To our online social media community,

Over the past few days we have been following the online conversation about our Hailey Brownstone marketing campaign. The response has been quite interesting, in large part because the majority of the comments are in direct opposition to the feedback we received from the people we have talked to through facebook, at the GreenWay Crossing brownstone model, and the actual residents in our communities throughout the Des Moines area. A number of interesting issues have been raised regarding effectiveness, authenticity, transparency, and sustainability. This post will attempt to address these issues. You are welcome to call me, e-mail me, or respond on Twitter with your thoughts.
 
The Hailey Brownstone marketing campaign was multi-faceted - it was not limited to posting videos on YouTube, creating a facebook account and writing a blog. The campaign also consisted of television, radio (1,2,3,4,5,6), print, and e-mails to our potential homebuyers list. The ads were targeted at our traditional brownstone townhome buyer – young, upwardly mobile, social people ready to buy their first or second home. The ads directed people to Hailey on facebook and to read her blog with the ultimate goal of attending her housewarming party at GreenWay Crossing.
 
Looking at the statistics we have collected through Google Analytics, this was very effective. In the month since the campaign started, Hailey’s blog has received over 900 absolute unique visitors. 53% found their way to the site directly (indicating they saw or heard an ad and typed in HaileyBrownstone.com), 23% reached the blog through facebook, 13% through Google, 5% through e-mail campaigns (of which our click through rate was above average), and 4% through other social media sites. Over 300 people continued on to HubbellHomes.com from facebook and the blog, looking at our brownstones for an average of more than 4 minutes. Searches on HubbellHomes.com for GreenWay Crossing skyrocketed during the campaign. As of today, we are within two sales of setting a new record for December at Hubbell Homes – this during one of the most trying economic times our country has ever faced. From this perspective, the campaign has been enormously successful.
 
Do people get upset when a celebrity endorses a product that they don’t use? Do people get upset when actors portray characters they are obviously not in television commercials? Hailey Brownstone is a representation of our actual brownstone homeowners, just like an actor in an Advil commercial is representative of people who use pain relievers. We purposefully made Hailey seem fictitious enough to avoid claims of deception, but real enough to connect with our potential buyers. It is interesting to note that some commenters feel she was too fake while others feel she was not over the top enough. This clearly indicates that we reached our target market.
 
So why not use actual homeowners in this campaign? Hubbell Homes does have testimonials posted online (http://www.hubbellhomes.com/why/testimonials.asp) however, to use a homeowner in a campaign like this would be an invasion of privacy and may be a safety risk. The current owners at GreenWay Crossing feel that Hailey does represent them, and more importantly they told us that they loved the marketing campaign. They also told us that many of their friends called them to ask about it – proving that the marketing was reaching the people we wanted to connect with. Additionally, we have had residents at other brownstone communities tell us that they want their own Hailey to represent their community! We think this also speaks to the sustainability of this type of campaign.
 
Many of the people responding to the blog posts were concerned with transparency. Hailey’s blog clearly states on the sidebar “HaileyBrownstone.com is a promotional micro-site for Hubbell Homes.” Her facebook page formerly stated “Hailey Brownstone is part of a Hubbell Homes promotional campaign.” We have changed that to read “Hailey Brownstone is a fictional character which is a part of a Hubbell Homes promotional campaign.” When people interacted with us on either site, we made it abundantly clear to them that this was a marketing campaign (especially to those who were asking her for a date). We, in no way, wanted to deceive the public or believe that we did.  Very few of the people who visited the sites just happened to stumble upon them. They discovered Hailey Brownstone through traditional advertising. Would a reasonable person assume that a full page ad in Juice with the Hubbell Homes logo, or a commercial during Grey’s Anatomy advertising a party, came from a real homeowner who wanted to show off her new home? Hailey Brownstone lives in a brownstone and loves her Hubbell brownstone. To us this is abundantly transparent.
 
We appreciate the conversations that have occurred as a result of the marketing campaign, and we look forward to pressing forward with an increasingly refined social media strategy for Hubbell Homes and Hubbell Realty Company. Many of you are in the demographic that tends to buy our brownstone townhomes, and it is especially important to us that we hear your voices. We appreciate all that you have contributed. We invite you to visit any of our brownstone communities in person or online to see for yourself why we are so passionate about our homes. Happy Holidays,
 

Jarad Bernstein
Public Relations Specialist
Hubbell Realty Company
(515) 280-2040
jarad@hubbellrealty.com
www.HubbellRealty.com
www.HubbellHomes.com
www.cbrehc.com
www.twitter.com/HubbellRealty