Melbourne, 30 April 2013 – When CBRE’s City Sales team was appointed by Grocon to sell the Pixel building, Australia’s greenest commercial office building, they knew that a traditional marketing campaign was out of the question.
So they devised a suitably green campaign - complete with bamboo USB sticks and a high reliance on social media - to showcase the attributes of the only office complex in Australia to achieve a perfect green star rating.
Josh Rutman from CBRE’s sales team, who is selling the Carlton, Melbourne property along with Tom Tuxworth and Mark Wizel, said; “We knew that a ground breaking building of this nature demanded a market leading campaign which incorporated the same sustainability ideals being promoted by Grocon. We also felt that a buyer for such an asset would respond more positively if the materials they received reflected the true essence of the offering.”
An icon of sustainable building practices, Pixel has received an unparalleled number of award and accolades since Grocon started construction in 2009. Included in these are a perfect score across all categories from the Green Building Council of Australia, the world’s highest LEED score from the US green Building Council and the prestigious Banksia Award.
The Pixel building combines a range of new building technologies, most of which are designed and owned by Grocon. The building is the most carbon efficient in the country due to its very low energy demand design. This system first sets out to reduce the amount of energy needed at any time and then utilises renewable energy sources on the site to generate the majority of the energy that Pixel requires. The renewable energy systems direct available surplus energy back into the grid to offset almost all of the energy that was used, and the carbon that was generated.
Mr Rutman said that the Pixel marketing campaign would demonstrate CBRE’s and Grocon’s commitment to sustainability.
“CBRE is dedicated to developing its already extensive array of sustainability initiatives and this is just one more step in the right direction,” Mr Rutman said.
CBRE developed and created a strategic and bespoke campaign with Nose to Tail – a specialist Property and Construction Advertising Agency. Jason Souter, Nose to Tail’s Director, said; "The Pixel Building is an icon of architectural innovation and created new answers for age old problems. It was essential for us that the campaign fit with the brand of the building and positioned this unique offering in a special way."
The campaign will include concepts such as bamboo USB sticks created from material that is recyclable, renewable and non-toxic.
Hard copy documents are being kept to a minimum by offering a strong web presence and driving people to a dedicated website as opposed to offering printed materials. When printing is necessary, only recycled FSC approved paper stocks are being used, along with waterless vegetable-based printing technologies.
Social media will play a strong part in the campaign, as traditional advertising methods are shunned in preference of an active and informative online presence. Only recycled materials will be used for building signage and the agents will be walking to every viewing as opposed to driving.
Then campaign fits with CBRE’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, with the firm’s Australian operations having been rated carbon neutral as part of an ongoing carbon reduction and offsetting program established in 2010.
Expressions of Interest close Thursday 23rd May, 2013 with the campaign expected to generate international buyer interest.
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