A can of shoe polish set the stage for a event that earned St. Johns Forest, a Taylor Woodrow community, top honors in a national industry competition. The St. Johns Forest “Muddy Boots” event won first place in the Idea of the Year contest sponsored by the National Sales and Marketing Council of the National Association of Home Builders.
“We are thrilled to receive this award and appreciate the recognition from the National Sales and Marketing Council for St. Johns Forest and our Muddy Boots event,” Land Development Director Tom Spence said.
The can of shoe polish appeared inside a small box with the words “After a party like this, everything else will look a little dull” along with an invitation to attend a tour of the St. Johns Forest construction site. Without model homes or even roads to show prospective buyers, the team at St. Johns Forest set the scene with creativity.
Parking valets greeted everyone in style. Guests were welcomed to a large tent overlooking the construction of the amenity center, decorated to emulate the community clubhouse. The tent featured wood flooring covered by black carpeting, statues and a full bar of dark cherry wood. With the music of a live jazz band, guests enjoyed gourmet cuisine in a setting filled with plants and floral arrangements.
Along with the handout materials that each guest received, artistic renderings of the community amenities were displayed throughout the tent. Builder team representatives also had display booths under the tent and met with prospective buyers, who were invited to tour the site via golf carts. While parents learned about the community, children were entertained with pony rides and a petting zoo. Afterwards, each guest also received a complimentary shoeshine.
“Our event to introduce St. Johns Forest marked the beginning of our success with 60 guests attending and 28 reservations secured,” Spence said. “Now, over one-third of the available homesites in our initial offering have sold and interest in St. Johns Forest continues to build as the neighborhood develops.”
Taylor Woodrow and St. Johns Forest will be recognized at the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show in January in Orlando and in the January issue of Sales & Marketing Ideas Magazine.