In a saturated and highly competitive market for new condo projects, a number of developers have recently switched marketing firms to help spur sales.
Last month, developer Andre Balazs fired Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group as the sales agent for his William Beaver House condo in the Financial District. Core Group Marketing has since been hired as a replacement.
Farther uptown, at 23rd Street and Madison Avenue, Slazer Development swapped Cantor Pecorella for Brown Harris Stevens’ newly formed ID Marketing Group to sell their 60-story condo building One Madison Park.
When the market is sluggish and sales are slow, developers often change marketing firms to jumpstart demand. Market insiders say there could be a number of other reasons for the recent marketing substitutions.
“I think that if a developer sees sales aren’t going as they projected, then they look at their options and find someone that they feel will fill in the gaps,” said Andrew Gerringer, managing director of new development for Prudential Douglas Elliman.
That appeared to be the case with the William Beaver House, which changed its marketing team six months after sales began. Sexy promotional items developed during Corcoran’s tenure have been removed from the marketing campaign.
A Corcoran Sunshine spokesperson had nothing but nice words for the project, though.
“We have enjoyed partnering with SDS William on the launch of William Beaver House,” the spokesperson said. “It has been a great success and a terrific addition to the Financial District and to Downtown in general.”
Sometimes, though, marketing teams are switched before sales even begin — for example, with One Madison Park and the District condo in the Financial District.
JC DeNiro & Associates says it has signed on to market a number of residential projects where sales have not yet started. Most recently, the firm took over marketing of Africa Israel’s District development at 60 Ann Street.
“We took on the District long before it was on the market,” said Christopher Mathieson, managing partner of JC DeNiro & Associates. “I had several months to understand the location and strong points that every development has going for its favor. Some marketing programs aren’t addressing what the market wants and what the building has to offer.”