Selling Spectacular

To promote its First Street Village in downtown Fort Myers, Cameratta Properties invited more than 600 people to a lavish party with fire dancers, living sculptures, live bands, an oxygen bar and signature martinis.

It was timed to coincide with the start of pre-reservations in February, and the invitation list included city officials and downtown business owners, prospective buyers, real estate agents and the company's personal contacts in banking, insurance, real estate and other sectors.

"We just kind of wanted to make an impression in Fort Myers," says Cheryl Yano, director of marketing for Cameratta. "We felt that it really worked to our advantage and kind of set the stage for a new type of development, a new type of event."

Residential developers, particularly those trying to stand out among the multitude of condo choices in Southwest Florida-and with a weak real estate market, the choices have only compounded-are emphasizing the "wow" factor at parties to woo buyers.

Four invitation-only events in February for Antaramian Development's Renaissance Village in Naples allowed previous owners and Antaramian customers, Premier Properties realtors, local dignitaries and others to preview the project and be the first to place reservations.

"I think people are spending more and more money on these kinds of parties," says Robyn Bonaquist, a partner in B-Squared Advertising, whose clients include Antaramian. "They really want people to sit up and take notice. They want the buzz."

Although she wouldn't say how much was spent, Bonaquist notes that the price tag could reach half a million dollars.

She expects such events to grow even more extravagant as the real estate slowdown causes developers and builders to spend more money on marketing than they've needed to during the boom.

"I can see these events getting more and more lavish, because everybody's trying to outdo the last person," says Bonaquist.

But what's the return on investment? The Renaissance Village events brought in more than 100 reservations for the 288-unit project; not all the units were available at that time.

In downtown Fort Myers, Cameratta's February event resulted in 125 reservations, Yano says. The party also associated First Street Village, which will have 356 townhomes, lofts, flats and live-work units, with images of "class and creativity."

Two years ago, The Bonita Bay Group decided to take a different strategy to market its communities, hoping that smaller affairs might yield bigger results. Realtors, prospective buyers and residents are invited to cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, weekend stays in the communities and golf events, but instead of hosting 1,000 people, the groups are more intimate, with maybe 30 people.

"You get to spend more time with the people. You get to show off the community in a much more in-depth way," says Mary Briggs, Bonita Bay's corporate public relations director.

Its prospective buyers seem to value experience more than cocktail parties. In January, for example, people were invited to Verandah for a weekend that included a golf tournament, concert and bird-watching outing. The company also has hired a corporate wine director who, in addition to overseeing the wine menus at all of the clubs, organizes wine tastings for real estate agents and prospective buyers.

"As we're moving to some of these smaller events, we're looking for opportunities for smaller, more intimate type of activities," Briggs says.

At its TwinEagles community in Naples, golfer Gary Player spoke in February about his experiences and philosophies about the game and course design. "They just ate it up. It really feels like they got invited to something special, to be in on a special moment," Briggs says.

Offering these affairs is one of Bonita Bay's strategies for dealing with the weak real estate market, Briggs says. It increased the number of events this year and expects to do as many or more in the coming year. What's disappointing, she adds, are "the ones out there discounting just because things have slowed down." Those strategies make buyers ask if the property was actually worth the higher price, she says.

Bonaquist expects celebrities to become part of the real estate parties, just as they have become important factors in nonprofits fundraisers. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that spills over into these real estate events," she says.

What's important is to create an event that's unusual without being ridiculous, says Bonaquist. "You could do almost anything with these parties and get really crazy with them, but you need to keep it in context," she says. "Ours was a nicely done lavish affair, but it wasn't absurd."