Smart Marketing Runs in the Family for Hillwood Communities’ Taryn Dandurand

A career in marketing was in the cards for Taryn Dandurand. She was still a kid when her mom, Curran, founded Jack Black, the mega-successful men’s skin care line, in 2000. Early memories include sitting on her living room floor inspecting packaging labels.

“My mother was a huge inspiration for me. I saw what she built, and her drive and passion for marketing. I was just eight, but I knew what I wanted do.”

Inherited or not, Taryn put her marketing talents to work. The Dallasite’s first gig was doing large scale activations for an experiential agency in San Francisco. “During COVID, the industry got hit hard. None of our clients were doing big events.”

She returned to Dallas in 2020. At the time, real estate was thriving. A LinkedIn job posting for Hillwood Communities caught her attention.

“My parents were like, ‘This is a huge deal. It’s the best company in Dallas with an amazing reputation. You have to apply.’”

From the very first interview, Taryn was drawn to Hillwood’s top-down corporate culture.

“This is a Perot family company, founded by Ross Perot Jr. His morals, his integrity, the respect he has for everybody, regardless of what level you are, trickles down to everybody on the team.”

A job offer followed. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing the marketing for Hillwood’s Dallas area communities. “My role is creating compelling materials that sell our story.”

Currently, there are four active Dallas area developments: Pecan Square in North Lake, Harvest in Argyle and North Lake, Lilyana in Celina, and Union Park in Little Elm.

Variety in architectural styles is a company mandate.

 “We don’t want a cookie cutter community where every house looks the same. Our streetscapes are a unique selling point.”

The challenge is capturing each development’s unique vibe. “What we like to do is theme our communities, so each has a different feel. That’s been fun for me.”

Not to mention, rewarding. Last year, Taryn was named McSam Marketing Professional of the Year at the annual ceremony hosted by the Dallas Builders Association.

“I was literally shocked when they called my name. I think what made me stand out to the judges was just the sheer volume of things I’m managing,” she said.

In 2022 alone, her projects generated 1,134 sales. A promotion followed.

“It was very exciting. I was marketing associate and now I’m marketing manager. It’s always a good feeling to know that what you’ve spent so much time and effort creating is paying off.”

Future projects include Treeline by Hillwood — located in Justin, Texas, just west of Fort Worth — slated to open next year. Credit Taryn for the name and the tagline: Good land, good people, good place.

“We’re always thinking about the future — our brand, our Realtor relationships, and our builder clients,” she said. “We want to create communities our residents will love to live in, not just now, but for generations to come.”