Southland Firms Dominate Annual MIRM Awards Again

Southern California firms again dominated the annual MIRM (member, Institute of Residential Marketing) awards for superior marketing and merchandising efforts by residential builders.

The awards were announced here during the convention of the National Assn. of Home Builders. The competition was developed by the trade group’s National Sales and Marketing Council nine years ago to increase the skill and effectiveness of new-home marketing personnel.

Newport Beach-based RecreaActions of California Inc. won the Grand Award for best overall marketing efforts for an attached-housing development. The development was Halcyon Del Mar, a San Diego townhouse project.

RecreaActions also won three of the 29 gold awards given out for such marketing components as brochures, advertising programs and interior merchandising. The firm brought home gold awards for best brochure for a development with an average sales price under $150,000, best color print advertisement of more than one page and best sales office under 600 square feet.

Other Southland firms winning gold awards were Watt Industries, Santa Fe, best brochure for a master-planned community or lot-sales program; Barratt-Irvine, Irvine, best corporate brochure; John Laing Homes, Laguna Hills, best radio commercial; BCE Development, Irvine, best television commercial.

Bryan Hardwick Associates, Palos Verdes, best special promotion by a builder with total volume of less than 125 homes a year; Shea Homes, Walnut, best sales office of more than 600 square feet; Reilly Homes, Newport Beach, best interior merchandising for detached development with average price under $150,000.

Also, Harlan Lee & Associates, Marina del Rey, best landscaping for a model complex/detached development, and Fred Johnson Investments, Santa Monica, best landscaping for a model complex/attached housing.