Coldwell Banker introduced a fresh take on real estate search today with the launch of its new web site at beta.coldwellbanker.com. Besides a tarted-up user interface, the new site offers a couple of intriguing new ideas that I think push the innovation needle in the right direction.

The first of which is the new site now knows where you live. It uses your IP address to figure out where you are searching from and automatically offers up properties from that area. IP address detection itself isn’t particularly new, but I like that the team behind the site are thinking of ways that it can be used to help streamline the real estate search process for consumers. What I’d really love to see however, is for this idea to be taken even one step further by integrating the location awareness built in to the new Firefox browser (see New Firefox Brings Location to the Browser).

Most notable however is CB’s new Bluescape search. Here’s their description from the press release

…allows consumers to give a ‘thumbs up’ or a ‘thumbs down’ to various images that are displayed – similar to how popular music sites learn users’ preferences based on how they rate different songs. After rating various photos, consumers can then submit a query and the BlueScape technology will identify homes that might be a fit. Developed to help consumers actively looking to purchase a home as well as those still in the “dreaming phase,” this visually driven approach to search is new to the real estate category.

The tool works exactly as described. You’re presented a series of seemingly random “lifestyle” and real estate related photos; photos of mountains, pools, different styles of homes etc. You give each photo a thumbs up or thumbs down rating and after a period of time you can ask Bluescape to return your results.

The process is actually kind of fun (although the music got a little annoying after a while). Presumably, the more photos you rate the more accurate your results are. But it would be nice if the site gave you some indication of how many images a user needs to rate before good results are returned. Personally I just kept clicking until I couldn’t take the music anymore.

The results Bluescape returned were definitely intriguing – and at a national level the results were fairly close to the images I’d flagged. When I filtered the results to my local area however, things got a little rougher. For some reason, Bluescape recommended I live in a strip mall. Hardly what I’d call my “dream” home.

I’m not sure this is a problem with the algorithm behind the suggestion engine or if it was just my taste in photos. Very well could be the latter.

In any case, despite a few little glitches like this (and the fact the site doesn’t play nice with Safari web browser), it’s great to see a brand like Coldwell Banker thinking creatively and outside the box when it comes to real estate search.

The goal for any real estate brokerage in the coming months is going to be how to differentiate your real estate search site from the sea of Google Maps and pushpin clones that exist out there. Finding your own unique take, or angle, on search while staying true to your brand will be the most challenging, and rewarding task ahead.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a4273i_K2k[/youtube]

Coldwell Banker Canada launched a new real estate application customized for Microsoft’s Surface technology today. 

Coldwell Banker leveraged the unique interface and capabilities of Microsoft Surface to develop a home search application that will provide a new interactive and intuitive way to explore real estate listings and neighbourhoods. Over the course of the roll-out, the following features are scheduled to be released:

Explore. Home listings from across Canada and around the world can be viewed via area maps, specific search criteria such as city, province and price, and by standard number of bedrooms and bathrooms. With a simple touch of the screen, users expand or contract the search area and locate listings, Coldwell Banker offices and area amenities including restaurants, hospitals, schools – gauging the distance between them.

Learn. Details of a particular property listing are displayed and arranged by screen touches. Images of the home are easily accessed, enlarged and moved by hand movements.
Interact. File listings by “grabbing” content with their hands from the display and “dropping” it into the appropriate folder, thus creating an itinerary that they can email to a sales representative.

As you can see in the video, Surface’s multi-touch technology is put to pretty good use to highlight the experience of searching for real estate (I’d love to see even more, however). A couple of years ago I wrote that this sort of thing could be a way for real estate brokerages to move into more of an experiential marketing environment (see Surface Technology Could Save Full Service Brokers).

But, the Notorious ROB writes that “It Ain’t the Technology.” While I see his point, ultimately I have to disagree. It is about the technology. It is about experimenting and trying new things.

Sure – using Coldwell Banker web site on a Surface table is kind of goofy. But it’s a first step. And an important one. Future iterations of this type of experience will no doubt transform the way we interact with real estate data in the real world some day in the future (see Navigating a Virtual World).

