The meeting held at the offices of our local partner included Daniel, an Israeli real estate developer whose second project in the country in question we are accompanying, Daniel's Israeli marketing consultant, and representatives of the local marketing firm. Daniel is about to launch his next project - a luxury residential building of 100 housing units in a prestigious neighborhood in the north of the city.
Daniel opened: “Everything is progressing according to plan, the building permits are in hand, the contractor is ready to go, but...” he hesitated for a moment, “I feel something is missing. My first project succeeded, but it did not create the buzz I expected. I want this project to be different, I want to build a strong and trustworthy international real estate brand.”
The consultant from Israel nodded in agreement and began with a quote from Donald Trump: “‘As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, think big.’ In the world of international real estate, ‘big’ is not only the scale of the projects, but also the ability to stand out and be memorable in a saturated market. A Deloitte study indicates that 77% of consumers prefer to buy from brands they know and trust. Therefore, creating a strong brand is critical to success, especially in the international real estate industry, where trust is the most important currency.”
The team from the local marketing firm nodded in agreement. They understand the importance of building a brand, but seemed unsure or unclear about how to approach it. After a few minutes of silence, the CEO of the local marketing firm said: “First of all, you need to develop a unique brand identity that reflects your values, your vision and your uniqueness as a developer. We need to define the key messages we want to convey, and build around them a consistent and impressive visual and verbal identity.”
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” - Warren Buffett.
The local partner joined the conversation and explained that it is important to understand the local culture. “People here are in no hurry to buy an apartment from a new developer with no track record. You saw how hard and slow the sales process was in the previous project. Now you can show them the added value you bring to the market. I am glad to see that this time you are working from the start in a combination of forces in marketing with a local team, accompanied by your Israeli consultant.”
The local marketing team began to detail the emphases that matter to them and asked to see how, in preparing the legal agreements, we could incorporate solutions and answers to the concerns of the local public. They asked to understand the structure of the deal from the commercial and legal standpoints, and after Daniel defined the commercial structure I gave the legal emphases, and a dialogue began with the marketing team about the adjustments they requested.
We see ourselves as part of the hive that helps Daniel bring the project to fruition and carry it to a successful and profitable conclusion. As part of this, we look at the project as a whole and know how to be flexible in the legal drafting in order to help the marketing and make the sales of the apartments in the project easier (without, heaven forbid, harming the legal side and the protection of the developer). This is even more important when the project is built in a foreign country where the culture and consumer behavior differ from what we know in Israel.
Daniel's Israeli marketing man asked to sum up: “It is important to remember, building an international brand takes time and effort, but the rewards are enormous. A strong brand will let you stand out in a competitive market, attract quality customers and build a successful, sustainable business.”
Daniel rose to his feet, full of energy and inspiration. “I'm ready for the challenge,” he said resolutely. “I will build an international real estate brand that will resonate in every corner of the world.”
I watched him leave the office, ready to set out on his journey. I knew that with the vision, the passion, the right strategy, and the “hive” that surrounds him, he would succeed. Because in the end, building a brand is not only about real estate, it is about building trust, creating connections and realizing dreams.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית