Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Marketing Cohousing Effectively

[coho (coho]

Hi Susana,

We marketed our project in a variety of ways, primarily tabling at various
fairs and festivals.
When that didn't bring in enough members at a critical point, we went out
on public radio.
I would suggest you check out the public radio stations below in your
area. There are more listed on the web site http://www.nwpr.org/

1997: "NPR News Station" station in Omak, WA. NWPR has won a grant to put
a station on the air in Omak. Local fund raising efforts have started to
raise the matching funds needed. The call letters of this station are
KQWS, and it went on the air in January 1999.

1997 - 1998. "NPR News Station? translators in Yakima, Wenatchee and
Ellensburg. Northwest Public Radio is in the process of identifying
frequencies to put low power translators on the air in Yakima, Wenatchee
and Ellensburg to offer listeners there a second choice in public radio
service from NWPR.

1998 - KNWP 90.1 FM, went on the air in April of 1998 broadcasting theNPR
and Classical Music of Northwest Public Radio. The transmitter is located
at Striped Peak, just west of Port Angeles, serving Port Angeles, Sequim,
Joyce and other communities along the Highway 112 corridor. In addition,
we reach Victoria, B.C. and much of lower Vancouver Island. KNWP reaches a
US population of more than 30,000 individuals and a large Canadian
population of nearly 700,000.

We did decide on the short phrase "a new old-fashioned neighborhood." We
had three spots that we ran in rotation on an NPR station in Boston. They
were:

"The Jamaica Plain Cohousing Group of Boston, bringing together
privacy and community in a new old-fashioned neighborhood.  Information
online at jpcohousing.org."

"Boston's Jamaica Plain Cohousing Group, creating a new old-
fashioned neighborhood that provides personal privacy combined with the
benefits of living in a community. Information online at jpcohousing.org."

"Jamaica Plain Cohousing of Boston: a new old-fashioned neighborhood --for
those who seek more than a house. Information online at jpcohousing.org."

We found most people who were likely to become residents locally. Only one
family moved in from out of state to join our group. A lot of people heard
about us through our web site. Make sure you have good "meta-tags" on your
home page so that search engines can find you.

The only publication that was particularly effective in bringing in new
potential members was the Boston Globe, via stories in the real estate
section. Advertising in the print media was not particularly effective,
and for us, signs on the site were not particularly effective either.

I should also mention that we meet twice a month and have two different
meeting times: A late meeting and an early meeting. The early meeting is
the "kids' meeting." Parents bring their kids to this meeting and the kids
do the Opener. Then they have their own meeting during the first half of
the meeting, in another room. At the break, a parent take the kids home,
and the other parent stays for the rest of the meeting. I would have
preferred that we have on-site child care for all children, paid for by
the group, but this was too difficult to arrange. It's very hard finding
low-cost meeting space in Boston, and you will probably have the same
problem in Vancouver. Try to find a meeting space with a kitchen so you
can serve meals, and also a space for the kids to run around, if at all
possible.

Good luck on your venture! I hope you will come see us in Boston when we
are completed this spring.

--Diane Simpson
    Marketing Facilitator
    JP Cohousing
    Boston, Massachusetts
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

 <snip>
> I am seeking suggestions on how to better market our project to
> prospective purchasers of units, and especially to families with children.
> -How did you market your project to find a balanced mix of purchasers?
> -Did you have short phrases that caught people's attention; conveyed
> community and ownership?
> -Where did you find people who were most likely to become residents? Local
> people, visitors, out of country?
> -What publications, media, groups and target audiences were the most
> productive for attracting new members?

>
> Susana