Using Multi-Year Insights to Shape Brand Strategy and Customer Engagement
A leading regional home builder partnered with The DRG and their full-service marketing agency to gain a deeper understanding of how its brand was perceived in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive housing market. As competition intensified, the builder recognized the need to build a data-driven understanding of its brand’s strengths, weaknesses, and position relative to competitors.
The company’s primary goals were to measure awareness and reputation over time, uncover emerging opportunities and challenges, and identify audience personas to enable more targeted and personalized marketing strategies. By tracking shifts in perception across multiple years, the builder hoped to refine messaging, strengthen its market position, and build deeper connections with prospective buyers and existing customers.
regional home builder
The Solution
The DRG conducted a multi-year brand perception study that captured how awareness, consideration, and perceptions of the builder shifted over time. Engaging both prospective buyers and existing customers provided a full view of the brand experience—from first impressions through the building process.
By tracking results across waves, the research identified where the builder was strengthening its reputation and where gaps were emerging relative to competitors. The study examined brand funnel metrics such as awareness, consideration, and likelihood to recommend, along with drivers of builder selection, perceptions of design, quality, and value, and satisfaction with communication and service.
To further personalize strategies, The DRG also developed buyer personas based on demographic, lifestyle, and needs-based differences. This combination of longitudinal data, competitive benchmarking, and persona insights equipped the builder and its agency with a clear roadmap for refining messaging, enhancing the customer experience, and strengthening its competitive edge.
The Wins
By leveraging multi-year insights, the home builder and its agency partner gained a clear, strategic view of how the brand was performing, where it was winning, and where gaps needed to be addressed.
Key outcomes included:
- Improved Messaging and Communication: A sharper understanding of audience priorities enabled the agency to refine messaging and highlight differentiators that resonate most strongly with buyers.
- Competitive Benchmarking: Clear visibility into where the builder led or lagged competitors provided actionable direction for strengthening its market position.
- Stronger Customer Relationships: Identifying service strengths and areas for improvement created opportunities to deepen trust and loyalty among both prospective and current customers.
- Future Strategy and Foresight: Longitudinal data revealed not just a snapshot of brand health, but long-term trends—equipping leadership with the foresight needed to anticipate shifts in buyer expectations and stay ahead of the competition.
Armed with these insights, the builder was able to refine its marketing and engagement strategies, strengthen its reputation, and position itself for sustained growth in a highly competitive market.
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