What's in a Name???

It's interesting, I have been with the company for a little over a year now and I never knew why we are called Bluegreen? Well now I know and want to share it with you...


The Story of the Naming of Bluegreen Corporation as told by Susan Saturday, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at a Town Hall Meeting in Boca Raton in 2003:
I would like to spend a few minutes telling you a story. As many of you do, I like stories. Stories help us build a shared experience and in this case, a group identity. Group identity is exactly what this story is all about.

So, as Shakespeare said, “what’s in a name?” Well almost everything can be named, has a name and into a name people can infer many things. A name conveys an image. A name conveys a feeling. A name conveys an identity to people, to things and to companies as well.

Our company was founded in the 1960s and one of its goals was to offer urbanites a piece of the American dream…land ownership. The strategy involved providing customers residential property within driving distance from major metropolitan areas but far enough away to relax and recreate. In the 1980s we went public and were experiencing rapid growth and expanded into over 25 states. Small sales and acquisition offices were popping up all over the country. Our leadership embraced the entrepreneurial spirit and developed an organization of entrepreneurs. The company achieved the praises of many, including being named to Forbes list of fastest growing companies!

By the early 1990s, George Donovan became our President and CEO. George brought a welcomed vision and direction to our organization. He recognized that timeshare and golf businesses were a wonderful compliment to our existing land company. Thus, we developed our first timeshare property in Tennessee. MountainLoft is set on a mountainside against the beautiful, colorful backdrop of the Smokey Mountains. The Resorts business was born in 1993. Simultaneously, our land division bought its first property in North Carolina dedicated to golf course and residential development.

In the mid 1990s, we were, in some ways, still the old land company with scattered inventory all over the United States but we were also a blooming timeshare company and oh yes, a golf course developer, too. Were we the same company anymore? Did our name reflect a brand image to our customers and vendors?

If you traveled within the United States you would encounter our offices all over the place but you would not know that we were one company, with one vision and a solid culture. We were Properties of the SouthWest in Texas, Carolina Land in North Carolina, Yellowstone Basin Properties in Montana, MountainLoft Resort in Tennessee.

We knew we had a great company and we knew we had a great vision. We also knew that we had changed and that we were not the same company of the past. We somehow lost our cohesive identity and George knew we needed a change. He sought the services of a consulting firm in Atlanta that specialized in name and brand identities. Their tag line was that they “think for a living.” George invited them to really get to know who we are and what we represent to ourselves, our customers and our communities.

Over a period of six to eight weeks, the consultants visited many sites, spoke to employees, questioned owners and walked our property. They witnessed the development process, the marketing and sales efforts and gained a thorough understanding of what we do. They came back to George and said, “we believe we understand who your company is – we understand your business, what you offer to your customers. You are in the business of dream fulfillment . You sell fun and lifestyle choices. You sell colorful places to live and play and we have a new name for you.” But before they unveiled it, the consultants asked George to close his eyes.

They set the scene asking George to think about the company’s office in Colorado and the view from your favorite lot. They asked him, “what do you see? Tell me. George said, “ trees, mountains, the sky.” They went on to ask, “when you think of the property in Missouri what do you see?” George said, “a lake, blue water, trees, etc.” Then the consultants asked, “when you think of two colors among the whole spectrum of colors that evoke good feelings, relaxation, fun….which two colors come to mind?” The two colors that came to mind were NOT Blue and Green! But, when this exercise was done with a test group, the results were overwhelmingly Blue and Green. Fortunately, a few other key executives did say Blue and Green as well.

“That’s your name”, the consultant’s said….”Bluegreen, with the tag line, Colorful Places to Live and Play.” Then the consultants unveiled a full advertising campaign for the company utilizing the new logo, new name and new tag line. After the approval of the Board of Directors was received, we began a communication campaign to all associates first, customers and shareholders, second. We held an all associate meeting at the Boca Raton office and George defined it as a “significant and momentous” event in the life of the company – and it was!

The Bluegreen logo is crisp and modern and it conveys a contemporary image. It is an image that evokes the right feelings to customers because it says it all experientially. Bluegreen, building colorful places to live and play and Bluegreen, colorful places to work!

The transition process took the entire year of 1996. We created new stationary, new product information, new subsidiary names and by the end of the year, every subdivision, resort and golf course carried the name of Bluegreen: Carolina National, A Bluegreen Golf Course; MountainLoft Resort, A Bluegreen Resort; Lake Ridge, A Bluegreen Community. Bluegreen’s brand identify was formed!

Bluegreen – colorful places to live and play! The name remains as strong and representative of who were are today as it was in 1996. That’s our company story. It is a great story and an on-going story. Embrace it, personalize it and most importantly share it.