We know you guys read the blog and the forums, and some of you even participate without revealing who you are. It is time the elephant quit hiding in the room. Come out and join us.

Your customers want to know you. They want to know what you are doing and why you are doing it. It affects your customers; it affects us.

We are your customers. We buy your houses, rent your apartments and shop at your shopping centers. When you set out to create a great community, you did it for us. We know what we like and what we don’t like, and here we talk about it.

This is an opportunity for you. Come to the blog and our forums and participate. Identify yourselves as who you are. Don’t try to disguise that you may have a bias or you will eventually get caught and it will be worse. If you speak the truth with authenticity, people will accept that you may be biased, but your information is good and truthful. People are here for good information.

We talk about what you do, and we speculate because we have no other sources of information. If you are not participating in our conversations, or if we do not know who you are, you cannot correct bad information when it gets presented. It is one thing to be damned for who you are, but it is another to be damned for who you are not. Talk to us. Give us good information, and we will be a happier community.

We also provide you a great mechanism for getting feedback directly from your customers and your potential customers. You can go pay for market data and studies, or you could ask questions directly to your customers for free in our forums. People will respond. Sometimes we get so bored that we start silly threads that are the online version of chit chat. If you give us something to talk about, it will be welcomed.

I am sincere in this invitation. No tricks. No agenda. Just an invitation for you to come join our community and make it better.

I also invite each member of our community to be open to anyone from The Irvine Company who identifies themselves on the blog or the forums. Call the BS, but embrace the truth.

If you want to contact us. I can be reached at irvinerenter@irvinehousingblog.com and Zovall can be reached at zovall@irvinehousingblog.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

TenMagnet = Donald Bren???

Hey, I just want to know what’s up with all the orange in Woodbury?

Irvine Renter.

Its a nice idea. But your never going to get a response and you know it.
Like asking the CIA if it even exists. The silence is all you can expect.

Your a little fly buzzing around their face. And god forbid if they wanted to swat you.
Some guy would walk up to you with a small offer you cant refuse. And POOF. This website and its content is vapor in a minute.
Your going to sign a non disclosure and adios. They could bury you in legal paper work at the drop of a hat if you refuse.

I think your better off leaving a sleeping dog alone. He has very big teeth.

Friday night at 9pm.  I’m calling it.  IR is drunk…and overly optimistic. 

Anyone acknowledging themselves as Irvine Company employees may as well sign their own pink slips. 

A valiant effort nonetheless.

Cuatro - 18 July 2009 09:19 AM

Friday night at 9pm.  I’m calling it.  IR is drunk…and overly optimistic. 

Anyone acknowledging themselves as Irvine Company employees may as well sign their own pink slips. 

A valiant effort nonetheless.

I don’t think IR drinks. At least I have never seen him drink, and I have offered him some good wine before. Although, he has mentioned in his past he has been known to have knowledge of the outcome of too much alcohol.

But, I would love to hear from the 500 or so hits a day we get from TIC employees. Like IR said, be honest and cut out the BS, and we will treat you with respect. Well… no_vas might give you a good ribbing, but come on… he has done that to everyone, including me. It is just one part of being in this community as a whole. I think we have proven to love those who provide pertinent info, see the bashing of IR2, Ipo, and IHO as examples. They managed to survive, and now provide a wealth of info.

BTW, this is not the first time TIC has been called out to participate. Obviously they are reading here, now they should really focus on some true feedback. Bigger lots you biatches! I don’t want to see IHO’s ugly a$$ from my bathroom window even if we both have the three car garages we want, and you TIC employees would want that either… trust me… you just don’t.

You’re not getting bigger lots Graph

TIC has a product, they market it.

Personally, I miss the older Irvine cheerleading days. The bubble implosion posts are nice but with over a year of them, the point is made.

So again, I’ll request a return to Community profiles. I know it’s a lot of work. But, community profiles of Irvine and substituion neighborhoods would simply be awesome in my book. If IHB’s sales arm mantra is comparables and rental equivalence, nothing is more enlightening than knowing what neighborhoods provide a substitute for the one you’re looking at.

