When Seattle-based commercial real estate developer The Blume Co. moved to a new headquarters in the city, Los Angeles marketing firm Plush Real Estate Media created an eye-catching way for Blume to showcase its premier properties and capabilities or brokers and potential tenants.
Plush constructed a movie theater inside a replica Seattle streetcar, and hired a local video production crew to shoot footage of Blume’s favorite developments and a testimonial from Washington Governor Chris Gregoire. The video is projected on a high definition screen within the streetcar theater, where clients view it.
“The media car is not mobile, it’s stationary,” says producer-director Nick Marks of Plush, which specializes in commercial real estate marketing. The streetcar was built on the fourth floor of the developer’s new building, Marks says. “It’s an exact replica of what’s currently used in Seattle, the South Lake Union trolley.
“Most companies have some sort of media room where they can bring clients. They went one strep further to make it more interactive. You walk into the streetcar and there’s a 92-inch screen and 10 seats in the car.”
It’s an immersive experience, Marks says. “You kind of forget where you are.” Blume works with major Seattle executives and companies such Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Gates. The streetcar marketing tactic has more impact than simply handing a client a brochure, says Marks. It’s a way to brand the company in a style that clients will remember.