Gimme one of those No-Name condos.

This is definitely not a good time to be selling condominiums.

At least not in Washington. But with a little foresight, many of the developers suffering out there right could have been doing better. All they had to do was develop their brand and use it.

Regardless of who’s doing the building or who’s doing the selling, as far as marketing is concerned, most condominium projects start at ground zero and go from there. Over and over. They start from scratch every time with nothing to commend the project except whatever totally unique brochures, advertising or promotions are done for that project. Each one has its own web site logo, signage ― even stationery.

There is no awareness for the developer, no brand equity, no nothing. To me, this is a whole lot of wasted effort and money, and completely disregards the relevance of who built the place. Most of the time, the only association with the developer is a logo at the bottom of the ad. And that logo usually is no larger than the “sales by” logo. Like that’s important.

I know of one developer who doesn’t even identify itself as the builder or developer. It’s just “Sales by XYZ”.

I think this is silly. Here are a few reasons why:

• Strong brands allow for premium pricing over competitive products.

• Strong brands give you protection against price wars.

• Strong brands allow for greater new product success (as in new projects) because of the implied endorsement.

That’s for starters.

Seems to me that if you develop your brand as a quality developer of desirable condominiums and your target knows what you do and what you stand for, the sell for each of your projects gets a real running start, and you've got an edge over the competition.

The point is, condominium developers should lead with themselves first and the project second ― as in “you can believe in this project because you can believe in us, so whatever we do carries the quality that our brand is known for” ― then maybe they wouldn’t be reduced to running price-slashing ads now. When Nordstrom has a sale do they come across as desperate? If you believe in the Toyota brand doesn’t that belief extend to all of their models? If you like Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, aren’t you pre-disposed to try a new flavor they introduce? A brand is a powerful ― income-producing ― asset. But only if you develop it and use it.

It’s ironic that one of the most expensive purchases of your life isn’t built around a brand promise. You sure as hell know the brand of a car you buy. Or the coffee. Even toothpaste.

Of course, it’s not too late. Unfortunately things aren’t going to change in the next week or so.

It’s going to be a long hard summer in developer-world. A bit of brand development can make it easier, I’ll bet.