As a relatively nascent segment of the property industry, Build to Rent is yet to fully embrace or understand the power of brand in driving choice today and into the long-term, says Canyon Founder Mark Patterson.
By Mark Patterson, Founder, Canyon
Brand is currently being used by the predominant luxury schemes to command a price premium. But what does this mean as Build to Rent grows in Australia and moves into the middle and affordable market?
Branding agency Canyon recently convened a team of property branding and strategy experts to discuss the role of brand in the rising sector. This four-part series examines Build to Rent branding in greater detail.
Insight one: You’re not selling an asset or product, you’re selling an experience.
Since the launch of Build to Rent in Australia, property brands have ‘played it safe’, focusing on what they’re not, rather than what they are.
This is a simplistic way to market to a consumer and has resulted in a category that doesn’t quite know what it is. Is it a product? Or a service?
According to Dan Robertson-Jones of Kantar, who developed one of Australia’s first Build to Rent brands LIV by Mirvac, the opportunity is ripe to move away from being product-led and brands that do so will succeed.
“We know what Build to Rent isn’t – private renting. But the language around what it is, and the nomenclature of how we classify it, is unclear.
“Are you a product business? Are you a service business? What are you?”
Dan Robertson-Jones, Kantar
New brands should be inspired by the rise of the experience economy and how that is redefining attitudes to ownership in Australia.
This would put Build to Rent in the same class as brands like Uber and Airbnb, for how they have redefined a category by focusing on delivering customer needs (transport and travel) in an innovative way.
“The expectations from younger generations are different because they haven’t grown up with the ownership of stuff (CDs, DVDs, books).
“The focus should now be on ‘you don’t need to own it anymore – there is value in not being weighed down by stuff that gets in the way’.”
Dan Robertson-Jones, Kantar
“The quarter acre block is dead. We haven’t worked out the cultural identity piece we’re going to form going forward. It’s not a brand’s job to change a cultural identity, it’s a brand’s job to leverage it. The brand needs to be in tune with this cultural evolution.”
Rory Hunter, Founder, Model
This should drive brands towards celebrating and selling the lifestyle and rental experience that Build to Rent offers, focusing less on being an asset or property product – and even less on what Build to Rent isn’t.
“Developers are B2B brands, and they don’t have a lot of meaning to this consumer.
“So, the job is huge in building brand here – it is a new category and being delivered by a brand, or brands, that the average person doesn’t know about.”
Dan Robertson-Jones, Kantar
Dan believes the reward is there for the players who risk looking at the category differently. Those who build service-based systems that can be scaled and replicated so that brand leads, will succeed.
“The opportunity to disrupt is apparent. The power to be disruptive is more elusive.
“Right now, location drives choice, but in ten years brand will be critical to investors and tenants.
“The market is here, and, looking at other service businesses – their systems are brutally simple and can be scaled.
“But to do this, you need to know what the category is, not just what it isn’t.”
Dan Robertson-Jones, Kantar
It’s time to better articulate the experience of being a customer – not just the advantages.
