In advance of a comprehensive brand repositioning slated for later this year, custom home builder Viceroy Homes has appointed Toronto agency The Hive as its agency of record.
Established more than 50 years ago, Port Hope, Ont.-based Viceroy specializes in custom homes that are typically a second property for its affluent customers.
The Hive will also be responsible for ongoing sales promotion and what is described as a “cutting edge” digital marketing strategy for Viceroy.
Vice-president of client service Rick Shaver told Marketing that the objective is to make digital the “epicentre” of Viceroy’s future marketing activity. The company has traditionally relied heavily on print and trade show activity.
The Hive is currently overhauling the Viceroy website to make it “leading edge” said Shaver, while other digital initiatives include an increased Facebook presence and ads on the online sites of Canadian House & Home and major daily newspapers such as The Globe and Mail and National Post.
Viceroy president Dan Fox said in a release that the company needs to “refine and refresh” its brand in order to remain relevant to a new generation of homebuyers in Canada and foreign markets.
Extensive consumer research conducted by Viceroy last year indicated that its typical customer is “cash rich and time poor.”
Shaver described Viceroy’s typical customer as “adventurous, affluent homesteaders… They’re not do-it-yourselfers; they’re prepared to pay for goods and services that can effectively create a great time for them,” he said.
He said that Viceroy enjoys “incredible” brand recognition and defines the custom home category. “To be working on an account like Viceroy is a real honour,” he said.
