IRVINE, CA – One of 2016 BUILDER Magazine’s “most
influential women in homebuilding” appeared last Wednesday, September 7 at the
Leaders & Managers Program, sharing her experience and branding philosophy
with attendees of the ULI OC/IE’s seminars. A Brand Creator Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki
is the Principal of tst ink LLC, and has a distinguished 20+-year career of creating
and enlivening top-selling brands in the community and resort development
industry. Her presentation delved deep into key topics that she believes fuel
brand creation and its quintessential need to link to a customer’s experiences
to drive brand growth.
Customer experience is at the heart of Ms. Slavik-Tsuyuki’s
philosophy. In her content-packed, ninety-minute presentation, she focused on a
how in the community creation business, real meaning can be created in the
places and brands built by creating from the customer’s perspective. She
subscribes to the motto, “Listen. Help. Engage”, an approach that she applied
to a range of communities in three countries.
Ms. Slavik-Tsuyuki pressed for new thinking by marketing and
communications firms, architects and master planned community developers. Her
credo referenced going off script to innovate, embrace change, giving consumers
truth and meaning to create place, and how brands can live their intent and
purpose. She councils the concept of the power of curiosity, and engaging that
curiosity throughout the customer experience, both before during and after they
purchase. She asked participants to consider that every part of their company
touches the customer, and that they create ways for people to interact with the
brand. She also pointed to the home buying decision as being both emotionally
charged and a very rational decision-making process. She challenged the
audience to identify places where these intersect, and create spaces and
experiences that engage the buyer during their purchase journey, as opposed to
just pushing out a message. From maverick naming conventions to creation of
“sticky places” for socializing, Ms. Slavik-Tsuyuki reminded her audience they
should not be afraid to “think by doing.”
“Be brave enough to reinvent,” she counseled, citing one
example in Newland Communities’ Tehaleh near Mt. Rainier in Pierce County, in
the state of Washington. Here the emphasis on branding, product design and the
overall customer experience is centered on life in the forest, capturing the
location, creating environments to which residents were naturally drawn. Things
like chalk site plans, resident photo walls, social hubs that also serve food,
and ways to engage people in their environment with an amenity strategy that
ties to the core of the community brand,
all point to the multilevel way in which this thought leader shaped the
success of the community. Tehaleh is reputed to be the Puget Sound’s
best-selling community, and is home to eight different homebuilders with
neighborhoods, including active adult, ranging from the $300,000s to the
$600,000s.
Newland Communities’ Waterset in Tampa, Florida offered
another look at Slavik-Tsuyuki’s approach. This multi-homebuilder community
encompasses a wide range of amenities, and a system of customer engagement that
begins in its one of a kind information center. She also covered ideas like
being willing to let go of the old approaches when thinking about new home
marketing. A better understanding of customers leads to the elimination of old
standards like the model home trap fences. Customers find it off-putting, and
thus it was counterintuitive to the brand. Phrases like “Be willing to let go
of how you make sense of things.” “Think outside-in”, and “Go off script”
encouraged attendees to embrace change.
Throughout her career, Ms. Slavik-Tsuyuki has utilized her
vast experience in CRM and product innovation, and integrated marketing
strategies. She founded and operated an award-winning marketing and brand design
agency in Canada, and for ten years was the agency of record for Intrawest’s
resort ownership business. As Chief Marketing Officer for Newland Real Estate
Group, Ms. Slavik-Tsuyuki was the architect of the Newland brand, and its
application in more than 40 communities in 14 states. Her emphasis on customer
experience led to the creation of Newland’s innovative on-site customer
experience. She serves as Vice Chair of Urban Land Institute’s Residential Neighborhood
Development Council.
In addition to Teri Slavik-Tsuyuki, a roster of leading top
marketing executives and leaders in community development and homebuilding are
participating in the ULI INDUSTRY LEADERS & MANAGERS PROGRAM, organized and
led by John Martin of Martin & Associates. The program runs through
November 2, 2016 with a break during the week of the ULI Fall Meeting, October
26.
Participants at every level of experience and various
industry disciplines attend these valuable two-and-one-half hour seminars that
meet Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at First Service Residential
in Irvine. There are several ways to participate including special pricing for
ULI OC/IE Members and non-members as well as students and the public. For
details on these special programs or to register, email
Kendra.Chandler@uli.org.
The Urban Land Institute (http://www.uli.org)
is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its
mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating
and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the ULI has
more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and
development disciplines.