Client: Montecito Property Company & Montecito Investment Company

Profile: The dynamic Montecito companies form a powerful, integrated real estate organization with diversified interests in resort residential and commercial real estate throughout key markets in the U.S.

Montecito Property Company devotes its corporate attentions to acquisitions, strategic repositioning and sales of large, upscale multi-family properties located in the most competitive real estate markets in the U.S.

MDS Advertising has been affiliated with Montecito since Montecito’s founding, generating the creative design, branding, marketing and advertising collateral that has driven the real estate giant’s jaw-dropping success. This success has placed Montecito Property Company at the top of its industry in two short years—and earned it recognition as the nation’s fastest growing and second largest condominium conversion company, bringing in well-over $1.5 billion in sales in 2006.

Objective: Sales

Agency Mission: Head of the pack.

Propelling Montecito from start up to industry leadership and national dominance in their industry has been the dedicated goal of MDS since the two companies first started doing business together.

Scenario: The condominium universe in America’s hot urban and destination real estate markets became highly competitive in the last decade. Condo ownership popularized as single family home prices in desirable areas shot up and sailed out of range for many otherwise qualified buyers. The condo market heated up and attracted a tremendous amount of product to market.

Montecito entered the industry in 2004, perfected the art and science of acquiring and restyling condominium conversion properties—adding impressive landscape elements, upscale design touches in models, and amenities that made sense to busy, and discriminating urban buyers.

Challenge: While their’s was a spectacular product preparation—Montecito would bring 27 multi-million dollar properties to market in less than 22 months—the company would still need the kind of branding, marketing and advertising that would push what they were selling up front and center stage to grab the attention of potential buyers in a very competitive market.

The company faced intense pressure to move responsively and rapidly and needed to constantly re-engage its universe of potential buyers and investors across multiple markets in California, Arizona and Florida and the south eastern coastal United States.

As lead agency for MPC, MDS would need to anticipate and lead the response to its client’s ever-changing marketing challenges even more rapidly.

Initially MDS worked in conjunction with several agencies on Montecito’s wide-spread developments in California, Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. After their work launched the client’s first sell-out property, The Preserve at Anastasia Island, MDS moved ahead and began leading marketing efforts for Montecito’s Florida properties and later, its California and Arizona communities.

For MPC’s California communities, MDS created a trademark brand signature of Location, Lifestyle, Value which would later carry through on all succeeding design and marketing for the client from brochures, to bus wraps, to DVDs, broadcast and radio campaigns, and stacks of special purpose print collateral.

The ultra evocative lifestyle-focused branding MDS developed ultimately defined the Montecito look and message nationally. It featured vibrant, original location photography and dramatic, luxury-feel graphic design. From then on this unmistakable branding ‘Wow’ distinguished every piece of Montecito broadcast, advertising and collateral.

The brand message connected—and today Montecito is synonymous with location, lifestyle and value in condominium living and is recognized as one of top two condominium conversion companies in the United States.

Results: MDS design drove the brand awareness; advertising and marketing campaigns which activated numerous multi-million dollar sell outs for Montecito’s sleek condominium community properties in cities such as Phoenix, La Jolla, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, Charleston and others. MDS pulled out all the stops in generating creative product for MPC—driving history making sell-out successes for its client and winning numerous awards for their creative.

Property Sellouts & other Montecito/MDS successes:

• Biltmore Estates, Phoenix--a $90 million sell out in 91 minutes
   on opening day.
• Anastasia--$61 million. Sold out in 4 hours.
• Montage--$80 million. Sold out in 3.5 hours.
• Peninsula--$48 million. Sold out in hours.
• La Vista--$125 million. Sold in one weekend.
• Montecito acquired $1.3 billion in real estate in 2005, making it
   the fastest growing & second largest such company in the U.S.
• MDS earned numerous awards
   for Montecito creative.
   Its 2006 honors include
   nine Telly awards and a
   Silver Summit Award.
      Silver Telly Excellence
      in Film/Video;
      Bronze Telly TV
      Commercial/Editing;
      Bronze Telly Internet
      commercial/Real Estate;
      Bronze Telly TV
      Commercial/Editing;
      Bronze Telly Excellence
      in film/Video/ Sales DVD;
      Bronze Telly Excellence
      in Film/Video/Corporate;
      Bronze Telly Excellence
      Film/Video/Multimedia/DVD;
      Bronze Telly
      Copywriting/Sales DVD;

      Silver Davey Film/Video
      Montecito Corporate DVD;
      Silver Davey Film/Video
      Biltmore Sales DVD;
      Silver Davey Television :30
      commercial, West Palm Beach;
      Silver Davey Television :60
      commercial editing,
      West Palm Beach;

      Silver Summit
      Corporate DVD.

Branding that wins. And continues winning.