Chambers Creek in Willis, Texas is a 55+ active-adult community nestled among the rolling hills just north of Houston. This resort-inspired community for active adults aged 55 and up is being developed by Caldwell Communities to expertly balance all the comforts of a laid-back, carefree lifestyle with all the resident events and enhanced amenities that active adults could ever hope to see in their community. L&P Marketing was asked to bring this community concept to life through a number of planned community branding strategies that would introduce prospective residents to this unforgettable community.
Planned Community Branding Strategies
The result is a consistent and successful multi-channel marketing effort combining a range of branding services for planned communities across all marketing medias. To date, Chambers Creek has garnered more than 2,000 leads since the digital media campaign launched in January. RSVPs for “Meet and Greet” seminars with prospective residents sold out within 24 hours, and total unique website visitors were over 36,400. We chatted with three members of our branding and marketing team about how we built this brand from scratch, using tried-and-true active adult community branding techniques to set Chambers Creek up for success before the first model homes have been put up for sale.
“Someone once said that quality has to do with the end product, but success is reliant on the process,” recalled L&P Creative Lead Dena Prasher. “With Chambers Creek, we have both a high-quality product and a successful launch. The process to develop a brand for an active community, specifically for the 55-and-over demographic, had to be specifically tailored to the needs, wants, interests, and motivating factors of the 55+ active adults who would be Chambers Creek’s audience.
“At L&P, we’re well versed in branding services for planned communities, but one size does not fit all. Active adult community branding takes knowledge, data, and vision, so we began with a brand questionnaire accompanied by research into the real estate market and followed up with participation in focus groups to discover what resonates best with active adults across all platforms. We wanted to discover tendencies, tone, trends, and incentives to be able to execute on all fronts with confidence and a steady hand—all before the first digital marketing even launched.”
“L&P Marketing created the entire brand presence for Chambers Creek,” said Project Lead Stephanie Wales, “one that was defined and developed to be in alignment with the project at hand. Working with the Caldwell Communities team was very collaborative at every stage of development. They had a number of logos they liked, and we let a focus group determine the most appealing of the options. Colors were important to the process. We wanted colors that were vibrant, clean, and richer than those of the competitors. When we started, all we had was the name ‘Chambers Creek.’ Together with Caldwell Communities, we developed everything about the brand and then utilized those elements to bring Chambers Creek to market. We are executing the marketing effort to launch the community and build awareness ahead of the Grand Opening. This includes the website, paid digital media, lead nurturing, onsite experience, and strategic creative execution of the marketing plan and budget we put together for the year.”
“It all started in 2020 with a brand kickoff meeting,” recalled Website Manager Heather Plyler. “The brand book was finalized in 2021, and the campaign fully launched in January of 2022. There are always things that need to be done in order to reach a specific end-client, such as the active-adult community that Chambers Creek was pursuing. Consistency is key. We are keepers of the brand for the client, which means that we do our due diligence while also remaining flexible and able to pivot when needed, and we partner with the client when other branding ideas come up as we go along.”
Today, Chambers Creek is shaping up to be a vibrant, active-adult community in the Houston Hill Country, where active adults 55 and up will enjoy the most enriching ways to live, play, and experience life at its absolute fullest. Featuring homes from some of the leading home builders in the country and unbeatable amenities including a golf course and a marina, Chambers Creek aims to be more than a place to live. It’s a place to live well.
Additional information can be found on the new website for Chambers Creek, and model homes open this fall with presales in late summer. To learn more about how L&P Marketing helps to build and define brands just like this one, contact us today.