Technology forces us to experiment. To try and yes, perhaps even fail. But kudos to CB for taking that step and continuing to push the industry forward.

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Not a dedicated app, mind you. But if you visit ColdwellBanker.com on your iPhone’s Safari browser now it’ll pull up a specially formatted version of the site.

They’re not the first company to do this (Realtor.com has an iPhone-ready page, as does Intero) but they are, as far as I know, the first to launch a major marketing campaign advertising this fact.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McKSek1Q-ns[/youtube]

The app itself looks great and is nicely thought out and pretty functional. You can search for current listings and, like Trulia (see iPhone Real Estate App Showdown), open houses as well. Search results return reasonably quickly on both WiFi and 3G.

The individual listing pages are fleshed out, though not as tightly integrated with multimedia as Utopria’s (see Utopria Brings Property Listings to iPhone). You can see all the photos associated with the home however. Clicking on Map Property link will bring you immediately to the Google Maps application for driving directions.

Unfortunately, because it’s not a dedicated app, the overall usability of this function gets a bit frustrating. Getting back to your search results requires several taps back and forth to switch between the map and the browser.

Also, CB’s tool does not seem to tap into the iPhone’s location awareness capability which seems a bit of a shame – you still need to tell it where you want to search.

Probably the biggest issue however is that (perhaps not surprisingly) ColdwellBanker.com on the iPhone only returns CB listings from Realogy. Unfortunately, since you’re only ever seeing a fraction of any market’s listings, this severely limits the app’s use for consumers. As a result I can’t see many people turning to this tool beyond mere curiousity, despite the fancy ad.

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Exciting news on the mobile real estate front.

Coldwell Banker has just announced it will be feeding all of its listings to the Dash Interneted-connected GPS navigator.

What’s a Dash? The Dash takes GPS to the next level by connecting to the Internet via cellular and WiFi networks. It can also create up a mini MESH network (i.e. connecting to other Dash units in individual vehicles) to share real time traffic data.

(Note to self. Gotta get me a Dash)

Obviously, the potential for feeding data to GPS navigator is a no-brainer for application in real estate.

From the Dash Blog

- Hunting for the home of your dreams? Coldwell Banker® allows consumers to search for homes with the “Coldwell Banker Home Search” button. It allows Dash drivers to access real estate listings and property details from their vehicle and instantly create a route to them.

Granted this is not a complete solution for any buyer since it seems like only CB’s listings would be shown. (Talk about an exclusive distribution channel however, nice work CB!)

But was does it really signal? Internet enabled GPS devices, GPS enabled smartphones (cough.. 2nd gen iPhone) mean that in fairly short order, a truly self-directed, Internet-backed mobile real estate search will be a reality for many buyers.

For listing agents it means thinking of new creative ways of promoting your listings to mobile buyers (see Cellsigns Launches iPhone Video Tours). For buyer’s agents, it may mean holding seminars educating people how to take advantage of all of these new tools (thereby positioning yourself as the go-to person when it comes to placing an offer).

And for real estate brokerages it means, like Coldwell Banker, you need to be aware of these technological shifts and ultimately, provide the service yourself. If you do you’ll keep your brand in the heart of the action.

(h/t Mike Price, writing at GeekEstate Blog)

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Colbert Coldwell was a D&D fan.

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Uhh.. ok. Not really sure how to start this.

Coldwell Banker just gave us a preview of their new marketing campaign for Spring/Summer 2008.

First the positives.

No print. No outdoor. The campaign will revolve around TV spots and an integrated web-based campaign (microsite, search ads, sponsorship etc.). Certainly makes a lot of sense given the new marketing climate of today (see How to Get Local With Your Internet Advertising).

Now the stuff I don’t get.

The campaign revolves around two talking oil paintings of the company’s founders; Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Arthur Banker. It makes heavy use of humor and Web 2.0 technology; video, blogging, mashups and social networking.

