above the front porch is a standing metal seam at the roof as well as a shed style dormer that creates the appearance of a usable attic. The interior has traditional bat and board siding to bring the farmhouse architecture into the home and has been designed to capture the rear views from the entry and owners suite. Category 45 - Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home Priced $350,000 to $500,000 Gold Award Winner Battles Trace at The Colony at The Grand Fairhope, AL Builder: Stuart Contracting Co., Inc. Marketing Director: Barbara Thomas Architect: Larry Garnett Designs Statement: Coming out of the housing crunch in 2015, this parcel was designed as part of a larger adjoining proposed community planned to be targeted to an upscale resort / secondhome and retiree user. Offering 43 single family cluster homes on 18.5 net buildable acres with a neo-traditional craftsman style, signs were placed on the property during site work which generated a strong market response, creating an over-subscribed waiting list which resulted in sellout within 9 months at prices 25% above the market. Category 46 - Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home Priced $500,000 to $750,000 Gold Award Winners Midtown – The Alto Denver, CO Builder: Infinity Home Collection Architect: Woodley Architectural Group Statement: Artfully expressing the modern tates of today’s buyers, this home creates an impressive feel to the street. Inside, the three levels of living interlock and are connect by a minimalistic, yet elegant stair. The three-story volume is further accentuated by windows, daylighting the entry and main living spaces, while providing stunning views. The first two floors provide the main living areas; the kitchen, great room, a study, the bedrooms and a loft space, while a penthouse with a roof terrace on the third floor expands the living upstairs and outside. The roof terrace serves as the home’s ultimate destination retreat, providing views to the Denver skyline. Establishing living on a vertical scale, the home provides an innovative solution for urban areas, while reaching buyers seeking a metropolitan aesthetic in a suburban setting. Category 47 - Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home Priced $750,000 to $1 Million Gold Award Winner Apex at Civita - Plan 1 San Diego, CA Builder: CalAtlantic Homes Architect: Woodley Architectural Group Statement: The objective was to create detached single-family homes for young professionals and new families that maximize indoor and outdoor living while having lot size and height constraints. The homes feature modern, urban exterior design elements such as flat roofs and expansive glass woven into industrially produced materials with a strong visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines and dual outdoor entertaining areas. The interiors were thoughtfully designed with flex spaces allowing homeowners to maximize their livable space. Residence 1 entry features widened stairs leading down to the guest suite and two-story volume with a stunning glass staircase, creating a greater sense of space. The main floor is optimized for entertaining with an oversized island anchoring the open plan that flow onto a covered deck. Unlike our competition our plans have first floor guest suites that open up to 10-18’ deep private backyards and the 2-car garages with an extended carport. Category 48 - Best Architectural Design of A Single Family Detached Home Priced $1 Million to $1.5 Million Gold Award Winner Avery at Alamo Creek - Pinebrook Danville, CA Builder: Toll Brothers, Inc. Marketing Director: Dottie Sweeney Architect: Bassenian Lagoni Statement: Authentic details combine with the warm white color of this well-detailed elevation to set the state for this family oriented home. This plan creates an impressive indoor/outdoor living space throughout the home with lots of sliding glass walls. The intimate courtyard with unobstructed views of the circular staircase can be seen from the foyer, library, great room, kitchen and dining room, and also accessible from the foyer and library. The abundance of windows and sliding glass walls enhances an open, sunny and airy feel promoting ease of entertainment for formal and information gathering. The second floor features a beautiful Master Bedroom Suite complemented by a luxurious Master Bathroom, dual walk-in closets, shower with bench seating and separate dressing vanity. The neighboring bonus room/loft offers alternative living space containing sliding glass walls that opens to a covered outdoor deck. Category 49 - Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Detached Home Priced over $1.5 Million Gold Award Winner Fiano - Plan 1 Newport Beach, CA Builder: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Architect: Robert Hidey Architects Statement: With single-story living wrapping around a spacious central courtyard, two generous covered outdoor rooms accessible through wide glass doors and primary living spaces proportionately sized and strategically located at the rear of the home to take full advantage of breathtaking view opportunities, this home masterfully accomplishes these principal objectives. Contributing greatly to the formidable outdoor connectivity of this design, expansive sliding glass doors and a multitude of French doors adorn the ground floor walls, framing views and allowing unrestricted flow of air and occupants from outside to inside and back out again. Equally important to this attribute, ceilings throughout have been raised