by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Hunter Valmont didn’t get into marketing the real estate industry by accident and she continues to be rewarded by the field in her public relations business.
“Although I am a professional communicator, I prefer to cut to the chase. I also like to have fun,” said Valmont, president of Hunter Valmont Public Relations. “The HVPR Web site reflects those two aspects of my personality. It’s playful while delivering all of the information you need in about five minutes. Anything more is a waste of a visitor’s time.
“It’s a visual representation of a specific mentality. All too often, a font or layout is so busy that it distracts from a core message. I believe that less is more, and that you shouldn’t be afraid to be human, warm or personal in your marketing.”
HVPR’s Web site is currently being revised to include a more comprehensive list of services and the logo is being changed to reflect a team environment, she said.
Valmont is the founder and president of the company, which was established in 2003 and has four independent contractors within it.
HVPR is an independent firm specializing in public relations for residential, commercial and resort real estate clients, as well as clients offering industry-related products and services.
Valmont has worked in journalism and public relations for more than 11 years and said she has encountered just about every personality.
“In the real estate industry, however, I was drawn just as much to the people as to the projects,” she said. “My work as a journalist allowed me to do quite a bit of real estate writing, subject interviews and photography assignments. As a tremendously powerful industry in our economy, real estate offers many challenges and rewards for those who enter into it.”
Valmont said the biggest reward working in the industry has been meeting so many of the “phenomenal people who comprise the local industry.”
“For example, Naomi Lumley of Palencia is the epitome of class, elegance and intelligence ... a fantastic female role model,” she said. “[The Northeast Florida Builders Association’s] Arnold Tritt is another remarkable presence and leader. To be able to work and interact with people of this caliber is extremely rewarding.”
Valmont recently moved to a building off Century 21 Boulevard from her home-office in Ponte Vedra, where she still lives. She says the new location, in a building which also houses the NEFBA offices, helped the company focus more on its clients that conduct business there.
“Our move to the NEFBA building enables us to focus more on our commitment as an Associate Member of the organization. We enjoy serving on various NEFBA and SMC committees each year,” she said. “Most recently, we were a bronze sponsor of the 2006 Realtor-Builder Tradeshow and Luncheon (in October), and we donated all of the centerpieces for that event. I also served on the SMC Live Auction committee in November, and we will be a bronze sponsor for the 2007 Laurel Awards, for which we also will handle the public relations.”
Valmont said she’s never encountered such genuine good will and camaraderie among the leaders, peers and colleagues within the real estate industry.
“At the end of the day, I not only must feel great about the work we do, I also must be able to respect those we serve. We’re blessed to be working with such stellar people,” she said.
HVPR also provides pro bono services and counsel for some charitable causes.
“It’s a great opportunity to be creative and have fun while giving back to the community and our clients. We also like to support our clients’ charitable efforts, and work side-by-side with them when possible,” she said.
Valmont is also active in the Jacksonville community in other ways. For the last 13 years, she has been helping save infant lives through her participation in a rare-blood antibody plasmapheresis program used by the Bayer Corporation. She has a rare, Rh-negative blood containing two distinct antibodies and was educated by her family doctor about the dangers of someone with her blood type delivering a healthy child, should the child have Rh-positive blood.
“My doctor administered to me a blood product called RhoGAM, now routinely given to Rh-negative women after pregnancy. RhoGAM is a product used to protect an Rh-positive fetus from the antibodies of its Rh-negative mother,” said Valmont. “Having received RhoGAM twice, I learned that others with Rh-negative blood regularly donate their plasma to global providers of biological products for the research, development and manufacturing of RhoGAM. I consider such donations to be generous acts of kindness and gifts of life.
“Therefore, I chose to become a donor as well, and to give to other women the same gift that was twice bestowed on me. When I look at my two beautiful daughters, I am both grateful and proud. I have donated my own plasma twice weekly for 13 years.”
She said her daughters Marlee, 18, and Ami, 16, are 12th generation Floridians and their home is like a girls’ college dorm, dubbed “Valmont Hall.” Valmont said her daughters plan to join the company eventually.
HVPR has received a lot of interest in its services, particularly event planning, from folks in and outside of the real estate industry, according to Valmont.
“Therefore, our next logical step will be to diversify our client list and break out our event planning services from the others. At some point, it may become a separate HVPR business.”
Valmont said Realtors can expand their exposure in a competitive, fluctuating market by becoming powerful presences in the industry: through new business relationships, charity work and professional associations.
“The inherent, newsworthy activities associated with these efforts will open many lines of communication between Realtors, the media and the public,” she said. “It’s more of a matter of clients determining what brings them more ‘bang for the buck.’ In our current economic climate, many clients are shifting a significant portion of their advertising dollars to public relations.
“They understand that PR is not marketing, and it is not advertising. It is the organization and management of source information that is typically viewed by target audiences as unbiased. It creates no ad fatigue.”
Valmont said that even though the market has fluctuated, it’s still business as usual.
“I no longer conduct it at 3 a.m. in my pajamas. Well, not all of the time,” she said.