09/24/2026
When traveling, I always look around at my surroundings to see what catches my attention. On this trip, it was a sign for a growing neighborhood development in Montgomery, Alabama, called Hampstead. I noticed the attractive neighborhood signs on the way to Tuscaloosa, but it was on the ride home when I was able to slow down a bit and take a closer look. The well-branded sign out front read "Hampstead: From the designers of Seaside, Alys Beach, and Rosemary Beach."
As a fan of good urban design, I knew exactly who they were talking about. It was a reference to the great urban planners at Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ). The DPZ team is widely regarded as some of the best town designers in the world. I studied their work in grad school and have enjoyed many trips to the coastal communities they designed in Northwest Florida -- the same ones referenced on the Hampstead sign.
The sign out front caught my attention because that little phrase referencing Seaside, Alys, and Rosemary was a great example of a persuasion tool called a schema. It's a useful marketing device that ties something curious, like an urban mixed-use village in Montgomery, to something familiar, like a popular beach town a few hours south. What the marketing team was really telling people was, "It's like Seaside, but in Montgomery."
Businesses use schemas like this all the time. In fact, the more complicated the product, the more valuable an easy-to-understand schema can be. When we talk about making a story clear, memorable, and repeatable, a schema is a great way to achieve that. Based on the number of homes I saw in Hampstead, I'm guessing the trick is working pretty well.
If you can create a great experience and make it feel familiar to your customers, you'll probably find success...
Revell Media: it's like having a Hollywood agent, but for your brand.