to uncommon heights and transom glass has been added above each opening to invite in more daylight and expand views. And, while the deliberately limited second floor has been purposely located toward the front to afford this home a grander street presence and allow for greater volume in the focal rooms at the rear, two private bedroom suites and a generous bonus room are connected to exterior spaces and views through a collection of French doors and Juliet balconies. All dressed up in Formal Italian style, and owing to a wonderfully temperate coastal climate and resplendent ocean views, this new semi-custom home is ideally alluring to a long list of affluent families with a taste for luxury and an adoration for nature and all its beauty who have been eagerly waiting for its completion. Category 50 - Best Architectural Design of an Attached Home Plan (Single Plan) Gold Award Winner Grand Monarch - Residence 2 Dana Point, CA Builder: William Lyon Signature Homes Marketing Director: Janet Kemmerer Architect: Bassenian Lagoni Statement: A one-of-a-kind location that hugs the shores of Monarch Beach requires a home just as unique. Plan two in this stunning triplex building forever raises the bar on townhome living. At first glance, the eye sees an Italianate mansion befitting such an amazing site. Once inside, the truth is revealed: a luxury living townhome environment reserved for the very few. The particulars: 3,797 SF with 2 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half baths 2-car garage Covered loggia Lower level game room, media room, office Great room, master bedroom opens to expansive covered loggia and outdoor area with multiple living environments Life in the community comes with an amazing amenity: homeowners have immediate access to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort and the resorts many services. Category 51 - Best Architectural Design of an Attached Community Gold Award Winner Best Architectural Design of an Attached Community LUMINA Builder: Tishman Speyer Marketing Director: Lindsay Lessman - Polaris Pacific Architect: Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Arquitectonica. Statement: This is the largest condominium development in San Francisco’s history, comprising 656 residences in two towers of 42 and 37 stories and two 8-story mid-rise buildings, all rising above a two-level amenity podium. The project’s glass curves and angles capture the elegance, modernity and vibrancy of San Francisco. The architect infused his nautical vision of the development with soft, curvilinear lines, almost as though the towers were shaped by the City breezes, lending a unique organic expression. Each of the residences offer the finest high-grade features and finishes with intuitive touches for modern living, as well as a lavish array of amenities that will include a bi-level club lounge, rooftop terrace, Jay Wright designed fitness center and climbing wall, and a 70-foot heated lap pool. The property has experienced approximately 6,000 visits to the Sales Gallery, 7,400 registrations on the project interest list and, 375 sales to date (estimated $638 Million in sales) – nearly 60% of the project, averaging more than 1 sale per day. Category 52 - Best Architectural Design of a One of a Kind Home - Custom or Spec Gold Award Winner Collingwood Residence Los Angeles, CA Builder: Finton Construction Architect: Landry Design Group Statement: If you’re looking for a home designed for entertaining, then high above the famed Sunset Strip sits the ultimate party-pad. This playful modern home uses a series of sweeping arcs to capture dramatic views stretching from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles and the scenic canyons above Sunset Plaza. The client envisioned a design that allowed for both large gatherings and intimate entertaining. Curved stucco and Italian basalt walls engage a two-story glass stair tower, while a backlit bronze screen contains the large glass entry door. Together, they frame a captivating view of city lights beyond. The entry is on the middle level, overlooking the double-height living spaces. Guests descend a circular stair to the entertainment level below. The great room, dining room and kitchen are large open spaces with plenty of light. A curved Venetian plaster wall divides the public spaces from the private spaces. The third-level master bedroom, bath and office all feature panoramic views. Retractable glass walls provide openness and transparency, while canopies overhead shield the sun and create animated light patterns throughout the day. Whether you are outside by the pool, lounging in the covered bar area, gathering for dinner at the outdoor kitchen, or having a drink at the wine bar before enjoying a movie in the theater, this stunning home provides ample opportunities for entertaining. Category 54 - On the Boards Community (Defined as under construction - but not yet open for sale or rent) Gold Award Winner Riverstone Madera, CA Developer: Riverstone Development, LLC Architect/Planner: William Hezmalhalch Architects, Inc. Statement: An evolutionary project located in Southeast Madera County situated in the heart of the Fresno Metro path of growth. The community enjoys great access to a wide variety of local and regional recreation areas including a one-hour drive to Yosemite. Comprised of eight distinct districts, the community will offer 6,578 residential units, commercial and mixed-use spaces including office, service retail, elementary schools and a high school. Over 200 AC of local and