Background
greenquarter is the name Ripe have developed for Crosby Homes North West flagship development in central Manchester. The huge mixed use scheme will feature apartments and studios for around 1400 people, combined with high quality office accommodation, an on-site hotel, retail and leisure opportunities and even a nursery.
Ripe were invited (successfully of course) to pitch to produce all marketing for the project alongside three other agencies with property marketing experience.
Brief
The initial brief was to come up with a creative branding solution that would give the development an edge over the competition, in a hugely competitive arena. Although located centrally, the development is just the wrong side of the tracks and therefore needed an extra push to ensure the varied target audience was convinced of the site and what it had to offer.
A full marketing solution was required to cover all areas of the media and target audience, together with ideas and suggestions Ripe could offer to further promote the site as effectively as possible
The scheme is to be built over a period of eight years and as such required a marketing solution ‘with legs’ to ensure longevity of the branding and identity.
Solution
Ripe created a solution that marketed the development as a rebirth of this part of Manchester, highlighting the landscaping and gardens to be featured as a strong selling point. Marketed as ‘an urban oasis’, the name greenquarter was chosen, as it was felt that this presented the development as a ‘destination’ and a self-contained region within the city, offering gardens and tranquility whilst still being only 5 minutes walk from the center of the city.
Focussing on the landscaping and gardens, an almost botanical theme was incorporated into the creative identity, as seen from the use of grass and green branding. This ensured a fresh and clean image for the development, which was particularly important as this area of Manchester was, as of yet largely undeveloped and fairly undesirable.
Result
Initial sales figures were very positive, with Crosby Homes exceeding their predicted forecasts. The continuation of appropriate and effective marketing solutions – through constant reviews and appraisals - will ensure that greenquarter is marketed as strongly as possible over the eight years over which it is completed.