February 26, 2008
PORTLAND, OR – Renaissance Homes was recognized at the Nationals Sales and Marketing Awards, the largest competition for homebuilders in the US, presented by the National Sales and Marketing Council through the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
Renaissance Homes President Randy Sebastian picked up the awards last week in Orlando, Florida. Renaissance was presented 2007 Silver Award for Best Website for a Builder and the Silver award for Best Print Media. This year, nearly 1,400 entries were submitted to the competition.
Renaissance’s Best Website for a Builder award was for the website the company created over the course of 2007. Renaissance sought out to create a research tool recognizing the number of people who start their home search online. It was the result of year-long research search in websites and developers from all over the US. The website included “great organization, good use of flash and true commitment to their work which conveys quality and pride in the home and communities they build,” said Peter Mayer, National Judging Chairman, which produces the annual awards competition and used to produce a similar program, the MAME awards, for the Homebuilders Association of Metropolitan Portland.
“Marketing over the past few years has changed,” said Renaissance president, Randy Sebastian. “Gen X and Gen Y homebuyers don’t necessarily read the newspaper. They want to conduct their research from the convenience of their home or office. Time is precious to these people and we wanted to provide them as much information as possible.”
Renaissance wanted the website to reflect what it was like to live in and own one of their homes. “The site was thought through not just aesthetically, but with a lot of attention to the users’ experience. There is a lot of available information on these homes with floorplan options, virtual tours, interior packages, community maps and directions. Making this information easy to find, yet not overwhelming to a user is one thing we wanted to ensure the site did better than any other builder’s site. It visually conveys just how beautiful these homes are inside and out, and the care and planning that goes into each community was forefront in the design direction”, said web developer Christian Bailey of Olive Studio.
Renaissance’ Best Print Media award was for the firm’s advertisement in the annual Street of Dreams publications. The ad consisted of a three page spread on the inside cover of the publication with a location map listing all Renaissance neighborhoods and Sebastian holding his 2007 Best Design Center in the US award. Sebastian credited his sales and marketing team, Vice President Kim Whitman and advertising and public relations agency White Wykoff & Co. for their contributions to the award.
These awards brought Renaissance’s total to four awards from the Nationals after they received Gold for Best Design Center and Silver for Best Marketing Campaign for a Green Built Community last year. The Judges were impressed with how the builder marketed their 2007 Best Design Center award in the Street of Dreams publication. “The pride that they show in their communities and quality of their work exemplifies quality and confidence,” Mayer said.
Last year, Renaissance sold 260 homes, making it one of the largest residential builders in the metropolitan area. It recently had the second largest month in company history, selling 25 homes in February, and currently has neighborhoods underway in Renaissance Homes is one of the area’s largest builders with neighborhoods underway in Bend, Southwest Portland, Forest Grove, Beaverton, Wilsonville, West Linn, on the OGA golf course at Tukwila, several in Vancouver and Camas.
Renaissance Homes
16771 Boones Ferry Road
Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
Voice: 503-636-5600
Fax: 503-635-8400
Emergency Service: 503-496-0711 or 866-567-6225
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