Avatar Holdings Changes Its Name, Business Plan

Avatar Holdings had its name long before James Cameron dreamt of a movie about blue people on a far-away planet, and before there was an Internet where home buyers could search for new homes. But, in the end, competing with the wildly popular movie’s name on Goggle and other search engines, proved to be an expensive and losing battle for the Florida-based community developer and home builder. It announced Wednesday that it is changing its name to AV Homes effective Thursday when the NASDAQ opens and its stock starts trading under the ticker symbol AVHI. “It was costing us a lot (to develop a search engine presence) we didn’t have to invest,” said Carl Mulac, AV Homes' executive vice president. “Research has shown that 60% of online surfers will only click on the first three listings. In most cases, we were fighting hard for a page three listing.” The company enlisted the help of real estate advisory firm RCLCO to help redefine the company’s business plans and rename it. “We developed a variety of different naming opportunities and that was the one that we thought tested best,” said Ken Plonski, AV's director of communications. “It clearly defines us as a home builder. That’s something that Avatar Holdings didn’t do.”

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