regional parks, recreation centers and access to open space reserves including the San Joaquin River. Project Goals Establish a unique community that offers a balance of housing, employment, retail, education and recreational opportunities Celebrate the unique architectural character of the Central California Set aside land for community farming enhancing landscape, honoring regional heritage and inspiring healthy living Build a sustainable legacy of lasting value to be enjoyed by future generations Five Tenants for Community Identity Evolutionary Design—Forward thinking design of California Country Contemporary Experiences—Give families every opportunity to have memorable adventures Education—Champion excellence in education throughout the community Entertainment—Celebrate "Look forward to life" Environmental respect—Foster a community-wide spirit of environmental stewardship Category 55 - Attached Community of the Year Gold Award Winner Tour des Canadiens 2 Toronto, ON Canada Developer: Cadillac Fairview, Canderel, Montreal Canadiens, Fonds FTQ Ad Agency: Montana Steele Strategic Marketing Statement: Major marketing objectives: showcase the highly anticipated second residential building of TDC2 |(part of Montreal’s visionary new $2 billion Quad Windsor downtown community) Get people excited about being part of a spectacular master planned downtown community, connected to the iconic Bell Centre with world-class residential, office and retail, and urban park space. Any unusual constraints or opportunities Superior location directly in the heart of new 2-billion dollar quad Windsor downtown community and directly beside the Bell Centre Exceptional amenities: wine bar, games room, skylounge, indoor pool, terrace, fitness room Direct connection to the Bell Centre through pedestrian link Amenities were integrated into the heritage component to make best & most unique use of the space Huge opportunity to leverage partnership with the Montreal Canadiens – unprecedented perks & privileges and access to the Canadiens team for purchasers How objectives were met: Incredible 8200 square foot fully-appointed Digital Sales Centre with towering 20’ artwork at the entrance o 5 interactive touchscreen systems featuring VR o 1 3-screen digital wall o 2 spacious & luxurious designer model suites o Elegant brochure slipped into a perfectly sized brochure ‘bag’ Fully-integrated marketing strategy including print, massive downtown full-building signage wraps, Montreal Canadiens playoffs teaser campaign, marketing video, radio, social media and blog campaigns, paid search and social media advertising, email marketing, Toronto sales centre, temporary Montreal sales centre, full Montreal sales centre, broker/agent events, TDC1 past purchaser events, VIP events, and countless Montreal Canadiens game events & promotions, numerous collateral pieces incl. mini air hockey table, VIP event access cards, Category 56 - Detached Community of the Year Gold Award Winner Marbella at Hidden Canyon Irvine, CA Irvine, CA Builder: Toll Brothers Inc. Marketing Director: Dottie Sweeney Architect: Bassenian Lagoni Interiors: CDC Designs Landscape: Land Creative Statement: Small lots challenged the entire project team to create home environments bigger than the plot by erasing the lines between indoors and outside. This limited offering – 138 homes in 5 unique designs -- delivers the luxury features and showy design details that appeal to the target buyer: an Asian family (from the local market or overseas) interested in showcasing their status and wealth. A new sales office design -- complete with its own outdoor living experience -- whetted the appetite of buyers and resulted in 42 sales before models were even complete. Designed by an architect and built by a builder with strong brand names in China helped to push prices up more than 20%. Category 57 - Master Planned Community of the Year Gold Award Winner The Cannery Davis, CA Builder/Developer: The New Home Company Marketing Director: Megan Eltringham Ad Agency: Paolucci Salling & Martin Communication Arts Sales Office: Robert Hidey Architects/ Meridian Interiors / Display Graphics Landscape: SWA Group Signage: Outdoor Dimensions Statement: As California’s first farm-to-table new home community, this Master Planned Community offers 547 total residences within six neighborhoods, a welcome center – The Farm House, a recreational center – The Ranch House, a 7.4-acre Urban Farm, a 5,800-square-foot working barn, a loop trail for biking, several public parks, a retail and office plaza, and more. The distinct neighborhoods – Sage, Tilton, Persimmon, Beech, Heirloom, and Gala – offer energy efficient and Livable Design™ features in every residence. The Community has a historic agricultural significance being built on the former Hunt Wesson Plant, located proximal to downtown Davis. It’s also signified by connectivity with a network of loops and trails to ensure any destination within the Community is no more than a 10-minute walk or five-minute bike ride away. Most importantly, the farm-to-table luxury the Community provides is beyond innovative, allowing residents to walk to the store that sells Community grown fruits and vegetables, and even cook meals with produce picked the same day in their own backyard. The self-sustaining environment of the Community goes beyond the working farm, also including green alternatives, like net-zero living. From residences to recreation, retail, and more, this Community has a simple, yet profound premise – life tastes better here.