Okeland Communities – a company owned and operated by the Shephard family, were developing a town in South Ripley, on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. The company directors called it Providence, after a generation-long desire to build a town that reflected their strong family values. These values were the foundation the town was built on and resulted in a development that had a wealth of assets designed for buyers with their own families. These included larger sections, schools, a shopping district, sports fields, a medical precinct, nature reserves, and even a water park.
While this was a significant development, it wasn’t the only one in the area. There were half a dozen towns in the works from competing developers and they were all pitching to family buyers. These other developers were presenting themselves as benevolent leaders that somewhat arrogantly assumed they had to guide buyers to the life they desired. Providence was positioned differently. Instead of elevating them above the buyers, Okeland Communities were presented as a family just like them. A family that had the same hopes and dreams for their children as the buyers did for theirs. These buyers didn’t need to be told what they were looking for in a town, they already knew what was best for their family. So, instead of positioning Okeland Communities as knowing better, the Shephards agreed with them.
‘Everything a town should be’ became the brand line and ‘We agree’ became the campaign line. The messaging was built on the same strong family values the town was conceived with. This helped buyers feel aligned with Providence on a foundational level and the assets were used as proof points to this.
After the town had reached a certain size Okeland Communities expressed a desire to sell the development with executive director Cameron Shephard saying “We’d like to reinvest the proceeds in future new communities and find the next Providence. That’s what we are really good at – envisaging and creating”. Providence was sold for $193 million, exceeding their previous development’s sale by $100 million.