But if TIC does join us, maybe someone can explain this:
Corporate Offices
Irvine Company
550 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

bltserv - 18 July 2009 06:39 AM

Like asking the CIA if it even exists. The silence is all you can expect.

You hit the nail on the head.  TIC is the most paranoid, secretive company on the planet.  The employees don’t even share information with each other for fear of running afoul of their nondisclosure rules. Good idea, never gonna happen.

Let me try to wear Irvine Company’s hat: what is the upside for me to openly join the discussions?

I see very few. This board is like free research for them. They are paying up to $500 / interview by engaging third party to ask the exact same questions to a potential buyer that IHB is discussing every day.

Coming to the open will put them in the position of answering consumer questions, and defending themselves. Why do that?

If I were the owner of the blog, I will be thinking about how to extract some tangilable value from Irvine company by potentially providing some structured unbiased consumer based research, and feedback. This needs to be done carefully in the background instead of doing it in the open. This is Irvine housing Blog, and Irvine company is THE player in Irvine. So teaming with them is something worth considering.

Just to be clear, I don’t know a single person who works for Irvine company. As a home owner, the very existence of Irivne company in Irvine is the one of the few reasons I became a homeowner in Irvine: mainly bc of their pricing and staying power in Irvine, which help to mitigate the down side risk better than most other cities. Newport, Laguna Beach have their nature downside risk mitigator which is ocean. Irvine has none of that.

IR you can always count on me to leave the IHB main screen on every IAC computer I visit… hopefully some manager will eventually get the message…

I think you might get a former employee to come out and speak freely.

Perhaps someone from one of the developers they work with.

irvine123 - 18 July 2009 04:32 PM

Let me try to wear Irvine Company’s hat: what is the upside for me to openly join the discussions?

Coming to the open will put them in the position of answering consumer questions, and defending themselves. Why do that?

I have been reading many books on marketing lately, and I have read two recently on social media marketing (Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow). I have been putting in my research time.

The upside for the Irvine Company is (1) the ability to directly assess the needs and wants of its customers, (2) they can correct misinformation, (3) they can add to the conversation and tell us some of the really cool things about Irvine that we don’t even know, (4) they get powerful word-of-mouth marketing at no cost.

They would not be here to answer complaints to take service actions, they have their own website and phone numbers for that.

The biggest advantage to the Irvine Company is for their marketing. They can spend millions of dollars broadcasting their message to the world, and they can reach many people and influence their decisions. However, anyone interested in Irvine real estate is likely to do a Google Search for an Irvine related topic, and a thread from this forum or a post on the IHB is going to come up. Our SEO makes it so people find us here. Once they find us, they can cut through the advertising messages and get answers from real people living real lives in Irvine. A response from this board will carry 100 times the weight of the Irvine Company advertising message. That is why they need to be here.

IMO, the Irvine Company would get a tremendous return on its marketing time and effort by having people only communicating with us on this forum. They won’t be able to control the message here, but they can help shape it by telling a compelling story that represents the truth of living in Irvine. This forum is one of the most powerful marketing voices because it is so real. All of us here believe in Irvine and what has been created as we choose to live here and live the dream. When the stories of marketing match the realities of the people living it, you have something very powerful. Participating here will help the Irvine Company make the most of it.

BTW, Zovall and I do not see this as a money making thing. We are not looking to partner with TIC or work out any financial arrangement. We want to promote this free community for all who wish to participate and make it be an authentic source of good information. We all benefit from that.

roundcorners - 18 July 2009 04:54 PM

IR you can always count on me to leave the IHB main screen on every IAC computer I visit… hopefully some manager will eventually get the message…

Do you get opportunity to visit IAC computers often?

It would be nice.  But TIC is an old dog.  I’m not saying it won’t learn new tricks…but the speed with which their marketing department will adapt to social media marketing will likely be glacial.

As far as former employees coming out to answer questions is concerned, I wouldn’t bet on that either.  I’m sure their employment package included pages of non disclosure agreements.  Why would a former employee chance getting an angry letter, or worse yet, a lawsuit from one of Orange County’s largest and most powerful companies?  If any former employees do post they likely intend to maintain their anonymity.  Why burn that bridge and open yourself up to such headaches?

