Would You Buy A Condo From Ivanka at Trump Tower Chicago?
It is not a secret that Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump’s oldest daughter, is heavily involved in the marketing and selling of Trump Tower Chicago.
But in the last two weeks in the Chicago Tribune, Trump International seems to have shifted sales techniques and is now using Ivanka as their “brand.”
Trump has taken out a full page ad that shows Ivanka standing across the Chicago River on the River Walk with Trump Tower Chicago in the background. She is not in a suit but rather is dressed in some kind of white thigh high party dress and high heels. The ad states:
“To me, it’s Chicago’s perfect place. It’s the ideal location for an architectural icon. One that really here. Really happening and ready for you to move into next year.” – Ivanka Trump- The next generation of Trump style.
Is that a dig against the Chicago Spire- which will be taller than Trump and which is currently under construction about ten blocks away but has delayed its sales center opening until January of 2008? Sounds like it to me. But I digress.
Even if Trump thinks he may lose some sales to the Spire, the use of Ivanka is interesting. She is also prominently pictured on the Trump Chicago website. You see her picture before you ever see the Donald’s and she is featured front and center in several of the links within the main menu.
Are they trying to appeal to a younger new money crowd? I would think, given the price points in Trump Tower which range from $580,000 to $9 million for the residential condominiums, that the demographic is going to be skewed on the older side and that many residents will have a daughter Ivanka’s age- and not BE Ivanka’s age.
It’s an interesting sales technique for a building that is partially completed (the hotel on the bottom half of the building is slated to open in December 2007 but the spa, pool and other features won’t open until March 2008.) Several news sources have put sales of the condominiums at only 70% as of this month. With the real estate market slowing dramatically, how long will it take to sell the other 30%?