Sell the Experience, Not the Property
The word I find myself using every single day, as it relates to content creation and content integration, is Strategy. It’s the foundation, the core, the root of any successful campaign - everything comes after strategy. So what’s happening with this campaign and what’s the strategy behind it? I like to make lists so we can see the problem-set and draw conclusions from it, so let’s examine the problem that needs to be solved. Here’s what we have…
Four Luxury Villa Rental Properties in St. John, USVI
Competition in this market is high
In-marketing competition all have great property photos as well
So how do we stand-out with our images? How does one differentiate themselves in a crowded market selling similar services?
Can we repurpose these images on Social, Email Newsletters, Web so we aren’t creating images for only one platform?
We Stop Playing the Game and Make Our Own
When we look at the problem-set above, our conclusion is to stop playing the ‘have great luxury villa rental property photos’ game and instead create our own game. We call it ‘sell the experience, not the property’. We get to change the conversation from ‘how big is the pool compared to the other 3 houses in the browser tabs on my computer?’ to ‘I want to give my family that experience’ - now we have a better opportunity to win the attention of a prospective customer because we shifted our focus (pun intended).
What did we learn from the photos above?
The settings of these villas are downright beautiful and the houses are amazing
That the viewer can wake up and do Yoga on a rooftop deck and have BVI in their sights
The whole family can gather for a meal at the outside living area
And if you feel like unwinding in a hammock, you can just go upstairs and do that, and still get to enjoy the view
How about these, what did we communicate to the viewer?
The kids can all play downstairs in the gigantic game room and have a great time with the huge variety of games
If you are a cooking enthusiast, you will not be disappointed with the large outdoor cooking space
The set above is all about the rest of the island, not just the houses. We are selling the experience, right? People don’t go down to St. John to just stay at the house. They go for the beaches, sailing, snorkeling, diving, etc. So let’s show it. Let’s show the group going sailing, out on a snorkeling trip, let them see the white-sandy beach that is Trunk Beach, let them see what kids do when they see a climbable palm tree.
‘Selling the experience, not the property’ changes the conversation from ‘8,000 square feet with 5 bedrooms’ to ‘that’s where I want to make memories with my family’. It’s an entirely different game, and one we can can win.