Humor

I applaud CB’s attempt to move beyond the “white picket fence and frolicking dog” imagery found in most real estate advertising. But is it off base? The question “Is humor appropriate given the current climate around real estate?” (which was raised in the conference call) is a tough one to answer.

Video

The new TV spots are viewable on CB’s YouTube Channel (see Creating a Real Estate Video Channel on YouTube). I’ve embedded one below so you can get a sense of the new campaign’s tone.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=sFeaJz0DIuc[/youtube]

Blogging

The campaign’s microsite is based around a blog by the two founders. Corporate marketing blogs are a controversial topic. McDonald’s Fake Lincolnfry Blog got resoundly booed by most online observers when it launched. We’ll see if the blogosphere has evolved to the point where these blogs are more widely accepted today.

Mashups

The idea is that the oil paintings will be traveling to select events across the US. CB uses a Google Maps mashup to chronicle that trip.

I don’t know about this. Seems a little forced to me.

Social Networking

The Coldwell and Banker paintings both have profiles on Facebook which you can ‘friend’ and CB has its own Facebook page (see Advertising Your Real Estate Business on Facebook) too.

The rationale, from their press release:

Given that the founders were eager networkers even back in their day, consumers may also see them pop up on popular social networking sites.  Coldwell and Banker will use their profile pages to list their interests, share news on all the places they are visiting around the country, and keep their friends up to date on their “status.”  Extending past their presence online, Coldwell and Banker may even appear at select live events across the country.

Hey, props to CB for exploring this new space. They continue to be at the forefront of experimenting with new technologies (see Coldwell Banker Tours a Home In Cyberspace).

But here’s the crux of my problem with this campaign.

Web 2.0 is more than just technology. It’s an evolving medium that hinges honesty, authenticity and transparency. I question the use of inanimate objects (oil paintings of two dead founders) as the center point of their campaign.

To me it would have been far more effective to have used real people, real situations and real conversations rather than manufactured alternatives. Somehow (aside from the curiosity factor) I doubt oil paintings will resonate very deeply with most online consumers. And this seems like a big missed opportunity.

That said, what do FOREM readers think of the new campaign? Is on the mark? Or destined for failure?

Update: More from Inman News Blog.

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In one of the more interesting announcements to come out of Connect last week, Coldwell Banker announced it had modeled a real life listing inside of the virtual world Second Life. (You can see the full property details here)

As far as a publicity gimmick, it was inspired – but as far as a practical way to market a listing it strikes me as an expensive, time-consuming practice.

Second Life, which claims over 8 million virtual residents, has been a hotbed of corporate activity recently trying to get a handle on Web 2.0 environments. This is not new territory for CB either, as it has already opened a virtual office in the world. (see Coldwell Banker Opens Office in Second Life)

But as a recent issue of Wired magazine reported, this push by Fortune 500 companies has been largely ignored by most residents (see How Madison Avenue Is Wasting Millions on a Deserted Second Life) who seem more interested in exploring the seedy side of cyberspace.

If CB really wanted to explore marketing listings in a virtual world, they would be better advised to use a tool like Google’s SketchUp to create a 3D model of the home and populate inside of Google Earth. (see It’s a Google world)

This approach has several advantages. One, it’s free.

Secondly, Google Earth is far more accessible to average consumers. Users do not have to register with the service, a simple download to their desktop suffices. Further, users do not have to create an ‘avatar’ and subject themselves Second Life’s unituitive learning curve, with it’s bizarre teleport and flying behaviors.

Google Earth is a complex 3D rendering of the real world, but one that ultimately is easy to navigate – and a listing inside its confines has the necessary context and relevancy missing in Second Life.

Marketing a property with Google Earth doesn’t have the headline pull of putting a listing inside Second Life – but at the end of the day, could be far more practical and useful.

