HBA of Northwestern Colorado Parade of Homes
Customer Success Story
Overview
The Housing and Building Association of Northwestern Colorado (HBANWC) is headquartered in Grand Junction, Colo., and maintains a staff of four professionals. Through active educational efforts and collective action, the association serves the business interests of more than 500 member organizations, whose operations span a 10-county, 150-mile geographic area.
Pam Paris, executive officer of the HBANWC, was introduced to BuilderFusion in the fall of 2004, during a statewide EO retreat. “The BuilderFusion data management system was a real ‘jaw-dropper’ for me,” she said. “Compared to what most of us were using at the time, the technology literally blew me away; I pretty much was sold on it the first time I saw it.”
In addition to its wide-ranging membership services, the HBANWC hosts a popular annual Parade of Homes event, showcasing custom homes from across the region. The 2006 Parade, the association’s 25th, featured 23 homes toured by thousands of attendees.
Challenge
For most of its history, the HBANWC had worked exclusively with the local newspaper to produce Parade of Homes materials, including the event magazine. This arrangement always left association staff and members alike feeling discouraged, according to Paris. “Face it, there is absolutely no ‘wow factor’ when it comes to producing a newsprint-based, black-and-white product. Nothing about it really reaches out and grabs your attention, draws your eyeballs in.”
The association next tried outsourcing their Parade publication needs to a small local printer. In similar fashion, the arrangement fell short of expectations. As Paris explained, “We raised the bar only slightly with this move. We ended up getting a colorized product – a step up from black and white – but the quality of the printing was less than ideal. Our materials smudged too easily, making for a real mess, which obviously limited their use.” In addition, while the local printer handled all ad sales in-house, it was unwilling to enter into any revenue-sharing agreement with the association.
BuilderFusion Solution
The launch of BuilderFusion’s ParadeDirect solutions proved to be especially compelling for the HBANWC. Providing builders associations full-service Parade of Homes publishing – aggressive ad sales, expertise in graphic design, editorial oversight of magazine content, high-end printing – the offering could not have been more timely. As Paris noted, “We were already familiar and comfortable working with BuilderFusion, so to have them roll out this new offering tied to comprehensive Parade of Homes management… well, needless to say we were psyched to get going. It seemed to be just the answer we were looking for.”
With the HBANWC on board, the ParadeDirect team from BuilderFusion handled all aspects of the 2006 Parade of Homes magazine. They assembled photos, renderings and descriptions of participating builders, and created compelling designs from which a final selection could be chosen.
Once content was finalized, it was also published online at ColoradoParade.com, a regional Web site that promotes Parade events and HBA member companies. As a regional site with broad reach, ColoradoParade.com allows multiple associations to post event information, letting them leverage one another’s marketing dollars by driving traffic to a single site.
Results
Putting together the 2006 Parade of Homes was “a largely smooth and efficient process,” according to Paris. “The staff was knowledgeable, responsive and easy to work with; and deadlines were fairly set and if need be, made more flexible. It was almost like they were down the hallway rather than a state away.” The finished magazine was “coffee-table” quality, featuring a full-color glossy cover, a perfect bind, and attractive design inside and out. In short, the association felt the new publication finally gave their Parade event the level of sophistication they’d been searching for.
The ColoradoParade.com Web site also was a huge hit. “We absolutely love the idea of a regional Web site,” Paris said. “Linking our association’s efforts to this ‘online hub’ has yielded tremendous benefits.” She noted that for the 2006 Parade of Homes, they not only saw a dramatic increase in the number of Web site visitors, but also sold over 1,000 more tickets to the event as compared to a year earlier.
Financially, the 2006 Parade of Homes proved to be a considerable moneymaker for the HBANWC, thanks to a revenue-sharing agreement between BuilderFusion and the association. So successful has the partnership become, the ParadeDirect staff is also working with the HBANWC on the production and marketing of its 2007 Home Expo Guide and its annual membership directory.
“I am an extremely happy camper,” Paris commented. “I can’t wait to continue what we’ve already started. Our close and collaborative partnership with BuilderFusion, now almost three years in, has truly become a win-win for both of us. We are excited to see it continue to grow and strengthen.”
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