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| Monday, December 16, 2002 |
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MT. HOUSE GETS BIG MARKETING PUSH
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For the last decade, residents throughout Northern California have anxiously awaited the opening of Mountain House — a bustling, self-contained village set to thrive west of Tracy. There’s not much there yet, save for some perfectly curved roads and water infrastructure, but that’s not stopping developer Trimark Communities from launching a major marketing campaign.
A few months ago, residents in Tracy, San Jose, the Bay Area and Modesto began seeing newspaper ads that said “Mountain What?” and “Mountain Who?” — a humorous play on the under-construction city’s numerous planning delays, according to principals with the Pleasanton-based marketing firm, The Weston Group. That firm is in charge of what officials here hope is a sophisticated, broad-reaching marketing push.
“We wanted to say to people ‘OK, we know you’ve heard a lot about this project over the years, but now it’s really happening,’” said Eric Teed-Bose, Mountain House’s principal architect.
Paul Sensibaugh, Mountain House general manager, said developers will begin building models within weeks and by April, the city’s first residents could be moving in.
Officials want to start getting the word out now, and will probably not stop with the ads and mailers for years — the city won’t be built-out until 2020, with some 42,000 people. Now, there are zero.
“We’ll be running a campaign of sorts, probably, well, forever,” said Teed-Bose.
The first wave of advertisements was fairly small-scale, but recently, a second wave of larger advertisements hit the San Jose Mercury News, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Tracy Press, The Record and other papers. These are more colorful and more to-the-point. Theaters in the East Bay and elsewhere have also begun showing larger-than-life Mountain House ads before feature presentations. Glossy mailers are showing up in mailboxes, and Teed-Bose said radio spots are set to start in the coming weeks.
This wave of ads shows frolicking, happy and diverse families in parks or posing in front of a white background, with the words Mountain House above, along with the official website: www.mountainhouse.net.
“This campaign isn’t necessarily crafted to answer all questions people have come up with over the years, but to direct people to where they can get answers,” Teed-Bose said.
“We’re trying to define the character of the city, convey an image of the community,” he said. “Those ads are targeted to families and younger people with kids, or slightly older families with teenagers.”
A third wave will hit in a few more weeks, with more detailed advertisements — information about amenities, house price ranges and floor plans will be offered there.
So far, it’s working.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether people pick this up,” he said. “We’re trying to speak to the charm and character — that ‘best of yesterday’ feeling.”
He said the campaign is supposed to have the feel of the old Saturday Evening Post.
But it’s not just about the residential aspect. Once people start moving into the community, the campaign will begin focusing on the employment corridors — on the thousands of job opportunities.
Trimark Communities is also honing in on industries that might want to relocate to the area.
“Clearly, we’re pointing out to them the growing population, the sophistication of residents in the southwest San Joaquin County area,” Teed-Bose said.
He also pointed out that the city will have state-of-the-art broadband capabilities and telecommunications — something that many Bay Area businesses rely on.
“Basically, with this campaign, we’re focusing a lot of attention on trying to deliver homes, schools, parks — things that are unique for this market and are attractive, at a great value,” Teed-Bose said.
The 15,000 homes slated for the area over the next two decades will each sell for between $295,000 and $445,000. All of the infrastructure is already in place. Water is available through a local water treatment plant just finished, and an electricity substation will provide power to the community. Utilities will be supplied underground, and high-speed Internet connections will be built-in to every house and apartment.
All in all, there will be 12 neighborhoods, each with their own distinct feel and the Lammersville School District will run the area’s school, set to open in December of 2003.
Eventually, each village will have its own school and Tracy Unified will govern high school students.
Some 70 acres of land is reserved for business, and one-acre parcels of land are sprinkled throughout for retail centers.
When complete, the town will go from Byron Road to Interstate 205, bordered by Mountain House Parkway and the Alameda County line.
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