As more condominiums and housing developments are built throughout Florida, the competition to stand out gets fiercer. There's a strong need to brand the project and create buzz in the appropriate communities. An integral part of many developers' strategies is to showcase the property by hosting memorable events, which in turn has opened up a whole new stream of business for event professionals.
Why Throw Parties?
"Each milestone-launching the project, the opening of the sales center, ground-breaking, top-out [when you finish building the structure], and the grand opening-offers a different set of reasons to throw a party," says Andrea Matthieu, project manager for Aventura Marina, a Related Group condominium project. "Each event is great psychologically. Launch creates excitement. Ground-breaking is symbolic because it means the building will actually be built; it becomes more than just a rendering on paper. At top-out, buyers see the structure. It's now real. And the grand opening is just a pure celebration."
According to Scott Roth, vice president of the Plaza Group, whose projects include the Palms in Fort Lauderdale and Ocean Palms in Hollywood, events used to be all about selling the property. "Now units sell out in a weekend anyway, so the event is a great way to market and advertise the success of the project," he says.
Events are also a way to promote and enhance the project and developer's reputations, as with the recent sales-center opening party for the Trump Tower Tampa. "This event was an excellent way to showcase our product and our development team to those who have expressed an interest in purchasing," said Cindy Sharpe, event manager for Digital Lightbridge, the marketing firm hired by the partners at Sim Dag-RoBEL, who have partnered with the Trump Organization. She hired local firm EventMakers, who in turn hired another Tampa local, conceptBAIT, to bring to life an experience that exuded royalty and richness.
"The event took place in a tent in a parking lot, the site of the future luxury condos," says Frank Clemente of conceptBAIT. "We had to create something lavish yet elegant to coincide with the Trump image. We did this by using purple and copper fabrics and striking floral arrangements, and by bringing in Bay Stage Lighting to enhance the environment with subtle lighting." New York- and Tampa-based caterer Art of the Feast offered a seafood bar, a charcuterie presentation, and an elaborate wine and cheese station complete with wheels of English Stilton and Dutch prima donna; as well as champagne-poached pears, oven-roasted grapes, pate, foie gras, and spiced olives. A wall of oak barrels served as decor.
Themes That Fit the Building
"It's so important that the event fits the personality of the project, and that it makes a big impression right out of the box," says Amy Zakarin of Zakarin Public Relations. She works closely with sales and marketing firm Fortune International, who was hired by Key International, developer of the Ivy, a downtown condo aimed at the young and hip, to create an event that would generate the right excitement with the right crowd. "We launched at Big Fish, a restaurant located across the Miami River from the site," she says.
They had 12-foot-tall letters built out of wood, covered in spandex, and then lit in green that spelled out "The Ivy" on the site. so guests could see them from the event space. A couch, covered with Astroturf, sat on a pedestal raised more than four feet off the ground. To complete the vignette, a model, covered in ivy made of body paint lay across the couch for all to see. Additional models passed out chilled towels soaked in mint, while guests sipped green martinis. "It was a chic and memorable event," Zakarin says.
A few months later she worked on the sales center opening. They incorporated a signing of the book Fashionista Files into the event. "We partnered with the Patton Group, had Elements Event Couture cater, had the author of the book on-site to sign copies of the book, and created a fun event with a fashion-oriented twist. In the end it's about creating a buzz and recreating the message without losing the essence of the project," she says.
Gigi Ganatra, vice president of marketing and public relations for Terra Developers, hired Javier Velarde, executive producer at Triton Productions Inc., a Miami-based event design, management, and production company, to launch 900 Biscayne Bay. "We try to match the look and feel of the property," Velarde says. "This project, 900 Biscayne Bay, is located downtown, so it needed an event with a metropolitan feel. We wanted to convey an urban message." So he created "Metropolis," an enclosed environment on an outdoor parking lot, the future site of the sales center. "We did this by carpeting the lot and lining the 200-plus feet of space with 30-foot-high projection screens. This gave guests the feeling of being at an exclusive event," he says. They brought in a DJ, taiko drummers, and futuristic warriors to add to the effect.
Who Gets Invited?
"Guest lists vary from event to event," Roth says. "Some are just for our buyers and investors; other events we'll invite brokers and they'll bring their clients. In the case of top-out, it's a thank you, so we invite everyone who made the project a success, including bankers, investors, the development team, buyers, and the construction company. Naturally we want the media at all the big parties, and that is when an advertising or public relations firm can come in handy."
Setting the Budget
Like everything, budgets depend on any number of factors—the importance of the event, the prominence of the project, the development company's pocketbook. John Rossetti of the Catering Mill cites his average budget as between $20,000 and $30,000. "I'm doing mostly hors d'oeuvres and signature cocktails at very chic receptions," he says. "But remember, just because the presentation seems elaborate, that doesn't mean the budget necessarily is."
