PR Tips for Real Estate

Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Banker

by Michelle

It is no secret that the media constantly reports that the real estate market is in decline – media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC make sure we do not forget the downward turn our economy is taking. It would be easy for real estate firms to throw in the towel and worry more about the effect of foreclosure on their bottom lines but many are taking a more positive spin, turning to marketing in order to try and boost the spirit of potential homeowners who are scared to enter a waning market.

Coldwell Banker, one of the nation’s largest real estate firms is doing just that. In an article I read recently in BrandWeek titled Coldwell Banker Returns to Roots in Humorous Campaign, author Steve Miller says that the firm is launching a new television and Web campaign designed to hit the funny bones of consumers. The new TV spots use reproductions of oil portraits of Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Banker who use quick wit to poke fun at some of Coldwell Banker’s client services. The spots will run on major network channels such as CNN, Fox, Hallmark, A&E, and HGTV.

The firm is also tapping into the social media world that is quickly rising to the forefront of marketing tactics. Coldwell Banker was the first company to create a national real estate website and incorporated the first real estate online video library into their marketing plan. They have stuck to those tried and true tactics that have made them one of the most successful real estate firms in the nation, using media sponsorship from HGTV and banners on Yahoo! and Google that will lead users to a new Web site http://www.founders.coldwellbanker.com designed to further pique consumer interest with quirky interactive options like a game of Pong or a staring contest with Benjamin and Colbert. Wanting to appeal to Gen-Y, who will soon be graduating college and looking to purchase real estate, Coldwell Banker is making posts on both Myspace and Facebook – social networking sights that could possibly gain the firm more exposure than any other medium.

I think this is a great move. While the rest of the media is constantly reminding us of how we will soon all be living in refrigerator boxes on the side of the road if the real estate market does not recover soon, Coldwell Banker is taking a light-hearted approach, attempting to assure people that maybe things are not as gloom and doom as the media may want us to think. The implementation of this new campaign shows Coldwell Banker’s confidence in the market’s ability to bounce back and allows worried consumers to relax and have a good laugh.

And after all, laughter is the best medicine.

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