

Why Do We Only Do Real Estate?
Verv Projects is a collective of individuals who have specialized in real estate marketing for many years. While our roots and backgrounds are diverse, the common thread that ties together our kick-ass team is the branding, marketing and selling of property. Our greatest feats have been in the areas of residential, rental, industrial, commercial and recreational real estate over the past 11 years.
Residing in a city with one of the hottest housing markets in the world, it’s no surprise that we wanted to join the “cool” kids and showcase our talents in the industry. In doing so, we’ve had the opportunity to create some unique and, in our opinion, downright sexy campaigns for some of the biggest local real estate influencers and largest players across Western Canada and the United States.
Let’s just say we don’t plan to start promoting the newest gluten-free cereal or the hottest local restaurant on the block. (Unless, of course, either of these could help our clients sell more units!) We eat, breathe and sleep real estate. It is what we are great at, and why we create exceptional value for those we work with. If you want to market your cereal, we’re probably not your go-to. But real estate? Go with the specialists. We got this.
We have worked in several different real estate markets over the years… the searing hot markets in which product is gone faster than you can list it, and the cooler markets in which sales occur at a much slower pace. No matter the circumstances, each has excited and challenged us. Each has provided yet another case study and increased our knowledge base working within the industry.
Real estate might be our focus, but part of what we love about this business is that it’s not just buildings we are marketing: these are people’s homes. Everybody needs a place to call home, and we are privileged to participate in helping home-seekers find the perfect place to hang their hats.
What’s the future of Verv? We will continue to make our mark on the world of real estate by creating exciting, engaging content and strategy that compels our clients and their customers alike. We’ll nimbly navigate the evolving digital landscape and ever-changing consumer behaviours. And of course, we will continue to feed our passion for real estate in varied, always fascinating markets. Alas, no gluten-free cereal!
Recent Blog Posts




For the Target Market That Hates Advertising: Unadvertising
Image Source: Adweek
There is noise flying at consumers from every angle. Something clever, something practical, something interactive, something hilarious, something memorable. Something that creates value in the target’s mind. Statements linking features to advantages and positioning these as benefits (FABS). How can marketers be more clever than the competition?
Small Luxury Hotels of the World decided to do the opposite. Less visually appealing. No FAB statements. They’ve rolled out an unadvertising campaign. Beige headlines do anything but scream, they whisper. “Even the most exciting, glossy advert can’t seduce people who know what they want. So here’s a boring one.” “This ad is for people unaffected by retouched advertising images.” “A super slick luxury ad might have looked great, but it wouldn’t have swayed independent minds. So we didn’t do one.”
The campaign cleverly plays to consumers who consider themselves highly discerning. It’s ironic; the “free-thinking” audience is manipulated the opposite way other targets are.
The $1 million campaign media buy includes Bloomberg, Departures, the Financial Times, Boisdale Lifestyle and Travel + Leisure. These print and digital outlets clearly target the affluent traveler.
To read the original story, visit Adweek
Recent Blog Posts




The Marketing it Takes to Put a City on the Map
Ever been to Serena del Mar? Probably not, because it’s a Colombian city that hasn’t been built yet. Developers and masterplanners have come together with a vision to build a city neighbouring the old city of Cartegena, taking inspiration from the culture and heritage and integrating it playfully with modern architecture that honours nature and urban amenities (Much like Currie, just, you know, more tropical). The principles of social inclusion, environmental friendliness, and an enriched quality of life are woven through the plan. Chicago-based VSA Partners and Colombian consultancy Novus Civitas were challenged with defining a place that won’t be completed for at least 20 years.
The big idea? Dreams meet reality, shape the world around the land, and evolve alongside the earth.
The visual identity, inspired by the early vision of the project is derived from “los morros”, a geographical feature of the land that includes the mountains and the ocean.
In Colombia, watercolour is a treasured art form so the logo often appears on a watercolour treated backdrop in application. The brand colour palette is both modern and indigenous to the region.
Check out the project video: https://youtu.be/PZmGOYfbdM4
Recent Blog Posts



Holy ****! Instagram Already Has 200,000 Advertisers
Just last year, Instagram announced the new business model: the inclusion of mobile advertising. So what key moves have they made to reach 200,000 advertisers?
- They opened up advertising to 200 markets
- They established partnerships with dozens of marketing-vendors
- They introduced both carousel ads and longer-form video ads
- They broadened the call-to-action options (think app-install ads, “Shop Now“ and “Learn More” buttons)
The formats have attracted big names and small advertisers alike. Of course, Facebook encourages marketers to run paid promos on both Facebook and Instagram. This also boosts both engagement and ad recall.
Instagram continues to monitor ads very closely, to ensure quality. Companies are challenged to create compelling content that suits the platform. After all, users are very discerning about what they want to see, and will provide feedback as to whether an ad is relevant or not. This is money well spent for advertisers; relevant ads always perform better.
Source: Adweek
Recent Blog Posts




Draft the Perfect OOO Email Reply for Your Vacation
Westin Hotels think you should go on vacation more often. They have capitalized on the trend of online content generators (remember the Hipster Business Name generator and the Badass Advertising Job Titles generator?) to engage the target market in a meaningful way and get the message across: go on vacation once in awhile (and stay at the Westin). They did this by creating an “out of office” email reply generator that anyone can customize to their trip, while getting a good laugh. (more…)