The Gold Avenue Lofts in Albuquerque, New Mexico began it's brand development in late 2005. As part of Albuquerque's effort to revitalize it's downtown and bring in young affluent people to the area, developers came in and bought vacant buildings which has fallen into disrepair and gave them new life. GAL (Gold Avenue Lofts) were converted from an abandoned building into upscale residences and offices.

GraphicallyColby was brought in to create the look and feel of the lofts through their marketing materials. There were two distinct target audiences. The first was late 20's to mid 30's single professionals looking for the active nightlife the downtown had to offer. The other audience were offices and retail businesses who catered to these young professionals. The challenge was to create one set of marketing materials which fulfilled the needs of both groups.

This was accomplished by creating marketing materials which emphasized the living and retail units within the building and the shopping, dining and nightlife activities in the downtown area. Potential residents were then able to see not only the living areas, but learn about some of the activities which were in walking distance of their new home. Businesses looking to open an office or retail store at GAL, were able to judge by surrounding businesses the demographics of the area and determine if they were in sync with their target audiences. This became a very useful tool and helped to make sure the desired blend of people and businesses were established.

The marketing materials themselves were developed through much research. Target audiences were studied and designs were created to match the trends and culture of the intended audiences. Colors, fonts and images all had their purpose in attracting it's audiences. These gave potential residents a sense of already belonging. Designs were then given to the developer's marketing department who in turn passed these along to small focus groups. Feedback from the focus groups were then incorporated into the designs before the marketing materials were distrubuted.

The marketing materials involved both electronic and print media to reach as big a market base as possible. Upon completion the website was linked to various local and regional websites relating to the target demographics. Printed marketing materials were place stragegically in local and regional newpapers and magazines. Traffic patterns were studied and billboards were placed in areas where the desired groups were likely to travel. Billboards were also placed in the airport bagged claim areas to entice business persons returning from trips or potenital residents arriving.