We are excited to be working with Woodbridge Pacific Group on Brightwater, a planned community in Huntington Beach. Located a few short blocks from Pacific Coast Highway, Brightwater is a gem, offering new beach-close homes, many with unobstructed views of the coast and Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Pricing has not been announced but is expected to start in the $800,000s, ranging to over $2 million.
When Woodbridge Pacific Group enlisted the ROX Team in early 2012, Brightwater was a recognizable brand with existing homes for sale. Our F.A.C.E. approach respected that brand while moving forward in reenergizing this very special community in a gradually-recovering economy. Through F.A.C.E., Woodbridge Pacific Group and ROX worked closely together to develop messaging and a visual landscape that most accurately reflects the luxe yet laid-back beach lifestyle homeowners can expect to experience living there.

Brightwater neighborhoods encompass eleven new floor plan designs. Living spaces will range from approximately 1,992 to 2,685 square feet at Capri; 3,192 to 3,732 square feet at Seaglass; and 3,751 to 4,764 square feet at Azurene. Emphasizing indoor/outdoor living enjoyment and an array of luxury amenities, the homes will provide 3 to 6 bedrooms and 2.5 to 6.5 baths.

Capri, Seaglass and Azurene sales galleries opened on December 1st, and several hundred people came out to preview home designs, a future community center and clubhouse and to review anticipated pricing and financing options. A model home grand opening is planned for early summer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to help Woodbridge Pacific Group share the Brightwater story. For more information, visit BrightwaterHB.com.

‘Tis that time of year again when companies that can still afford it run their holiday television commercials.

From cereal and coffee to technology and beer, we’ve rounded up some of our favorites. There are a couple of classics – think Folgers – as well as some newer commercials, and some are just fun. One is not a holiday commercial at all, however you’ll soon get why we included it.

Happy watching. What are your favorite holiday commercials?

Cheerios ‘Grandma’s Visit’
Remember this one?

Holiday Hershey’s Kisses
So simple, but so fun.

Crazy Target Lady
Comedian Maria Bamford nails it as the insane holiday shopper.

Folgers ‘Peter Comes Home for Christmas’
Classic.

Nabisco Oreo Cookie ‘Waiting for Santa’
Another 80s classic.

Apple ‘Get a Mac’ Happy Holidays
Mac and PC go for some goodwill during the holidays.

Corona Extra ‘Oh Tannenpalm’
Christmas Corona style. Love.

Staples ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’
It’s not a holiday commercial at all, but the play on the popular Andy Williams song in their back-to-school campaign is just too good not to include.

My family and I are in the middle of moving residences, so I have started setting up utilities in our new home. We really needed to evaluate our media consumption habits because I just did not feel like we were getting our money’s worth from our cable television service. Turns out, I’m not the only one.

According to Parks Associates, the shift from cable and satellite to IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is on the rise. The firm is predicting that IPTV subscribers will increase from 8.8 to 18.6 million by 2017 in the United States alone. I must really be behind the eight ball, because even PBS has published a step-by-step guide on how to cancel cable and stream to your television.

After taking a look at what we watch and when we watch it, I realized cable television just does not make sense for us anymore. Enter Roku, a brilliant piece of hardware that allows you stream programming to your television directly from your internet connection. There are several hardware devices on the market that do this. The PBS article does a good job of explaining each one. Aside from our iPhones, we are not really a Mac family (insert audible gasp), so we decided on the Roku because it is easy to set up, a PC is not needed and there are no additional monthly fees with the exception of our existing subscriptions like Netflix and Hulu Plus. We can also play games, listen to internet radio and enjoy music, photos and videos from our smartphones. Sold yet?

This is where television consumption is heading. Telecommunications companies see this and are marketing their high-speed broadband services as the market moves from cable and satellite services to IPTV. It will be interesting to see how the market shifts in this direction over the next several years.

With election day less than two weeks away, advertising is at a fever pitch. To my friends who live in swing states, it’s time to bust out the TiVo, because you will need it if you are not interested in watching a barrage of political television ads.

Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns, super PACs and party affiliates have each raised nearly one billion dollars this election. Think about that for a second. One billion dollars, and that does not include independent outside groups that support each candidate. Putting opinions on campaign finance reform and the Citizens United decision aside, that is a load of cash, and a huge percentage of it is being spent on advertising.

Most of the ad spends have been on television, which is not surprising, as television has long been the darling of political advertising budgets. Political campaigns and supporters favor this machine gun approach, however targeted online advertising has increased during this election cycle, too. Interestingly, several smaller media outlets are refusing to run political ads as part of a pricing dispute with ad exchanges.

