Edward Andrews Homes is proud to announce that the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association Sales and Marketing Council presented the company with 15 awards – 13 Gold and two Silver – this past Saturday at the 35th Annual OBIE Awards ceremony. As the premier awards program for Atlanta’s home building industry, the OBIEs recognize excellence in more than 100 home building, marketing, remodeling and personal achievement categories. Edward Andrews’ 2015 achievement sets a new company record for the most OBIE wins in a single year, topping Edward Andrews’ previous record of eight OBIE wins, which occurred in 2014.
“We are absolutely thrilled at the result of this year’s OBIEs, and we view our great success as evidence of Edward Andrews’ strong impact on the Atlanta home building industry,” said Edward Andrews CEO Paul Corley. “Our team won almost twice the number of OBIEs than we’ve ever won before, and in key categories like Marketing Director of the Year, Best Design Center, Best Model Home/Sales Office and Community of the Year – Detached. With additional wins in other marketing and building categories, there’s no doubt that Edward Andrews really made its mark at the OBIEs this year.”
Highlights of Edward Andrews’ Gold OBIE awards include:
Marketing Director of the Year
Caroline Simmel, Edward Andrews’ senior vice president of marketing, oversaw the formation and implementation of key marketing initiatives recently, including the branding and launch of the company’s new Design Center and Exact Design Experience as well as the development of industry-leading digital tools, advertising campaigns and new corporate and community collateral materials. Over the last year, under Caroline’s guidance, Edward Andrews secured 4,300,000+ media impressions; increased website leads from approximately 503 per month to an average of 1,098 per month; garnered an impressive array of awards, including the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Pacesetter Award and the Georgia Fast 40 Award; and was named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Top Workplaces 2015 list.
Best Design Center
Edward Andrews’ Design Center offers a technology-driven and approachable design experience to deliver homes that meet each buyer’s design preferences, lifestyle, budget and timeline. Once buyers complete a digital Style Quiz and Lifestyle Questionnaire, they visit the state-of-the-art design center for the company’s Exact Design team to present a curated array of selections that align with their tastes as outlined in the Style Quiz. Instead of being overwhelmed with countless options, customers can comfortably approach the design experience and make more confident decisions.
The Design Center offers unparalleled aesthetics, pairing natural elements with muted tones and creating a design-neutral look to avoid influencing customers. A two-story ceiling of open beams complements the elegantly rustic workstations below, centered around individual flat screens for viewing digital floor plans, renderings and inspirational images. Additionally, the Design Center includes private design labs, conceal-and-reveal cabinetry with samples, a serving bar and a relaxing patio with an outdoor fireplace. Prospective buyers and Realtors are encouraged to visit the Design Center and can arrange to do so by visiting www.eahomes.com/design-center.
Best Model Home/Sales Office
Through its clean, sleek design, Edward Andrews’ sales center concept, demonstrated at Preserve at Reed Mill, conveys how the company uses technology to reimagine the custom homebuilding experience in each of its communities. This integration of digital technology, including interactive floor plans and a custom Edward Andrews touchscreen TV platform, into each of its onsite sales centers highlights the role technology plays in its design/construction process. By educating prospective customers through videos, a flex floor plan system and curated community information and imagery, Edward Andrews succeeds in differentiating itself from competitors and increases buyers’ confidence from their first impression, thereby increasing sales.
Community of the Year – Detached
Edward Andrews’ and Ryland Homes’ Bridleton community offers the perfect balance of style and functionality that active, affluent families desire in the South Forsyth area – including keeping rooms, gourmet kitchens, media rooms, outdoor living areas and upscale details, such as coffered ceilings, upgraded lighting and trim packages, and herringbone-patterned floors. Fulfilling its role as a master planned community with a private swim-and-tennis amenity while blending into the adjacent park, Bridleton has become one of the top-selling communities in all of the metro Atlanta area.
Best Website – Builder/Developer
Edward Andrews’ website is a homebuyer-focused builder site that combines information about the company’s communities and home offerings with a detailed overview of its unique process and Exact Design Experience. Just as Edward Andrews has transformed a typical custom home building process that is complicated, costly and unpredictable into a home building experience that is simplified and managed every step of the way, so too has its digital presence evolved. Recent updates to the site are designed to make it even more user-friendly – a robust Ready Now Homes search, a re-organized navigation tool, additional videos and a greater focus on community lifestyles all enhance the experience for visitors. Experience the difference at eahomes.com.
Best Interactive Tool – Builder/Developer
The digital tools available in Edward Andrews’ Exact Design Experience help the company get to know buyers in an entirely unique way. The Style Quiz uses Meyers-Briggs-type logic and a matrix of algorithms to calculate accurate results based on design aspects and buyers’ tastes, while the Lifestyle Questionnaire provides valuable information about who will live in the home and how the home will be used. In addition, an online Resource Center completes the suite of digital tools available and serves to help educate each buyer. Together, the pieces contribute to a uniquely personalized and efficient design experience, ensuring that a home meets the buyer’s design preferences, lifestyle, timeline and budget.
Edward Andrews received additional 2015 OBIE awards in the following categories:
Gold OBIE Awards
- Single Family Builder – Detached (Builds 50+ Homes/Year) $400,000 to $499,000: Edward Andrews’ Collingswood community
- Best Landscape Design – Community: Edward Andrews’ Manor North community
- Best Amenity Package 499 Units and Under: Edward Andrews’ Manor North community
- Best Interior Merchandising – Detached Model $300,000 to $449,999: Edward Andrews’ Preserve at Reed Mill community
- Best Interior Merchandising – Detached Model $750,000 and above: Edward Andrews’ Manor North community
- Best Audio Video/DVD Promotion: Edward Andrews’ Design Center Video
- Best Brochure – Builder/Developer: Edward Andrews’ Exact Design Experience Brochure
Silver OBIE Awards
- Best Audio Video/DVD Promotion: Edward Andrews’ Motion Graphic/Process Video
- Best Magazine Ad
Edward Andrews currently offers 13 communities of single-family homes across North Atlanta and will be launching five new single-family and townhome communities in the coming months. For more information about Edward Andrews’ offerings in North Fulton, East Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth and Gwinnett counties, visit www.eahomes.com/communities.