Throughout 2008 we witnessed the global economic downturn and watched the Canadian real estate market follow. By late 2008 all metrics were down significantly…values, absorptions – we were living in entirely different market conditions. MAC acknowledged that in the months ahead we were unlikely to be busy with new projects so we started to identify new opportunities. Essentially, the opportunity was to assist developers with existing projects – either standing inventory (completed projects with unsold homes), or pre-sale projects that have started construction and have remaining inventory to sell. In good times, these developers have alternative solutions for sales and marketing, but when the market conditions changed, MAC has the experience and sophistication to assist. Often, by simply treating an existing project as if it is “new” and examining every facet of the project with fresh eyes can make all the difference.

MAC’s first major opportunity was to assist the Onni Group (www.onni.com) to market and sell their remaining inventories from seven different projects scattered throughout the Greater Vancouver area. Of course, with the market as it was, it needed a shove! There was (there is) still a great deal of demand waiting on the sidelines…waiting for the right home, the right deal, and someone to say “It’s OK, go ahead and buy. Everything will be alright.” MAC and Onni embarked on an aggressive PR and advertising campaign – as usual Onni showed tremendous leadership at a time when much of the industry became paralyzed. ”HOPE is not a strategy” I like to say. Within the first two weeks we successfully sold over 200 units and over 250 within three weeks – this was a huge feet given the “frozen state” of the market.

The second phase of what is now known as the MAC Bulk program (www.macbulk.com) saw MAC Marketing Solutions combine the completed inventory of three developers in the lower mainland in an effort to maximize marketing buying power under the MAC Bulk brand. This allowed each developer to contribute to the marketing spend, in turn creating more buying power and increasing the reach and frequency of their marketing efforts.

These two strategies have worked because the conditions were right. We were working with developers who were willing to discount and willing to be bold about it and who had inventories that made sense. These same strategies would not have necessarily worked with just any developer or just any project and won’t necessarily work again. We knew there would be lots of copy cat campaigns but few achieved significant results. As I’ve said before, no two projects are the same. It’s about finding the right strategy for the right project at the right time which often means innovative thinking is needed.

So what’s next? MAC Bulk still has tremendous residual demand for the right product at the right price. We will selectively align ourselves with developers and groups where we can apply some fresh thinking into these competitive market conditions.

Happy Selling.

Cameron McNeill