Century 21 Campaign Aims to ‘Think Outside the House’

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RISMEDIA, Dec. 3, 2008-Century 21 Real Estate LLC, a franchisor of one of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organizations, recently embarked on an innovative marketing campaign “Think Outside the House,” to drive brand preference and proactively capture home buyer and seller leads.

“Our goal is to localize our national brand campaigns and really drive the message of value that Century 21 real estate professionals bring to each transaction,” said Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate. “It is more important than ever to proactively engage home buyers and sellers with opportunities to speak with a real estate professional about their individual real estate goals. This campaign went right to the street with a brand first, buy second message, and it has been highly effective.”

Positioned with arm-mounted key pads used to collect customer information and backpack-mounted portable video monitors, displaying a high-level Century 21 multimedia message and available property listings in the area, Century 21 Street Teams brand ambassadors took to Times Square as well as three other high-traffic locations throughout New York City. The Century 21 Street Teams gathered large crowds intrigued by the engaging marketing campaign and also distributed branded MTA New York City Subway maps in exchange for customer data.

According to the company, the results were spectacular. On the first run more than 40,000 branded subway maps were handed out and more than 150,000 consumer interactions were recorded at four events over the course of three weekends. “The Century 21 Street Teams earned a lot of attention and turned heads in the heart of New York City where it’s hard to turn heads,” said Thorne. “We are looking at repeating this effort in other cities as we continue to help consumers see the value of working with a Century 21 real estate professional to realize their dream of homeownership.”

The campaign was conducted by St. Jacques, a consumer marketing firm that specializes in working with franchised brands. “Buying and selling homes is a local decision,” said Thorne. “St. Jacques has been a great partner helping us execute our national programs into local communities all around the country. This campaign is just one example of that effort,” said Thorne.

For more information, visit www.century21.com.

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