22 June 2021
A Coffee with Rossco Karabelas
Following the completion and settlement of our latest project together, Caspian, we caught up with the (former) blonde legend himself - Rossco Karabelas, co-founder and director of Studio White Noise to discuss his work on Willow and the future of the creative and marketing space for property.
What do you feel is the most important thing to have in any property campaign?
Couple of things spring to mind, but it's all about knowing who you are targeting. If you don’t know who your end user is, you’re flying pretty blind. It's all about the end user, and I think some campaigns seem to forget that.
For Willow, we made sure to lean into the demographic, making sure we spoke to the points the clients were looking for in their “forever” home; well thought out, well designed, and considered.
Second piece is to be authentic; once you've sorted out WHO you are marketing to, how do you connect with them in a real way, what's going to get their attention, how will they perceive the project? This for me is the magic, connecting with people in a real way but still keeping in mind we have a product to sell.
What attracted you to the Willow, Brighton project the most?
The way it was described was exciting; a small boutique project, design led by the ethos of biophilic design and in a competitive corridor. By far, these are great ingredients to start with.
We knew we had to really go that extra mile.
We knew we had to really go that extra mile.
Generally though, I really appreciate projects [and clients] that entertain big ideas.
How would you describe your design philosophy? Does Studio White Noise have a particular style?
Not a particular style perhaps, but a mindset that every project we do is unique to its setting, its design, and our client. Our goal is to make sure our creative is as unique as possible.
We tend to deep dive into the project's background or history, collaborate with the architects, interiors team, landscape architects, agents and our client to make sure we tease our everything we can and see where there is a consistent theme.
From there, it's about the spectrum of creative; how can we add in variations and details that will help tell the story of the project and connect to your buyers through language and visuals; what’s it called, what does it say - how does it look.
What are some things the industry could do better when it comes to marketing and creative?
Please stop using the words luxury and exclusive.
Digital vs. printed; what's your stance?
I think we have already transitioned to a digital focused experience, with 3D models being able to accurately show so much detail of any project, it's only a matter of time that traditional printed items will be phased out completely. All of our collateral for example is always optimised for a digital experience.
For now, it's striking a balance of both. We will still have clients who would prefer a tactile experience, they want to touch, feel and be enveloped within the space they intend to buy in; but even this is being challenged with VR, immersive experiences and augmented reality. Really an exciting time.