BHHS Chicago and the art of “making room”
Fresh on the heels of the resounding success of the BHHS Chicago Move Confidently campaign that Otherwise debuted in 2022, we have continued to celebrate the BHHS Chicago team and what makes them tick. The new campaign, which broke in early March with out of home, transit, digital and print, will run throughout 2023. This fresh creative remains proudly anchored by the Move Confidently tagline — the BHHS Chicago anthem — and rings evermore true today.
While we left some strong concepts on the cutting room floor, we experimented with a host of creative directions that celebrated real stories told by real people to demonstrate what it means to Move Confidently. By homing in on this universal way of sharing personal passions and experiences, we sought a direction that was relatable, resonant, accessible and of course, utterly human.
The campaign that has emerged is themed Make Room. More than simply a space to be occupied, the word “room” conjures images of opportunity, possibility and a life well-lived. Making room is an intentional act to build the kind of life you want, surrounded by the people and things that make you feel most at home. With references to both concrete and abstract ideas, Make Room is aspirational and unrestricted, an invitation that opens the metaphorical door to partner with BHHS Chicago.
We sat down with 12 BHHS Chicago agents in September 2022 and invited them to respond to this prompt:
When you think about the idea of “Making Room,” where do your thoughts take you? To a specific place in or around your home? To a place from your past that holds great memories? What are you making room for in your life? Where do you feel most yourself? In a few sentences, describe this space. How does it make you feel? How does it nurture your best self? It can be unfiltered and unpolished, but undeniably you.
What resulted from these personal musings was a collection of beautiful stories that speak to the inner lives of their authors. Armed with this rich fodder, we teamed up with Nick Slater, internationally-acclaimed illustrator, to design richly vibrant settings for the agents, who were photographed against these dreamscapes. What’s resulted is a wildly beautiful family album of sorts, captured in a colorful microsite.
So keep your eyes peeled across Chicagoland in the weeks and months ahead, and while enjoying how others “make room,” you just might want to think about what you do to live and dream, to play and rest, to connect and grow.