Roth's budgets average $100,000 for "a very nice party with no bells or whistles" and $150,000 and up for over-the-top themed events for 400 to 600 guests. Velarde agrees and adds that he gets up to $250,000 for a full production. Clemente has seen budgets from several hundred to several million dollars.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
Why Throw Parties?
"Each milestone-launching the project, the opening of the sales center, ground-breaking, top-out [when you finish building the structure], and the grand opening-offers a different set of reasons to throw a party," says Andrea Matthieu, project manager for Aventura Marina, a Related Group condominium project. "Each event is great psychologically. Launch creates excitement. Ground-breaking is symbolic because it means the building will actually be built; it becomes more than just a rendering on paper. At top-out, buyers see the structure. It's now real. And the grand opening is just a pure celebration."
According to Scott Roth, vice president of the Plaza Group, whose projects include the Palms in Fort Lauderdale and Ocean Palms in Hollywood, events used to be all about selling the property. "Now units sell out in a weekend anyway, so the event is a great way to market and advertise the success of the project," he says.
Events are also a way to promote and enhance the project and developer's reputations, as with the recent sales-center opening party for the Trump Tower Tampa. "This event was an excellent way to showcase our product and our development team to those who have expressed an interest in purchasing," said Cindy Sharpe, event manager for Digital Lightbridge, the marketing firm hired by the partners at Sim Dag-RoBEL, who have partnered with the Trump Organization. She hired local firm EventMakers, who in turn hired another Tampa local, conceptBAIT, to bring to life an experience that exuded royalty and richness.
"The event took place in a tent in a parking lot, the site of the future luxury condos," says Frank Clemente of conceptBAIT. "We had to create something lavish yet elegant to coincide with the Trump image. We did this by using purple and copper fabrics and striking floral arrangements, and by bringing in Bay Stage Lighting to enhance the environment with subtle lighting." New York- and Tampa-based caterer Art of the Feast offered a seafood bar, a charcuterie presentation, and an elaborate wine and cheese station complete with wheels of English Stilton and Dutch prima donna; as well as champagne-poached pears, oven-roasted grapes, pate, foie gras, and spiced olives. A wall of oak barrels served as decor.
Themes That Fit the Building
"It's so important that the event fits the personality of the project, and that it makes a big impression right out of the box," says Amy Zakarin of Zakarin Public Relations. She works closely with sales and marketing firm Fortune International, who was hired by Key International, developer of the Ivy, a downtown condo aimed at the young and hip, to create an event that would generate the right excitement with the right crowd. "We launched at Big Fish, a restaurant located across the Miami River from the site," she says.
They had 12-foot-tall letters built out of wood, covered in spandex, and then lit in green that spelled out "The Ivy" on the site. so guests could see them from the event space. A couch, covered with Astroturf, sat on a pedestal raised more than four feet off the ground. To complete the vignette, a model, covered in ivy made of body paint lay across the couch for all to see. Additional models passed out chilled towels soaked in mint, while guests sipped green martinis. "It was a chic and memorable event," Zakarin says.
A few months later she worked on the sales center opening. They incorporated a signing of the book Fashionista Files into the event. "We partnered with the Patton Group, had Elements Event Couture cater, had the author of the book on-site to sign copies of the book, and created a fun event with a fashion-oriented twist. In the end it's about creating a buzz and recreating the message without losing the essence of the project," she says.
Gigi Ganatra, vice president of marketing and public relations for Terra Developers, hired Javier Velarde, executive producer at Triton Productions Inc., a Miami-based event design, management, and production company, to launch 900 Biscayne Bay. "We try to match the look and feel of the property," Velarde says. "This project, 900 Biscayne Bay, is located downtown, so it needed an event with a metropolitan feel. We wanted to convey an urban message." So he created "Metropolis," an enclosed environment on an outdoor parking lot, the future site of the sales center. "We did this by carpeting the lot and lining the 200-plus feet of space with 30-foot-high projection screens. This gave guests the feeling of being at an exclusive event," he says. They brought in a DJ, taiko drummers, and futuristic warriors to add to the effect.
Who Gets Invited?
"Guest lists vary from event to event," Roth says. "Some are just for our buyers and investors; other events we'll invite brokers and they'll bring their clients. In the case of top-out, it's a thank you, so we invite everyone who made the project a success, including bankers, investors, the development team, buyers, and the construction company. Naturally we want the media at all the big parties, and that is when an advertising or public relations firm can come in handy."
Setting the Budget
Like everything, budgets depend on any number of factors—the importance of the event, the prominence of the project, the development company's pocketbook. John Rossetti of the Catering Mill cites his average budget as between $20,000 and $30,000. "I'm doing mostly hors d'oeuvres and signature cocktails at very chic receptions," he says. "But remember, just because the presentation seems elaborate, that doesn't mean the budget necessarily is."
Roth's budgets average $100,000 for "a very nice party with no bells or whistles" and $150,000 and up for over-the-top themed events for 400 to 600 guests. Velarde agrees and adds that he gets up to $250,000 for a full production. Clemente has seen budgets from several hundred to several million dollars.
—Shari Lynn Rothstein
