2009 Sales & Marketing Awards
April 2009: Design 446 garnered 28 awards at this year’s Sales & Marketing (SAM) Award Gala. Presented by the New Jersey Builder’s Association (NJBA), the annual event acknowledges creative excellence in new home sales and marketing.

“It is an honor to be recognized by our peers,” said Tom Villane, President of Design 446. “As a company, we are all very proud of these accomplishments and we are grateful for the opportunity to produce creative marketing solutions for our clients.”

The firm was also on the winning team of six Community of the Year award recipients including:
- J.S. Hovnanian & Sons’ Villages at Aberdeen
- K. Hovnanian’s Jockey Club
- Matzel & Mumford’s Bayport on Lake’s Bay
- American Properties’ Mill Pond at Eatontown
- Pulte Homes’ Water’s Edge at Point Pleasant
- Matzel Development’s Bristol Station

The Big Book of Green Design
February 2009: Design 446 is featured in The 2009 edition of The Big Book of Green Design, a 384-page collection of eco-friendly designs. The Harper Collins publication spotlights companies that have taken steps toward “going green”, individual designers who use eco-friendly materials and green-inspired marketing materials.

Design 446 will be recognized for a magazine ad promoting the firm’s environmentally friendly marketing capabilities and for the “Green Issue” of Raising Standards magazine, a homebuilding industry magazine which was redesigned and edited by Design 446.

Design 446 FAME Award Winners
February 2009: Design 446 garnered 26 Fabulous Achievement of Marketing Excellence (FAME) Awards at this year’s celebration.

Design 446 was also on the winning team of four Community of the Year award winners including Matzel & Mumford’s Four Seasons at Stone Harbor, Bayport on Lake’s Bay and Crescent Court. Design 446 also participated in the Rental Community of the Year winning effort put forth by Matzel Development’s Bristol Station.

“Congratulations to all of our clients who won awards this year,” said Tom Villane, President of Design 446. “We are honored to have had our work acknowledged by our industry peers.”

Villane and the Design 446 team were specifically honored with Best Marketing Strategy for their “Have Your Cake and Eat it Too” campaign announcing the company’s January 2008 merger with Image Maker Associates.

See a complete list of our winning entries.

Design 446 Earns 3 Design Awards
January 2009: Design 446 was recently honored with three American Graphic Design Awards, presented by Graphics Design, USA Magazine.

The awards acknowledged three Design 446 self-promotion pieces including a full color magazine ad that focused on “Green Advertising”; the invitation for a special event titled, “The Grass is Always Greener” and a targeted mailer, titled “Recipe for a Great Summer” which was presented in a recipe book format.

“Being recognized by Graphic Design USA is extremely gratifying,” noted Design 446 President, Tom Villane. “We are very proud of all three projects. Our creative team put a lot of effort into the campaigns and we were pleased when they were well received by the target markets.”

Design 446 Creative Director, Brian Stern added that the award-winning projects were not only effective, but also fun to produce.  He noted that The “Grass is Always Greener” invitation included a swatch of Astroturf and the “Recipe for a Great Summer” mailer offered some interesting seasonal drinks and dishes.

“Our creative department loves the challenge of designing pieces for our own use. We not only have to communicate a message, but demonstrate our artistic capabilities, as well,” Stern explained.

Design 446 looks ahead for New Jersey & Company Magazine
December 2008: Design 446 was recently asked by New Jersey & Company Magazine to share what the future holds for housing industry marketing in an article titled “Designing the Dream: Design 446 weaves disparate elements to attract homebuyers”.

Design 446 President, Tom Villane discussed the importance of innovative ideas and the impact that technology has had on the marketing industry. “Clearly, the future of cost-effective marketing will be electronically driven,” explained Villane.

One example discussed in the story was Design 446’s use of interactive sales office kiosks. “We have developed and easy-to-use-and-navigate software application specifically for new home builder sales offices that allows potential buyers to take instant in-home virtual tours,” Villane explained.  “They choose the model most appealing and the salesperson takes it from there. This is a major innovation and we have installed these kiosks in approximately 30 sales offices within the last two or three years.”

“The market is more challenging and the bar has been raised for creativity in our company and in the industry. We must always adapt to ensure that maximum traffic is generated, even with shrinking budgets,” Villane said.

Design 446 Honored with National Award
December 2008: Design 446, recently earned a Silver Award for Best Marketing Promotion at the 2009 National Sales & Marketing Awards, presented by the NAHB, for the company’s “The Grass is Greener at Design 446” promotion. Design 446 is now a finalist for a Gold Award which will be presented at this year’s convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by our peers, especially on a national level,” said Tom Villane, President of Design 446. “This specific promotion combines several of our capabilities and we are very proud to have been acknowledged.”

The “Grass is Greener” promotion consisted of print invitations, E-mail blasts and an open house-style event consisting of personal tours of the Design 446 facility and giveaways all reflecting the “Grass is Greener” theme.

“The invitations were a big hit with our guests,” explained Villane. “They were designed with an Astroturf backing. We received a lot of favorable feedback from those invited.”

Design 446 Earns Two Creativity Awards
October 2008: Design 446 garnered two honors for Consumer Website at the 37th Annual Creativity Awards. The company’s electronic marketing team, lead by Creative Director, Brian Stern, was recognized for their work on both the JP Barry Hospitality’s Oyster Point Hotel website and Eastman Companies’ Livingston Town Center website. Both of these websites were included in the Creativity 37 Design Annual, published by Harper Collins.

“I am very proud of the electronic marketing team,” said Design 446 President, Tom Villane. “These two sites are representative of the talent, fresh ideas and capabilities of our web design department.”

“We endeavored to design both sites in a matter that is visually pleasing, easily navigated and user-friendly,” explained Stern. “While our primary objective is always to meet our clients’ needs, it is very satisfying to be acknowledged by our peers.”

A volunteer panel of advertising and design professionals, promoting the tradition and respect that makes receiving an award a significant experience, judge the Creativity Annual Awards. Categories range from magazine photography to consumer websites, logos, and trademarks.