ENVISIONING
& STRATEGIC PLANNING

BACKGROUND

Ideation’s Envisioning and Strategic Planning (ESP) team offers a wide portfolio of professional consulting services designed to provide clients with high-level strategic analysis combined with long-range planning and forecasting that will position the developer client’s project for success.

The ESP team plays the lead role for the strategy and research functions for the developer client. The team will manage the strategic planning activities for the management team, directing the project consultants through the entire strategic planning process to ensure the community is properly designed and positioned and the plan is effectively and efficiently implemented within the marketplace.

WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU

Ideation’s ESP team can assist savvy development management teams throughout the entire pre-development process. These areas include:

• Land acquisition and purchase negotiations
• Development of a financial pro-forma
• Selection of professional development team consultants
• In-depth consumer and builder market research
• Land planning
• Architectural design
• Product segmentation and analysis
• Merchant builder selection and sales program
• Comprehensive marketing and advertising campaign
• Merchandising of welcome and sales centers
• Planning and Implementation of grand opening of project

Leading real estate development companies rely on us when they want to ensure that their community development plan is on target to meet their pro-forma projections or they face strategic challenges during crucial points in an economic cycle.

We help them define a future direction for their firms, portfolios, or projects and work with them through implementation. Our ability to translate consumer trends and place-based opportunities into specific strategies is what brings our clients back time and time again. More importantly, we never ignore the fundamentals—ensuring that our client firms always have the sound capital strategies, management structures and talent bases to support their goals. Our team of seasoned consultants is recognized throughout the industry.

We act as your expert resource through the complex development process – from start to finish. Our growth as a marketing and advertising firm over the years has confirmed both the market opportunity for our services and our seasoned team’s ability to deliver results. Our focus is to define and carry out the correct plan and strategy that will create the greatest value and meet the client’s objectives.

Our services range from concept development—working closely with the developer’s management and design team—to implementation, which can involve entitlement support, forming a joint venture, or managing a project to completion.

ESP SERVICES PROVIDED

The Envisioning & Strategic Planning team was created with a simple idea: to provide a strategic marketing and planning perspective to clients wishing to take their development projects from concept to reality. We do this by combining our 25+ years of hands-on, large-scale master plan, urban and resort development experience with the analytical research and marketing expertise we have developed in launching hundred’s of successful communities across the country.

We provide envisioning and strategic planning guidance to our clients by:

• Leading property owners through the initial development-project conceptualization to yield a clear project vision.
• Identifying and selecting the optimal consultants and builder partners and conducting partnership negotiations.
• Guiding the entire process—from development team assembly through design, entitlements, public outreach, marketing, and construction.

ENVISIONING PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

• Meeting with development management team to determine key deliverables
• Development of timeline with deadlines for deliverables
• Create an outline of deliverables by each team member
• Assist in selection of the envisioning workshop team
• Assist in the creation of the agenda for the session
• Selection of the date and venue for the session
• Develop theme, dinner locations, food selections, gift selections
• Coordination with meeting planner and facility
• Create and produce session invitation
• Creative and production of the session agenda
• Distribution of the session agenda to workshop team
• Follow up with workshop team to assure attendance
• On-site visit to venue to ensure all needs are met
• Coordination of any necessary transportation for workshop team
• Suggest and hire facilitator for workshop session

ENVISIONING SESSION IMPLEMENTATION

• Manage all aspects of envisioning session with hotel and meeting planner onsite to ensure successful session
• Create group tasks to ensure key deliverables are met by the workshop team
• Facilitate group tasks to ensure participation by all disciplines
• Audiotape or videotape session to ensure accurate information is gathered
• Act as assistant to facilitator to ensure team stays on agenda items
• Facilitate “big ideas” and “aha moments”

FOLLOW UP

• Create and produce comprehensive session work book to capture all relevant information discussed within the session
• Distribute work book to development team
• Assist in establishing future work sessions to continue the envisioning process

MARKET RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

ESP provides comprehensive consumer and market research and analysis to ensure that the project team has a clear understanding of what type of products, amenities and pricing the community should provide for a particular market. Market research services include:

• Development and implementation of market research studies within defined target market segments
• Consumer, Broker and Builder focus group implementation and analysis
• Consumer market surveys and analysis
• Economic forecast summary and analysis
• Competitive community review and summary of current and future offerings
• Product segmentation analysis
• Customer behavior modeling

PROJECT LAND SALES STRATEGIES

Based on the community profile, ESP can assist in developing and implementing sales and marketing strategies designed to result in high IRRs for the community.

• Selection of sales team and sales platform
• Creating and implementing lot pricing strategies
• Development of merchant builder sales programs