Following the great success of its 2,400-acre Palencia community in St. Augustine/St. Johns County, Hines ventured into a new master planned community in the area in 2016 with Markland. At 314 acres, Markland was considerably smaller than Palencia, but was thoughtfully planned with a historically-derived manor house amenity, pool, workout center and two 15-acre lakes. Best of all, this charming community was literally just a minute from I-95, but kept all of St. Johns County, including St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra, within easy reach.
Just at the time of launch, small became tough to sell in light of emerging mega-gated communities in St. Johns County such as Nocatee, which drew traffic with their sheer size, broader amenities packages and bigger marketing budgets. Hines knew they had something special. Phase I sales were steady, but they knew they could be stronger.
High Reason was engaged to analyze the selling proposition and then rethink and expand the Markland narrative to create sales momentum. In talking to early buyers, the agency’s key insight was that a smaller community meant, well, more community. Markland neighbors had an easier time getting to know one another, and thought that was really what it was all about. High Reason transferred those insights into the development of its “Where Together Happens” community positioning and campaign development. A full array of selling tools, advertisements and videos were developed to tell the story of Markland in a new way.
The results were phenomenal. Phase I sold out. A new, limited offering premium tract, Wolfe Pointe, was launched and sold out and now Phase II is nearly sold out. Partnering with the incredibly talented Hines team, High Reason’s “Where Together Happens” marketing program proved that in real estate you’re not selling a house, you’re selling a home (and the essence of the community around it).
