Keeping ahead of the trends reshaping property

Property is changing. No longer defined by bricks and mortar, location, occupancy cost or value, increasingly property is a combination of diverse elements, from brand, place and community to technology, wellbeing and amenity.

Nowhere is this change more evident than in the office sector - and it is reshaping how we think about property PR.

As work life and home life converge, the next generation of talent aspire to work in offices which reflect their lifestyle aspirations, not just their career ambitions. They spend longer hours there than previous generations and they work in a style that thrives on creative informality, collaboration and post-work networking.

Work and associated social lives now permeate beyond the confines of the office building into the surrounding coffee shops and open spaces (enabled by digital connectivity), so office developments increasingly need to deliver places with vibrant environments, independent retail, the latest food and beverage and a “vibe” that competes with rival locations.

Courier Live brought hundreds of entrepreneurs and start-ups into Trilogy Real Estate’s new east London creative campus Republic (Image credit: Courier Media)

The demand is as much for work ‘places’ or ‘environments’ as it is for office buildings. Beyond this human dimension, corporate occupiers demand increasing levels of alignment between their brands and the location, style and quality of their offices. This is as true of the quirky industrial conversions as the award-winning headquarters.

This means concerns about attracting talent to a building and how a workplace is aligned with a brand are now in the minds of business decision makers as much cost, design and lease terms. The appeal of an office to the end-user depends on how well it keeps pace with changes and advancements in each of the diverse elements that now define it. A good building in a good location is no longer enough.

Change happens quickly. The aspirations and tastes of new generations can be fickle and fashion-driven. Technology’s impact on work and life is unceasing and the worlds of work, workplace and work style are being re-evaluated constantly.

For a developer whose assets are built for decades, providing for the needs of office users today and into the future has never been more challenging. And buildings are only a part of the story. Place and community, both decisive factors in successful leasing and enduring asset value, are as vulnerable to change as the buildings that sit within them.

A place that fails to keep pace with change becomes vulnerable to competition.

“Change happens quickly. The aspirations and tastes of new generations can be fickle and fashion-driven. Technology’s impact on work and life is unceasing and the worlds of work, workplace and workstyle are being re-evaluated constantly. ”

To reflect this changing world – and to better influence it, property PR must change too. No longer a simple matter of press releases or building launches, property PR has become a complex amalgam of connections, conversations, thought leadership, momentum, events, experiences, and building an identity and sense of place.

At ING we pride ourselves on staying ahead of this change. As the leading communications agency for the built environment, ING is the only agency that merges a wide spectrum of specialisms to deliver a full integrated service for our client partners.

We offer both a market-leading communications delivery and a much broader and deeper strategic consultancy. We pride ourselves on our reach into diverse range of media, both print and digital, as well as key influencers, allowing clients to gain exposure and make connections far beyond the usual channels.  

But we also maintain close ties with the traditional property, architecture and business press to help clients reach their core target groups.

We curate events, engagement, activation and enlivenment campaigns, helping create a sense of place, as well as thought leadership programmes that can reshape a brand’s identity.

We aim to ensure clients are always at the cutting edge of property PR, digital media trends and wider cultural dialogues, helping them to create better places, better connections and to drive meaningful change.

We work across the entire built environment, so we can better help clients define their place within it.

Get in touch to learn more about how we can help you thrive in this complex world.

joanna@ing-media.com
T: +44 (0) 207 247 8334