CASE STUDY

Promontory – The Ranch Club

The Back Story:

Promontory - The Ranch Club was a new high-end, second home golf course community in Park City, Utah. The project was a 7,000 acre development with 2,000 homesites and five planned golf courses. In 2002, the developer contacted Melisa Miller and Strategic Marketing Group to join its team to create and implement a successful marketing and sales strategy for the property.

Challenges:

  • Sales from the initial launch of the project in early 2001 diminished substantially following 9/11
  • The local real estate broker community did not understand the project because it was not a “slope side” product and they were unfamiliar with how to sell a second-home private golf club community,
  • Home builders and end-users were not eager to open their pocketbooks to purchase in a new community with concerns about the nation’s economic outlook following 9/11 and the new war in the Middle East.
  • Promontory was in its infancy with little infrastructure, only 9-holes of a golf course scheduled to open that year and little enthusiasm amongst prospects to commit.

Marketing Goals:

The goal was to convince prospects to buy into the community’s vision despite the uncertainty in the marketplace. The first step was to develop a comprehensive marketing and sales plan that would help to fill the prospect pipeline and ultimately incentivize people to buy at Promontory. It was imperative to go after a defined, target audience, while also teaching local brokers the benefits of selling at Promontory. The marketing and sales programs had to develop during the difficult times and continue to build momentum as the market got better. Also, it was imperative to build a club with perceived and real values that multi-generational families could enjoy for years.

The Results:

  • In less than five years, SMG played a key role in helping to generate nearly $400 million in sales revenue from 700 homesites sold to end users and builders.
  • Development and implementation of a $3 million sales and marketing budget which included:
  • Planning and execution of highly successful sales launch events
  • Creation and production of marketing/sales collateral, broker and member referral programs, email and direct mail campaigns.
  • Creation, production and maintenance of interactive websites.