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Inman News names the finalists for the 2007 Innovator Awards. For more on some of the nominees’ accomplishments, read:

Coldwell Banker

• Coldwell Banker Opens Office in Second Life

Foxtons

• Foxtons Imports Audioshows to USA

Google Street View

• Next Generation Virtual Tours

John L. Scott

• John L. Scott breaks the mold
• The Evolution of Map Based Searches

Point2NLS

• Point2Homes Thinks Inside the Box

Trulia Voices

• Trulia Finds Its Voice

vFlyer

• vFlyers Lets You Put Listings on Your Blog
• Merchandizing Real Estate Photos with vFlyer

WellcomeMat

• WellcomeMat – The Killer App for Real Estate Video

Zillow Q&A

• Zillow Asks What’s For Sale in your Hood?

Also on the list, some great real estate blogs; 3 Oceans Real Estate, BloodhoundBlog, Real Estate Tomato and Transparent Real Estate.

Congrats to all the nominees!

[Full disclosure: I work for Inman News.]

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Second Life (SL) is like World of Warcraft – they are products largely driven by virtual communities that have very quickly developed its own meta universes. They’re also kind of like twitter (you can follow me here) – I don’t really get it.

But I’m probably alone here. Thousands, if not millions of people are using it to live out virtual fantasies through their SL avatars.

Being that it’s a virtual world, many of these fantasies center around real estate, and buying and trading virtual land. Some residents like Anshe Chung, the “Rockefeller of Second Life” claims to have made over $250,000 from creating, renting and selling virtual homesteads to new residents.

So it only makes sense that a real estate company would try and capitalize on this virtual land rush too…

Coldwell Banker (CB) announced today that it is the first national real estate company to sell homes to SL residents. From their press release:

Coldwell Banker has an inventory of more than 500 homes on 550,000 square meters in the Ranchero section of the Second Life mainland, one of the largest home developments in this virtual world. These virtual homes will vary in price based on size and style, including southwestern, colonial and contemporary, among others. In addition, Coldwell Banker is offering homes perched atop a picturesque hill overlooking the ocean. Second Life residents can meet with a Coldwell Banker sales associate avatar in the brand’s virtual office and schedule an appointment to tour virtual properties of interest. Homebuyers who close a purchase with Coldwell Banker will receive free “virtual furnitureâ€? for their new home as a closing gift.

You can see a current map of the SL world (or “grid”) here – Ranchero is located just in from the inlet on the eastern side of the island that kind of looks like a “J”.

It’s a interesting idea. Large companies like CB are making all kinds of creative plays in SL’s cyberspace – HSBC has a bank, Toyota has a dealership, even Reuters has a SL news bureau. For good reason too, SL can be a test bed for new ideas and it gets people interacting with their products and services; and it’s a relative cheap investment:

…an island costs $1,675 for about 16 virtual acres, plus $295 a month for maintenance fees…

(more in Investor’s Business Daily: Companies Are Finding Second Life)

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to figure out where CB’s headquarters was. If anyone can find it, can they post a SLURL in the comments?

This commercialization of SL is not without controversy however. Folks who resent this corporate intrusion (nicknamed “Grievers”) have taken matters into their own hands; apparently there’s a Second Life Liberation Army who have shot virtual customers outside a virtual American Apparel store and even gone as far as detonating virtual nuclear weapons (more in USAToday article).

Then of course, there was the infamous “Phallus attack” on virtual Realtor Chung earlier this year (see Virtual Real Estate Tycoon Assaulted in Second Life).

I’m sure we’ll see more attempts to capitalize/advertise in these virtual worlds in the future. CB is definitely ahead of the curve on this one and, in a day and age where advertising is becoming so ubiquitous and consumers are becoming increasing desensitized to tradition branding efforts, this is a way for a major real estate brand to try and cut through the message clutter.

If you’re interested in checking out Second Life, click here to join.

Of course, in the mad rush to take advantage of the opportunities in Second Life, let’s not forget that you should also Get a First Life.

Update:

I found it.

Here’s the SLUrl to teleport you there.

Porsches and Beamers parked outside and CB-branded helicopters on the roof. Nice.

Nobody was home when I visited, but there’s coffee and donuts and there’s a nice boat to hang out on while you wait.

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