What Does the Real Estate Brand of the Future Look Like?
The news that Realogy Corporation is going to license Better Homes and Gardens magazine’s brand to launch a new brokerage got me thinking again once again about what the real estate brands of the future are going to look like. (More on the launch from The Real Estate Bloggers).
There’s little doubt we live in an era where the big brands dominate. Drive through most towns these days and you’re going to see the same handful of big box stores that results in a startling uniform and homogenized consumer landscape. Welcome to the United States of Generica.
As these brands reach saturation point however, it’s natural for them to want to begin extending themselves into related markets. To leverage their name recognition and consumer awareness into new business verticals. Starbucks’ push into music sales is a perfect example of the powerful crossover nature of new brands, as is the push into white-labeled banking and finance services by retail outlets.
Real estate is no different - and Realogy gets that. There’s a trust factor that comes with an established consumer brand and a pre-existing identity to build upon. Plus, licensing an existing story is far easier than writing a new one (see Why Do All Real Estate Logos Suck So Bad?).
So it got me thinking, just for fun, what could be some interesting crossover brands for the real estate brokerages of the future?
- Martha Stewart real estate. A pretty obvious one - they’ve already licensed the brand to KB Homes to build a new community of homes in North Carolina.
- Ikea real estate. They’re selling prefab “Boklok” homes in Scandanavia and the UK - a trendy condo sales arm, for example, could be fun.
- Virgin real estate. Up to now, Richard Branson has had a fairly rough time penetrating the US market as extensively as he has done overseas, but the launch of Virgin America may start to turn that around. Might appeal to the 30-something crowd.
(Personally, I’d love to see Steve Jobs at the helm of Apple Real Estate - but that’s just geeky wishful thinking.)
What about the online players then?
- Zillow. OK, OK. I know I’m beating a pretty tired drum… We all know Zillow is a media company… But I still think it makes a lot of sense for them to take the brand to the streets. A true online and offline hybrid brand - Zillow’s the only one with deep enough pockets to do this. I’d be all for it.
- ActiveRain. We all know that right now ActiveRain is a big unprofitable echo-chamber. If it turned itself into a brokerage there could be a renewed sense of purpose to the brand, as well as a way to drive the much-desired consumer traffic to the site through traditional offline methods - yard signs etc. Further, you could connect individual franchisers through the social network for support and training. Ultimately you’d leverage the power of a distributed agent community working for and with each other.
Any other ideas of crossover brands?
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Andrew | Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
To be honest, I never understood why Trump never went into creating a residential brokerage. This would be a success. As for online players when you find one let me know! licensing just makes it too tough to scale. Real Estate Web 2.0 is a bust so far.
Michael Daly | Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
Great points. Sure to come. I think it will go both ways as real estate brands begin partnering and co-branding with builders and more home related businesses. I can see it now…a Sotheby’s Eggplant Parmigiana on Foccicia at Subway (ha! - ok , that may be taking it a bit too deep)
Phil Hoover | Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
I think there will be ample opportunity for small boutique brokerages to provide exceptional service in the future.
The big brands have become so homogeneous and bland that they are indistinguishable from each other.
More the same old blah, blah, blah ~ we’re #1, we’re the greatest, we sell more homes than anyone else, etc.
Example: If you list with one of the Realogy companies, what is difference between a C-21 and a C- and a BH&G brand?
There’s opportunity to offer ala carte services priced by task, consulting services, etc.
Figure out what everyone else is doing and do something different (and better)!
One thing’s certain ~ things won’t be the same as they are now in five years.
Jillayne Schlicke | Oct 8, 2007 | Reply
Many years ago…let me think….late 1980s, we HAD a Better Homes and Gardens real estate franchise. If the idea is to name a real estate company after a magazine for name recognition, why not Wired Real Estate or Fast Company Real Estate?
BHG, to me just says “Ward and June Cleaver Real Estate.”
Bonnie Erickson | Oct 9, 2007 | Reply
I’ve been taking pictures of brokerage signs in our area for about a year. It amazes me how many boutique companies are still sprouting up. In this market one would think they would be disappearing. Is there something about individual service that keeps them going? Or maybe St. Paul is just very individualistic and resistant to the big box hype. Their signs are here but not as prevalent as in our twin across the river where the majority of signs seem to be big box.
Personally, I’d avoid the Martha Stewart company. Can’t get past her mundane personality. She feels like a pressure cooker about to explode to me.
Matt Gentile | Oct 10, 2007 | Reply
As the PR Manager for Florida’s leading real estate brokerage, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, I keep waiting for the large Internet companies to jump into the game (Google Realty, Yahoo Realty…). When you consider the future of online advertising, it doesn’t seem like a giant leap of logic.
From the beach chair,
Matt Gentile (FloridaMoves.com - 300 Days of Sunshine)
Tom at The Real Estate Bloggers | Oct 11, 2007 | Reply
Jillayne
But as I was recently advising a client, there are a great deal of Cleavers out there. We often see the outliers who are more prone to get media attention or stand out, but the great middle class are the drivers in the economy.
And as I noted in my post, the database that Better Homes and Gardens has available to the new brand will be a huge asset in marketing to homebuyers and sellers. Demographics and buyers will be a huge opportunity for real estate firms going into the future.
Shirley Aryan | Nov 1, 2007 | Reply
I just have to agree with you today many brands have flooded the real estate market. However, trust is something only a few have garnered. Though with coming the online industry many smalltime companies have cropped up, which of course means we can expect better services. Today many are even opting for online search engines to facilitate their selling or buying process. Even I have used the resortscape (http://www.resortscape.com) for finding me a condo house in Florida. Must say that a lot has changed over the years and the future still has many such changes in store. Cheers!!
Daniel E. Friedman | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
Brands upon brands upon brands are filling all sorts of markets from music to real estate. However, references and word of mouth are and will always be filters for the average consumer. Good companies have staying power. Unreliable companies usually disappear with time, thank goodness.