Now, if you couldn't guess these were ads plugging
condominiums, that's just fine by the developers - they probably don't want
you in their showflats anyway.
High-end condominium projects are doing away with
traditional advertising in favour of these eye-catching alternatives.
Unlike conventional condo ads, those for Heeton's
DLV in Dalvey Road, SCGlobal's Thre3 Thr3e Robin in Robin Road and Far East
Organization's Icon in Tanjong Pagar won't tell you how much a unit costs,
what facilities the condos offer or what schools are nearby.
All you get is a small location map and a phone
number to call.
This form of subtle advertising, developers and
advertising agencies say, helps separate the wheat from the chaff.
'We are targeting only the YSL
- people who are young, single and loaded. The kind of people who can
understand and respond to this sort of ad are the ones we want,' said Heeton
general manager Anthony Poon.
Launched last month, the 25-unit freehold DLV in
Bukit Timah is built on the site of the old Chinese Embassy. Flats ranging
from 667 sq ft studio units to 3,714 sq ft penthouses cost between $743,400
and $2,786,299.
Other developers have also deployed
lifestyle-themed campaigns. For its upmarket development, Icon, Far East
Organization posted ads featuring lingerie-clad models putting on make-up or
lying in bed in the middle of a busy sidewalk. SCGlobal's Thre3 Thr3e Robin
used pictures of a kitchen strewn with toys, set up like an office or
blanketed with roses.
But do these campaigns work?
The developers say yes.
SCGlobal reported that almost 95 per cent of
enquiries for Thre3 Thr3e Robin were in the targeted affluent 30-something
category. Since its launch in May, almost half of the 36 units, priced at an
average $1,500 per sq ft, have been sold - figures SCGlobal is happy with.
Said managing director (developments) Leong Weng
Chee: 'For a small niche development... what's most important is getting the
right kind of people in.'
Property analyst Tay Kah Poh agreed that while
selling a lifestyle generates interest, 'you still need things like location
and price'.
But the ads did get at least one buyer into the
showflat.
Mr Robert Meyer, 31, a director of an automotive
company, bought a 1,700 sq ft unit in Thre3 Thr3e Robin.
He said: 'It was the ad with the open kitchen that
got me to go to the showflat. Only then did all other factors like price
take over.' - By
Jeremy Au Yong