Maybe things will change.  It would be nice.

No_Such_Reality - 18 July 2009 02:06 PM

But if TIC does join us, maybe someone can explain this:
Corporate Offices
Irvine Company
550 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

Would you want your offices on top of the spreading toxic plume? (Where’s Marsha when you need her?)

I have been reading many books on marketing lately, and I have read two recently on social media marketing

Reading up on how to become a Salesperson. My advice. Dont quit your dayjob.

You fail to remember that TIC has a captive product. They OWN THE LAND free and clear. They can take all the time in the world. Its like being the only drug dealer on the block. As long as you dont kill your customers with over supply. Your Fat. They have learned a lesson all great sales people learn. Dont Negotiate when you have no reason to. Just shut up. Be dumb.
And count your profits. TIC has this down to an artform. Over communication or Over Selling
and marketing is bad for pricing when there is NO real competition.

Great example is Pelican. They spent a Billion Dollars. 10-15% Occupancy and they still have the highest price per room around. And they DONT CARE. They just buried the St Regis.
TIC has the cash and the patience. They can see out 20-30+ years with a marketing plan.
Their balance sheet is in a world we little mortals cant comprehend.

IR.
Your little website is hardly on their radar. Your making the mistake that you think they
care. Trust me. They dont in the least. Why should they ? Their business is already booked
and they cant lose it.

IrvineRenter - 18 July 2009 05:14 PM

irvine123 - 18 July 2009 04:32 PM

Let me try to wear Irvine Company’s hat: what is the upside for me to openly join the discussions?

I have been reading many books on marketing lately, and I have read two recently on social media marketing (Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers, Free Prize Inside: How to Make a Purple Cow). I have been putting in my research time.

O/T

These are great books, IR.  I also recommend Seth’s blog if you are not reading it:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Sunshine - 18 July 2009 08:22 PM

No_Such_Reality - 18 July 2009 02:06 PM

But if TIC does join us, maybe someone can explain this:
Corporate Offices
Irvine Company
550 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

Would you want your offices on top of the spreading toxic plume? (Where’s Marsha when you need her?)

Maybe I just have a very sensitive sense of smell, but the patch of land right across the street, next to the library, reeks of chemical solvents on a hot day.

Corporations live forever. As far as I am concerned, the leadership now has been doing a great job.

Corporations are not moral entities, so they will comply with law, and if the law sucks, don’t be surprised if the results suck.

We live in a democracy and everyone has the right to be stupid.

Any employee would risk being fired if they identified themselves and posted anything that was not the company line.

bltserv - 18 July 2009 09:05 PM

Great example is Pelican. They spent a Billion Dollars. 10-15% Occupancy and they still have the highest price per room around. And they DONT CARE. They just buried the St Regis.
TIC has the cash and the patience. They can see out 20-30+ years with a marketing plan.
Their balance sheet is in a world we little mortals cant comprehend.

IR.
Your little website is hardly on their radar. Your making the mistake that you think they
care. Trust me. They dont in the least. Why should they ? Their business is already booked
and they cant lose it.

I remember about 1.5 years ago, I got letters from the Irvine Company inviting me to participate in their market research. They offered like 300 or 500 dollars for a two hour session. When I called, I failed the screening test. I failed because I didn’t fit the criteria of “ready to buy in next 12 months”. I don’t know if anyone here participated that market research session?

I think Irvine Company does care about this website to the extent that they can feel the pulse of the “ready buyers” to at least validate their marketing / product plans. Every Savvy consumer products company goes out of their way to find the “wants”, and “needs” in order to design and price their products. There is no exception with the Irvine Company regardless their balance sheet. Their balance sheet give them the staying power in the market place, the ability to take a longer view of the market place, and financial return.

For the rational IR listed:
(1) the ability to directly assess the needs and wants of its customers
they can do this just reading this blog, why come out of the shadow?

(2) they can correct misinformation
it is the common practice of multibillion firms not to comment on"rumor” or “misinformation”. Why? because it is once you engage, you don’t have the excuse of saying” we don’t comment on rumors” the next time.

