Here’s how your apartment got its name!

Have you ever wondered why is your apartment called what it is called? Or who thought of the name? Or why does an apartment right in the middle of city have a fancy European name?

We tell you why! With competition soaring in the market, the realty market is no exception to marketing guru Philip Kotler’s mantras!

“The idea is to create a certain impression and aspiration in the minds of the target clientele, and when this is done with enough research and sound marketing advice, this objective can definitely be fulfilled,” says Kishore Pate, chairman and managing director of Amit Housing Enterprises Ltd.

However, this is a trend that is predominantly seen in premium and luxury homes segment. So what are the factors that influence these names?

The ethos

Like any company in the world that would associate its product to a certain cultural ethos, real estate developers take certain ethos into consideration before naming their residential projects.

“With yet another category of project names such as those that evoke a certain cultural ethos, the intention will be to attract buyers from a certain community within a city. Such names may seek to speak to buyers from the traditional ‘core’ sector of the city, which would like the thought of being able to include such a name in their address,” explains Pate.

For instance, if a developer is coming up with a European-themed residential project, he will naturally choose a name that gives a European feel and ethos to the apartment.

“This ethos would include a lot of things, including a sense of chilled-out global ambiance, exclusiveness and social ‘arrival’. Such names are usually given to themed gated projects and townships wherein the developer has gone to considerable pains to recreate the identified cultural ethos in the project with its specifications, amenities and design, including the interior decor of individual units,” he says.

Social configuration

Social configuration, in pure marketing terms primarily means positioning of the project. Every developer wants to position its project in a unique way in the market. Sometimes, a particular name is given in order to create a certain image in the home buyers.

“The naming of residential projects can play a significant role in how much attention they garner on the market. While the name-selection process may sometimes seem random, there is more often than not a great deal of psychology and marketing thought behind it,” notes Pate.

Often builders use ‘regal’, ‘grand’, ‘ace’ among others while naming their project if they are launching a project in premium or luxury segment. Similarly, developers would use names that mean ‘mass’, ‘community’ or unity if their apartments are in the mass housing segment.

Mind set

Often home buyers in India associate superstition while buying their dream homes. For instance, a name that does not sound too good or may mean something negative in some language may deter several home buyers from buying home there.

“The developer will seek to find a name that ‘speaks’ the local language and also conveys the image or impression that he is trying to create,” says Pate.

Target clientele

Ultimately, the developer wants to sell its apartments to the potential home buyers. Hence, he will name the apartment keeping in mind his target customers. Also sometimes, the developer wants to build a certain image for himself in the market and an appropriate name for his projects will certainly be a booster.

“Previously, a number of good names were up for grabs – today, there is high competition among developers to find the best possible names. Developers will seek to keep the names of their projects a secret until they are ready to unleash the complete marketing campaign, to reduce the chances of competitors plagiarizing these names for their own projects,” notes Jain.

At the moment, there is no well-defined ‘copyrighting’ mechanism to protect their choice of names in the realty market.

Image Credit: www.top10zen.com