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Allen Tate —
Big Open House Campaign

Seasonal Campaign Design | Print & Digital Assets

Role: Graphic Designer | Year: 2023-2024

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Overview

The Big Open House campaign is a bi-annual initiative hosted by Allen Tate Realtors every spring and fall to drive traffic to open house events across the region. My role was to design a full suite of materials that promoted the event and equipped agents with tools to generate buzz and attract potential buyers both online and offline.

Objectives:

To design a cohesive set of promotional assets that:

  • Increased awareness of open house dates and participation

  • Provided agents with flexible, on-brand templates

  • Visually represented the seasonal tone of each campaign (Spring and Fall)

  • Maintained consistency across various print and digital formats

Designer Comparing Samples

Research & Strategy

The Big Open House campaign was developed around Allen Tate’s key seasonal moments, spring and fall, when open house interest typically peaks due to warmer weather, school year timing, and increased inventory. Our strategy was guided by both internal agent feedback and broader real estate behavior trends to ensure the creative supported business goals and audience needs.

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Key Insights That Informed Strategy:

  • Timing is Everything: Spring and fall were high-opportunity windows based on Allen Tate’s internal data and national buying trends. Our materials needed to create a sense of timeliness and urgency.

  • Agent Empowerment: Many Allen Tate agents balance personal branding with corporate campaigns. Assets had to be flexible, branded yet easily customizable, so agents could make them feel personal without stepping outside of brand guidelines.

  • Buyer Attention Spans: Home shoppers typically skim or scroll quickly, especially online. Designs had to be clean, legible, and emotionally engaging at first glance.

  • Neighborhood-Driven Visibility: For buyers not actively searching online, door hangers and local signage were crucial in creating buzz and driving unexpected traffic to open houses.

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Visual Strategy:
Each seasonal launch was guided by distinct but related visual themes of floral and airy for spring, warm and grounded for fall, while maintaining consistent structure, layout, and typography. We emphasized date visibility, neighborhood atmosphere, and a call-to-action that made open house attendance feel like an event, not just a sales pitch.

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Target Audience & Personas

Understanding who we were designing for allowed me to create materials that served the needs of both the buyer and the agent. By considering each user’s priorities of convenience, clarity, and accessibility meaning that I could tailor formats and visuals that helped the campaign perform effectively across platforms

and regions.

Businesswoman

1. The Busy Agent
Demographic: Allen Tate Realtors with multiple listings, little time for self-promotion
Lifestyle: Needs marketing-ready templates and tools
Design Consideration: Editable templates, consistent branding, straightforward asset structure

Working from Home

2. The Weekend Explorer
Demographic: Ages 28–35, newly married or starting a family
Lifestyle: Curious home shoppers who may not be fully committed to buying, but are exploring neighborhoods and options
Design Consideration: Bold but friendly messaging, visuals that create a sense of invitation and discovery

1. Conceptualization

The initial phase of the design process centered around establishing a strong visual and messaging foundation for the Allen Tate Big Open House Campaign. This involved several key considerations:

1.1 Seasonal Color Palettes and Iconography

To ensure the campaign resonated with potential homebuyers and reflected the current market conditions, seasonal color palettes were incorporated. This meant adapting the visual theme to align with the season the open houses were being held.

 

  • Spring/Summer: Brighter, more vibrant colors were used, such as greens, blues, and yellows, to evoke feelings of freshness and new beginnings. Iconography included flowers, blooming trees, and images of outdoor living spaces.

  • Autumn: Warmer, earth-toned colors like oranges, reds, and browns were employed to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Iconography featured familiar imagery such as autumn leaves.

1.2 Quick-Read Messaging

Recognizing that potential homebuyers often have limited time and attention, the messaging was designed to be concise and easily digestible. The focus was on conveying essential information quickly and effectively.

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  • Event Dates: Clearly displayed and prominently featured to ensure potential attendees could easily identify when the open houses were taking place.

  • Locations: Presented in a clear and concise manner, using recognizable landmarks or addresses to help people find the properties.

  • Key Selling Points: Highlighting the most attractive features of the properties in a brief and compelling way.

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2. Asset Planning

The asset planning phase involved creating a comprehensive system of campaign elements that could be easily scaled and adapted across various mediums. This ensured consistency and efficiency throughout the campaign.

 

Master System of Campaign Elements

 

A master system was built to ensure all campaign elements were cohesive and aligned with the overall brand identity. This included:

 

  • Layered PSD and INDD Templates: These templates were designed to be easily editable by agents, allowing them to customize the materials with their own contact information and property details. The layered structure ensured that changes could be made quickly and efficiently without compromising the overall design.

  • Adaptable Layouts: Layouts were designed to be adaptable to various formats, including vertical, horizontal, and square. This allowed the same core design to be used across different platforms and mediums without requiring significant rework.

  • Unified Type Treatment and Branding: A consistent type treatment and branding were applied across all campaign elements to maintain a cohesive and professional look. This included using the same fonts, colors, and logo placement throughout

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3. Execution

The production phase involved creating the various marketing assets needed to support the Allen Tate Big Open House Campaign. Each asset was designed to be visually appealing, informative, and effective in driving attendance to the open house events.

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Assets Designed

The following assets were designed and produced as part of the campaign:

 

  • Event Calendars: Monthly views with clearly marked open house weekends. These calendars were designed to be visually appealing and easy to read, with prominent highlighting of the open house dates.

  • Postcards: Eye-catching, informative mailers with a strong call to action (CTA). These postcards were designed to grab attention quickly and provide potential homebuyers with the essential information they needed to attend the open houses.

  • Social Media Graphics: A range of graphics designed for use on social media platforms, including:

    • Countdown Posts: To generate excitement and anticipation leading up to the open house events.

    • Banners: To promote the open houses on social media profiles and pages.

    • Story Slides: To provide a quick and engaging overview of the open houses in a visually appealing format.

  • Door Hangers: Physical reminders designed to catch attention quickly. These door hangers were designed to be eye-catching and informative, with a clear call to action.

  • Web Banners: Designed in various IAB-standard sizes to be used on websites and online advertising platforms. These banners were designed to be visually appealing and to drive traffic to the Allen Tate website.

  • Office Posters: Large-format signage for internal promotion and public display. These posters were designed to promote the open houses within Allen Tate offices and in public spaces.

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This comprehensive approach to design and production ensured that the Allen Tate Big Open House Campaign was visually appealing, informative, and effective in driving attendance to the open house events. The use of seasonal color palettes, quick-read messaging, and a scalable asset system contributed to the overall success of the campaign.

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Printable Door Hanger Template

Outcomes:

  • High agent engagement and utilization of materials for both spring and fall launches

  • Consistent brand presence across physical neighborhoods and digital spaces

  • Strong buyer turnout during each Big Open House weekend

  • Positive feedback from agents citing ease of use and visual appeal of materials

Reflections:

This campaign highlighted the importance of modular, scalable design. Working across both seasonal versions required creative versatility while keeping everything on-brand and user-friendly. I especially enjoyed balancing bold seasonal visuals with clean layouts that made event details accessible at a glance.

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