(3) they can add to the conversation and tell us some of the really cool things about Irvine that we don’t even know
What is the benefit of telling you the “cool” things? Everything they want to tell the end customers are being said their carefully organized ads, and product roll out activities.

(4) they get powerful word-of-mouth marketing at no cost.
they are getting it anyway. If they engage, you ask questions they don’t want to answer, they get a black mark. There is no upside for them.

If I were Irvine company, I will never openly engage here as Irvine Company. And this decision is a easy one too.

All that being said, I still believe there are value for Irvine Company to engage here with careful arrangements.  I don’t believe partnering with irvine company is “sleeping with the enemy”.  As a consumer and home owner, I would view “realtors” & “title insurer”  more an enemy than anyone else.

Staying in the shadow has its benefit. The recent release pricing for Ivy was published in the media starting from the high 300’s but the feedback from IHB clearly expressed the benchmark $338/sf was rediculously high and the stealth data mining allowed the price setter to set a strategy that captured 15 sales in 10 minutes.

It is smart for TIC not to engage in an IHB dialogue as plans and strategy often changes the last minute like Ivy pricing. In the book the Art of War wisdom the rule is never to disclose your game plan but keep an alert watch over the opponents’ trail.

However, without getting into controversy TIC should take advantage of the opportunity here at IHB for press release as well as posting market research questions and especially in the arena of Asian 1.0 generation buyers that no other entities know more except here at IHB. Very few 1.0 generation Chinese participate in focus groups or surveys.

You know where to find me if you need to orchestrate a win win project to market to IHB members.

bltserv - 18 July 2009 09:05 PM

IR.
Your little website is hardly on their radar. Your making the mistake that you think they
care. Trust me. They dont in the least. Why should they ? Their business is already booked
and they cant lose it.

I don’t understand why you would say such a thing? Everytime I visit Irvine and speak with a TIC representative from IAC apartments, RE Agents, and random people I meet walking thru Irvine neigborhoods, I am suprised that most of them have heard of IrvineHousingBlog and many of them have visited the site. Purely from a standpoint of SEO for people searching for Irvine homes and Irvine Housing, IHB will kill TIC in the search rankings. I definitley think that IR and Zovall has something special here where most of here are potential customers of TIC, and a good company listens to and embraces their customers, unless they are so arrogant by their greatness that they don’t care. If I were IR and Zovall, I would definitely try to see if there is any interest from TIC to work with IHB to advertise through this channel.

I also don’t understand why IR and Zovall would have to apologize if they were trying to monetize on this site, because personally I believe they have every right to. I never understood the critics putting them down for trying to launch Irvine Housing Brokers, and it seems that the same critics are the ones saying that inviting TIC representatives to IHB is a bad idea where I think it is an excellent idea that could potentially take IHB to the next level. Some of the greatest content on IHB were made between Sept 2007 to the first half of 2008. Sometimes great content is not valued and considered cheap when it is offered for free. Honestly, when I was a newbie to the site, I would have no problems paying a membership fee ($5 or $10 a month) to join IHB. I would encourage Zovall to thinking about starting a small membership fee for the newbies so that the content and the education on this site is exclusive, valued, and respected.

Another off topic I would like to mention:

Zovall, I am not sure how you did on the IHB T-Shirt sales thru the site, but I think an ebook written by Irvine Renter that touches on exclusive strategy and content regarding Irvine Housing would sell to the audience here. For example “12 steps to successfully acquiring preforeclosure properties in Irvine.” An ebook with content that we cannot find anywhere else that relates to Irvine Real Estate. Zovall and Irvine Renter, don’t let small people with small minds try stop you guys from accomplishing big things.

Panda

There is SOOOOO much more to running, and owning a succesful business over the long haul than a simple website that gets hits.
Thats the problem with many business models. Some people make the mistake that a website is the end all, be all. They look at the hit meter
and think that should relate to Dollars in the Bank. Well that lesson was learned by many of us over a decade ago. It does not work that way.

I dont begrudge IR for trying to turn what is a great site, that I enjoy, into a living. But the reality is. It takes more than the site
itself. Going up and trying to get a relationship with the Irvine company in the manner he is attempting only makes his chances that much less.

