How to Ensure Your CGI Is a Good Investment (Not Just a Cost)
There are commonly two different approaches to property imagery.
They go something like this:
Developers tend to either view property CGI as a cost or an investment. However, the way it's used often determines whether CGI becomes lost money or an investment with a valuable return.
Property marketing for large vs. small developers
Most developers who commission property CGI fall into one of these two categories. The first category often reflects high-end developers who don't consider budget an issue and are willing to part with their money for a premium look and feel. The chances are they have a developed marketing strategy and dedicated staff to manage their branding.
On the other hand, smaller developers often feel forced into the second category. Since CGI can feel like the last part of a long process, it's often left until last minute with developers wanting the 'minimum viable product' for marketing their developments in a context where all costs matter.
However, while more money usually leads to more marketing resources, there are plenty of opportunities for all developers to think strategically about the marketing imagery they need.
Three questions to streamline your property marketing:
There are plenty to choose from - property portals, websites, social media, brochures, hoardings. The list goes on.
The rule of thumb is this for each one: commission content that fits in with your audience's intentions and the platform it will appear on. For example, clean, simple property images suit portals very well because they give ample visual information to viewers about your property. However, the primary intention on social media should be to grab people's attention and stop them scrolling past images of your development.
Our research shows that people value online brochures and property developer websites as the two most important sources of property information. Since this is the case, these are an excellent focal point for your marketing imagery, because that is where potential customers will look to find out about your property in detail.
2. Who am I competing against?
Is your development part of a new scheme in the middle of nowhere, or is it part of a busy suburban environment with multiple developers vying for people's attention?
This is always an important consideration. However, it also helps you determine what type of marketing materials you will need. The more competition you're facing, the more your marketing assets need to show off your development's USPs and set it above the rest. Specifically, these assets need to show what makes your properties a credible purchase for your target market.
领英推荐
3. Who am I selling to?
High-end clients, first time buyers, families, customers abroad (or someone else)? This question closely follows the previous one.
Whichever audience you are selling to, this will shape the marketing content you need to use. It plays an important role for the way that images are created and styled as well - you wouldn't show a Rolls-Royce on the drive of a property marketed to first time buyers. Whoever your audience is, your content needs to be carefully shaped so that it appeals to them and their lifestyle.
For example, if you are marketing property to people abroad, then VR tours are an essential tool to help them experience your properties remotely. Properties being marketed within a smaller, local area are less likely to need this level of investment.
Targeted CGI: How to make your visuals do more and work harder
Once you've considered your channels, competitors and audience you're in a position to commission CGI that is a lot more targeted. In fact, the beauty of CGI is that after a house has been digitally modelled, it's easy to generate lots more digital assets based on the digital modelling.
For example, if you comission a single 3/4 view image of a house in the daytime without any props, this can easily be reworked to create more imagery (at little cost!). There could be a close up cameo that shows it from a different angle, there could be people added to the shot to show the property in action, the season could be changed to market the property in winter. These changes are easy and cheap to make.
Importantly, these additional shots can be carefully reworked to sell the look and feel of your house or development. While the initial images may suit your website or a property portal because of their clarity and simplicity - propped images can give you the edge elsewhere. It represents the difference between selling a house and selling a home.
Our interviews with new-build home buyers confirmed this when we showed them some of our lifestyle shots:
"I don't think it was anything about the house that had drawn me to it. It was the scene that they'd created.”
“I mean, I know it's only a small difference, but it's seeing somebody in the picture as well. Makes you think, 'that could be me in the picture'"
The primary purpose with these additional shots is to add character and atmosphere to your development. This is where you can get the edge over the competition and give your properties a unique look and feel.
How to make sure CGI is an investment not a cost
Many developers do not know how best to style their images. They do not know exactly what people want to see and how this translates into the visual medium. Equally, many CGI companies take a transactional approach and create property images without proper knowledge about how to style images best (which is all the more critical when dealing with interior CGI). This often leads to a situation where images fail to cater to their target market because the visuals don't match up well with the audience.
A good CGI partner will be able to consult on CGI as well as produce it to a brief. This means that whatever your budget, your images are styled in such a way that they genuinely captivate your audience, making your CGI much more effective, and ultimately a worthwhile investment that impacts sales.
In conclusion, the way you use CGI determines whether it will end up as a cost, or an investment with valuable returns. Asking yourself key questions and sharing these details with your CGI partner means you will be well on your way to creating effective marketing imagery that makes your properties shine.