Marketing Toolkit
As soon as your project is EDGE certified, pull out all the stops to take advantage of promotional opportunities.
Project owners that position their properties as certified green gain a competitive advantage over others in the market. Here are more than a dozen ways to maximize your commitment to EDGE, with actual examples of how to do it. Companies that prioritize the certified status of their projects leverage their marketing and sales strategies, resulting in a faster and increased response from customers.
Almost all of the techniques listed below apply to both the preliminary and final certification stages, offering twice the opportunity to leverage your marketing efforts.
Issue a Press Release
Publish and distribute a media announcement to your press contacts (here’s an example from HC Capital). Once the media publish the announcement, it will appear in the News section of the EDGE website.
Submit a Project Study
Request a project study by entering details and uploading hi-res photos. This example of the Mother and Baby Unit at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital features an inspiring story. Projects are occasionally featured at the top of the EDGE homepage.
Launch a Social Media Campaign
Publish Your Story
Create a blog post on your corporate channels (such as LinkedIn or your website) to tell an in-depth story about your project (here are examples from Asia Green Real Estate and The 1O1 Yogyakarta Tugu). Tag @edgebuildings when you tweet and post about it, and we’ll amplify your message. You can also create a handout, such as EchoStone’s Peridot Parkland in Nigeria.
Create a Brochure
Create a brochure for your company that incorporates EDGE to show how you are driving transformation. Define in your own words why EDGE is important to you, such as in this example by KSH Infra.
Send an Email
Tell everyone on your mailing list that your project has been EDGE-certified. Link to stories in the media, a lengthier blog post, a video and your project study on the EDGE website.
Include EDGE in Your Mission
By dovetailing your commitment to EDGE in your CSR materials – such as in your vision statement or in your reporting to shareholders – you can better capitalize on your investment in certification. Here’s an example from EchoStone in Nigeria.
Shoot a Video
Make a video testimonial by your CEO about the value of EDGE, or create a commercial such as by 127Living in Colombia. Over time, a video crew will visit the countries where EDGE is most prominent, to create short films of companies who commit to a portfolio approach, such as Balwin Properties in South Africa.
Use EDGE in Your Sales Strategy
Include the EDGE logo and mention that your project is certified green on your digital sales pages. Communicate the benefits of certification to differentiate your project. An example is Primavera Residences in the Philippines.
Construct an On-site Billboard
Include the EDGE logo on any billboards at the construction site of your project as yet another way to distinguish your property from others, bringing attention to your property being certified green.
Add EDGE to Your Showroom
Give prominence to the fact that you’ve certified your project by featuring the EDGE logo and listing the benefits for renters and buyers, such as in this photo by Capital House.
Win an Award
Enter the Financial Times Awards, Construction21 Awards, and Building Sense Now Awards. Whether you win or not, you’ll receive international marketing attention just by participating in these competitions.
Speak at a Conference
Encourage a high-level member of your team to speak at a conference to tell their story about their commitment to EDGE certification and talk about the positive outcomes.
Hold a Certification Ceremony
Hold a ceremony when you receive a preliminary certificate. For residential projects, you can also host an event on-site to distribute final EDGE certificates to homeowners. Here’s an example of Greenox in Turkey.
By working together, we can ensure that EDGE is fully integrated into your marketing and sales strategies, to maximize the benefits of certification.
Your certifier has tremendous marketing reach and can also help to bring attention to your project. Contact them directly to share your marketing and sales strategies and explore ways to collaborate.
Are you working with an EDGE Expert? They can also help to spread the word about your achievements, as they have strong professional networks and are well-connected digitally. Here’s an example of Edificio Edwards from Peru.
See something that’s missing from the list of marketing and sales ideas that you’ve found to be effective? Have an amazing data point about how EDGE contributed to the success of your project that you want to share? Need access to the EDGE logo? Let us know at edge@ifc.org. To keep your entire team up to speed on new opportunities with EDGE, encourage them to become a part of our EDGE Community.