We can’t talk about political outreach without talking about social media advertising. Social platforms certainly help spread the campaigns’ talking points and policy positions, however a recent UC Berkeley study indicates that social media advertising, particularly Facebook, has so far proven to be an ineffective medium to persuade someone to vote for a particular candidate.

Without a doubt, the next week and a half is sure to be a wild ride from a marketing outreach and advertising perspective. Time to bring out the popcorn and enjoy the show.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, and it made me laugh and got me thinking about the proper use of grammar in our frenetic-paced lifestyles. In the age of sound bytes, texting and communicating in 140 characters or less, does good grammar matter anymore? Does anyone still care?

As a literature major, marketing professional and someone who enjoys finding typos in restaurant menus, I care, but of course I am more than a little biased. If you want to be perceived as educated, thoughtful and as someone who can intelligently command the English language, then yes, pay attention to grammar and usage.
Under some circumstances, however, bad grammar can be more efficient and even advantageous. Brevity is king throughout many social media channels, and it has become universally understood and accepted that syntax and spelling fall by the wayside.

Where it really gets interesting is when copywriters create good campaigns based on bad grammar. When it’s done well, the copy does as was intended: it gets your attention and makes you pause on the message and creative a little longer than normal.

In some cases, as with the Got Milk? slogan, it takes on a life of its own and is copied ad nauseum (but that’s why it was so brilliant!)
The challenge today is that, since most of us consistently use bad grammar in our daily communications, will this type of disruptive advertising still be effective? To the point, would we even recognize bad grammar if we saw it?

Happy fall, everyone. I don’t know about you, but the dog days of summer have definitely worn out their welcome around here. Now that the temperatures are blissfully on their way down, I can cozy up to some of my fall loves and must haves.

Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte
It’s that time of year again, and I am rarely without a pumpkin latte, pumpkin muffin or pumpkin scone from Starbucks. Sure, the pumpkin spice latte is 380 calories – so you’re basically drinking your breakfast. No time like to present to start putting on that winter coat.

Scarves
Time to bring out the ever-versatile accessory in a variety of colors. This Stella McCartney beauty is on my wish list.

Color Drives
There’s nothing quite like taking a drive and seeing the fall colors. Travel + Leisure has a nice roundup of some of the country’s best scenic fall motorways.

Red Lipstick
Truly one of the season’s best accessories, a fabulous red lipstick that complements your skin tone is a must. The trick is finding the one that looks best on you. Lancome’s Blazing Red looks great on almost everyone.

The Classics
There’s something about cooler weather that makes me want pick up one of the classics and settle in for a good afternoon read on a rainy day. This year I am rereading one my favorites, Great Expectations.

What are some of your favorite things for fall?

Shenandoah National Park

With all of the iPhone 5 hoopla, I couldn’t help but wonder what the big deal is. Yes, it’s Apple. Yes, it’s a new iPhone. Apparently, that is enough to warrant a bazillion news articles and blog posts about Apple’s latest iteration.
Then I came across the latest LEAP Index by New Media Metrix. LEAP stands for Leveraging Emotional Attachment for Profit, and the firm measures peoples’ attachment to 350 brands across 45 categories. iPhone ranked #1 for 2012, edging out iPod that reigned supreme for the last couple of years. In fact, Apple and its product brands took 4 of the top 10 spots, technology brands 7 of the 10. The study clearly indicates we are becoming increasingly attached to technology, devices and brands that aim to streamline our lives. We like gadgets and we like our iPhones.
By most accounts, iPhone 5 is not revolutionary. It is sleeker, prettier, a tad faster with a larger screen; some argue its style trumps its substance. The brand, however, is strong enough to overcome that, largely in part from its predeccesors, which arguably were quite revolutionary. We could spend days discussing all of the other parts that contribute to the power and mystique of a standout brand, but let’s not go there just yet. I’ve got an iPhone 5 to preorder.

As summer comes to a close and we enter into the final months of 2012, I thought we’d check in on this year’s Pantone ‘It’ color and take a look at how it has been interpreted throughout the design world.
Tangerine Tango quickly became the darling of home, industrial and fashion designers, cropping up in everything from bookcases to eyeliner. I have been decorating with this shade of orange for a couple of years now, so it has been validating to peruse the beautiful rooms that are now incorporating elements of this color. It exudes energy and warmth, and promises to kick things up a notch no matter how you use it.

HGTV provides inspiration for every room.

Handmade and vintage finds.

Pretty dresses.

A behind-the-scenes look at how Pantone forecasts its annual color.

Get your orange on at Sephora.

Pinterest boards are hopping with ideas.