Technology Bit by Byte
Oct 1, 2007 12:00 PM
W/S Development's shift to paperless presentations.
By Beth Mattson-Teig
W/S Development leasing reps are wowing prospective tenants with an electronic presentation called Property Portfolio. The high-tech process allows the firm to quickly access volumes of information and images on the company's portfolio of 75 properties.
Chestnut Hill, Mass.-based W/SDevelopment, partnered with Beehive Media, a Boston-based technology firm, to create Property Portfolio — an easy-to-navigate Flash-based presentation system. Data ranging from lease plans and detailed maps are displayed using Adobe FlashPaper, a product that allows users to zoom in directly on specific areas of a plan or map with far more precision than they could with a PDF.
“It is very efficient and cutting edge,” says Mark F. Sweetser, vice president of real estate at Gap Inc. in Waltham, Mass. “It is a great way to present projects…. And, I think, it is several steps ahead of what other developers are doing.”
In the past, W/S Development — like most developers — relied on oversized paper-based materials to present information to prospective tenants. “Sales reps were carrying these things around just like encyclopedia salesmen,” says David Fleming, corporate marketing director at W/S Development.
The new system is much more streamlined. Retail properties are organized by state, and individual property pages contain demographic data, property features, maps, aerials and lease plans, as well as photos or renderings. In fact, the equivalent amount of data in a PowerPoint presentation would consume about 600 pages. Using W/S Property Portfolio, reps can move through data rapidly and in random order.
“This is similar to maneuvering on the Web in that you can click and get around quickly,” Fleming says. The user can easily move from image to image and property to property with immediate results. The user can also click on images to zoom in and out on the view. W/S can show an aerial photo of a shopping center and then zoom in to show features such as a particular road or access point.
While the technology doesn't eliminate the need to go and visit the site, the electronic format has a wealth of information, notes Don Kuszmar, development director for the northeast for New York-based Barnes & Noble Inc. “It definitely helps you get a better overall picture of the location with the site plan, how it ties into other roads and what other businesses are nearby,” he says.
The W/S Development Property Portfolio was unveiled at the ICSC Spring Convention in Las Vegas in May 2007.
Since the trade show, the presentation has become the primary vehicle for the W/S Development leasing team to market its retail property portfolio.
“I think there is always going to be a role for paper in this industry, especially when you're looking at site plans and maps,” Fleming says. “But when you can move things to an electronic format, it opens more opportunities to do more and show more properties, and it is more portable.”
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
