Young gun leader gives developers real bang for their buck: Highlyann Krasnow, chief operating officer, The Developer Group.

The Developers Group likes to do things a bit differently from the rest. For evidence of this, one could look at the offbeat ad campaigns meant to attract the 25-40 year old demographic, or at the fact that the company's 70-plus employees--almost all of whom fit into the same demographic--not only work together, but often live mere floors or doors apart, inhabiting the very buildings The Developers Group markets and sells.

But for a true insight into what's different about The Developers Group, one should consult Roxy and Ripley, the youngest of their deputy vice presidents of sales & marketing. Problem is, you might not understand a word they say.

"They're dogs. Poodles," explained Highlyann Krasnow, 29, chief operating officer and executive vice president of The Developers Group.

The dogs are two of a handful of pets that add spice and chaos to the company's open-floor DUMBO headquarters, a place Krasnow, a native of the Lower East Side, describes as "insanely loud."

In the three years since she and chief executive officer Elan Padeh left the Corcoran Group to found The Developers Group, Krasnow has heard the roar in her office grow.

She and Padeh started the group with just one project, marketing The Bridge Condominiums in Vinegar Hill for The Kay Group. Now, The Developers Group is moving forward with more than 160 residential projects across the boroughs and tri-state area, as well as in Philadelphia and the outskirts of Boston.

The group's involvement in these projects is often not peripheral. Aside from playing the traditional roles as marketers, The Developers Group assists developers in finding and acquiring land, architects and designers to build a product that works for their target audience.

"Often when you hear about a building that's not selling, it's not that there's anything wrong with the building, it's that the designer wasn't designing for the building's market," Krasnow said. "We think it's important for [architects and designers] to understand who the project is being built for.

"Also, you want to get a return. You don't want to overspend on kitchen cabinets if the people moving in don't care much about kitchen cabinets."

The Developers Group does most of its work in the up and coming neighborhoods popular with young professionals aged 25-40. In other words, all of Brooklyn's western neighborhoods, Long Island City in Queens and whatever bits have yet to be developed in Manhattan.

To market these properties, the group has embarked in some unorthodox advertising campaigns.

For instance, one ad last January for the Hudson Condominiums near the Time Warner center showed the 20-story tower--looking especially phallic--along with the line, "You Know Where You Can Stick Your Bonus."

Krasnow said she knows such humorous, somewhat edgy ads are effective because they play well in The Developers Group office.

"We went with ads that we would appreciate and we, essentially, are our own target audience," she said. "One of our first buildings was The Gretsch Building on Broadway in Williamsburg. So many of us live there now."

When they're not working or living together, Developers Group staff sometimes vacation together. The day after Real Estate Weekly interviewed Krasnow, employees left for a company trip to Cape Cod.

But it's not all a party for Krasnow anymore. With her daughter Nyeah Lee Krasnow-Osorio not yet a year old, Krasnow is learning new things about being busy. "It's a crazy balance," she said. "'Just crazy."