Launching a New Brand in the New Economy.

What does it take to start and brand a new business in 2009 or launch a new product in 2010? A great new product idea, a smart branding and marketing strategy and a little patience. Indianapolis developer and home builder, Land Development & Building could be the new business model for the new economy. {See previous post about this project.}

Are we experiencing a down economy or is this the new normal? It’s unlikely that the economy will return to the frenzied pace of the previous 2-3 years of the boom. Why would we want it to? It wasn’t reality. The “bubble” simply wasn’t sustainable. So who will be the winners of tomorrow? Those that try to do things exactly the way they always did them? Or those that create revolutionary new products, brands and create new ways of doing business? My money’s on the trailblazers — those that are bold enough to be different.

Things are different. So BE different.
Take a page from the playbook of Land Development & Building. The Indianapolis entrepreneur could have played it safe and developed a new neighborhood like every other developer in Indianapolis and across the country has for the past 20 years. Big lots. Huge homes. Less concern for quality and more pressure for faster, larger (unrealistic) return on investment.

Fortunately, owner Casey Land knows that homebuyers are hungry for change. They want new choices. They don’t want an investment to flip, they want a home. Homeowners want less space, less stuff and a more sustainable way of life. Ironically, the demand for this more sustainable future conjurs imagery from the early 20th century. Or at least it appears that way on the surface.

Inglenook is a “pocket neighborhood” that will contain just 26 modestly sized bungalows when completed. The homes are nestled together, facing common, beautifully landscaped courtyards and gardens. Look a little closer and you’ll notice that there are no retention ponds— no storm sewers. Nope. This is a sustainable development. Rain water that would normally dump into the municipal sewer system is repurposed for watering natural landscaping.

The design of the homes themselves may look strangely familiar at first glance. That’s because the bungalows are inspired by American classic architecture — a throwback to the Arts & Crafts movement. But a closer look inside reveals smartly planned gathering areas, space saving storage and all the modern conveniences. Inglenook of Carmel is a new idea for residential development in Indianapolis and the rest of the country, but it might just be the new normal.

Marketing and Branding New Ideas
Successful businesses and successful brands aren’t afraid to be different. In fact, the key to branding a new product or new business is discovering what competitors are already doing and then doing the undone. Of course there has to be a demand for the new fangled idea. And just being wildly different isn’t enough. There’s a lot to be said for the comfort of the familiarity. Inglenook is a completely new neighborhood concept for the Indianapolis market, but the classic American architecture and return to the merits of a true neighborhood make it a perfect blend of new, different and the “tried and true”. I like to think of the formula for being different as “comfort food with a new spice you didn’t expect”.

Here are six simple ideas to branding and marketing new and different ideas in the new economy.