Look at a company like Internet Brands. They own scores of these type of websites. Thats the business they are in. Mostly dealing with the Auto
Industry. I personally would think along the lines of taking all of these “Real Estate” discussion websites/Blogs and getting them all under one umbrella.
There is a business idea that could have some merit.

Then maybe you would have a type of marketing tool that could command an income thats worth discussion. Sure IHB gets you to the top Google when you
look at “Irvine Real Estate”. Now the magic is to turn that into cash. Otherwise its just Internet Vaporware.

Seriously. If IR wants to make some money. He needs to be involved within the Sales Transaction itself. Writing about it is not going to pay the bills
in this day and age.

I am not trying to be mean. Just playing devils advocate. Cracking a relationship with TIC would be a big coup for IR. This was not the way to go about it.

bltserv - 19 July 2009 04:23 PM

It takes more than the site itself. Going up and trying to get a relationship with the Irvine company in the manner he is attempting only makes his chances that much less.

Seriously. If IR wants to make some money. He needs to be involved within the Sales Transaction itself. Writing about it is not going to pay the bills in this day and age.

Cracking a relationship with TIC would be a big coup for IR. This was not the way to go about it.

I can’t agree more on this issue.  Mega companies operate differently than small firms, and you have to think like them if you want to deal with them.  I truly think a carefuly created relationship with the Irvine Company will serve all parties well.

bltserv - 19 July 2009 04:23 PM

Panda

There is SOOOOO much more to running, and owning a succesful business over the long haul than a simple website that gets hits.
Thats the problem with many business models. Some people make the mistake that a website is the end all, be all. They look at the hit meter
and think that should relate to Dollars in the Bank. Well that lesson was learned by many of us over a decade ago. It does not work that way.

Then maybe you would have a type of marketing tool that could command an income thats worth discussion. Sure IHB gets you to the top Google when you
look at “Irvine Real Estate”. Now the magic is to turn that into cash. Otherwise its just Internet Vaporware.

Seriously. If IR wants to make some money. He needs to be involved within the Sales Transaction itself. Writing about it is not going to pay the bills
in this day and age.

Bltserv, You are right, there were tons of .com companies that went bust in the late 90s because there was no solid conversion plan to convert the traffic, but i do see potential of how IHB can become a well known brand in Orange County. I see couple of quick potential opportunities where IHB website can generate cash flow on top of the google adsense and IHB T-Shirt sales.

1) membership fees for new registered users
2) Irvine Renter’s educational eBook sales
3) Charging Real estate agents to post up their ads here. Perhaps IHB can take cut on the agent’s commission on all sales leads generated from this site,
4) Ad revenue from Irvine home builders, 5) Ad revenue from small businesses operating in OC who want to advertise here
5) Becoming an affiliate publisher with Commission Junction or Linkshare selling Orange County real estate related products.
6) IR and Zovall manufacturing their your own unique real estate products that we may buy.
7) Carefully foster a goodwill relationship with the Irvine Company (Extremely important for IHB. Don’t try to fight the biggest fish in town, but figure out a way to partner with them).
8) By far, the greatest revenue opportuntity I see is the launch of Irvine Housing Brokers taking the brokerage commission from all the lead generation from this site.

If I was Jim Jennard, founder and CEO of Oakley and someone started an “I love Oakley Blog” where i can have immediate access to the voice of my customers I would definitely interested in accessing that marketing channel as long as the content on the blog does not damage my brand.

PANDA - 19 July 2009 05:36 PM

If I was Jim Jennard, founder and CEO of Oakley and someone started an “I love Oakley Blog” where i can have immediate access to the voice of my customers I would definitely interested in accessing that marketing channel as long as the content on the blog does not damage my brand.

But this isn’t exactly an “I Love TIC Blog.”  In fact much of the content directly challenges the value of their product.  Your metaphor would be a little more appropriate if the Oakley CEO had an opportunity to partner with an “I think Oakley is way overpriced and when people start realizing that, their prices will fall in line with reality, Blog.” 

While many people, including myself, find this site incredibly informative, I highly doubt TIC is interested in acknowledging the opinions of all the bears.  It just runs too contrary to the message they’re trying to get out.  A message they spend millions upon millions of dollars on each year.