Despite a challenging year for the entire new home industry, Empire Communities has a lot to celebrate. The Vaughan-based developer is one of North America’s largest privately-owned builders and has been recently recognized with a number of awards and accolades for projects across southwestern Ontario and Texas.
Last month, Empire was awarded a Pinnacle award at the 40th annual BILD Awards. The renowned industry event was established in 1980 and recognizes excellence and innovation in the design, construction, sales and marketing of new homes and condos in the Greater Toronto Area. The Empire team took home the prize for Best Overall Marketing Campaign for its ‘Life Reimagined’ campaign with digital creative agency Pureblink.
The campaign, which was featured in print, digital and social, invited homebuyers to join the ‘rural renaissance’ and embrace small-town living. To help them find the community that best suits their lifestyle, the developer created an online quiz with questions about day-to-day activities, hobbies and goals. Respondents were matched with one of seven master-planned Empire communities, from Wyndfield in Brantford to Imagine in Niagara Falls.
Empire and Pureblink were also honoured at the 2020 dotCOMM Awards with seven Platinum awards and one Gold award for the successful ‘Life Reimagined’ initiative. The campaign and quiz won Best Interactive Brand Experience, Website Creativity, and Data Gathering and Implementation.
The dotCOMM Awards also recognized Empire’s marketing efforts for three of its Toronto high-rise communities: Maven, Maverick and Phoenix. Best Short Form Video and Best Event Video, Platinum went to the ‘Maverick Manifesto’ film, showcasing the guiding principles of the Maverick Condo’s future residents. Empire Phoenix won Best Short Form Video and Best Video Series, Platinum for its adulting series for new homebuyers and Millenials that centred around cooking, wellness, networking and finance. And finally, Empire Maven won Best Short Form Video, Gold for its campaign film exemplifying luxury living in North Toronto.
More recently, Empire was named as a finalist in the New Home Sales Office category at the OHBA 2020 Awards of Distinction, taking place virtually on November 10th. Lauded for their Livingston community in Hagersville, Empire’s sales office was inspired by a rustic, modern day apothecary and designed by Figure3, who also designed the community’s fully-furnished model homes.
“The marketing team is continuously striving to push boundaries in our industry and our field, which we believe is reflected in these recent honours,” said Sue MacKay, Vice President of Marketing at Empire Communities. “I’m incredibly proud of our team and the opportunity we’ve been given to create innovative campaigns that tell a story and authentically connect with our homeowners.”
It’s not just Empire’s Canadian developments that have garnered attention from industry experts. The developer entered the Texas housing market in 2016 and has since launched several master-planned communities in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.
Last weekend, Empire received three trophies at the Houston’s Best PRISM Awards, presented by the Sales & Marketing Council of the Greater Houston Builders Association. Empire Continental Land, the Texas Land Division for Empire Communities, won Best Direct Mail Piece – B2B – Developer, for their Coastal Point master-planned community. Empire also nabbed Best Community Event – Developer for their Taste of Dellrose event at the master-planned Dellrose community. Additionally, the model home at Harper’s Preserve won Best Interior Merchandising of a Model Home.
In Austin, Empire was honored at the 2020 MAX Awards, winning Best Digital Marketing Campaign for the New Home Gift Shop. Plus, it was a finalist in Best Special Promotion and Best Overall Ad Campaign for the New Home Gift Shop and Best Single-Family Detached Home for the Braunig at Double Eagle Ranch community.
“These wins in a variety of markets and price points continue to show how far we’ve come in our Texas Division since we launched in 2016,” said MacKay. “We’ve been able to grow our teams and expand our reach and welcome new homeowners in communities across Houston, Austin and San Antonio.”
For more information, visit empirecommunities.com.
