It’s no secret that real estate brokers spend a great deal of overhead on the strategic location of their offices. After all, when it comes to catching the eye of prospective buyers and sellers, it’s all about location—and many brokers bank on areas with a lot of foot traffic to generate business.
But in today’s ultra-competitive market, staying ahead of the competition goes beyond simply planting roots in a prominent location. Today, it’s all about transforming your office into a marketing showpiece.
And thanks to Dee Sign, brokers from Severna Park, Md., to Honolulu, Hawaii are taking their listing presence to a whole new level with the company’s backlit LED window display panels.
Having built its business over 49 years by drawing attention to listings in the front yard through traditional real estate signs, a recent trip to visit family in Sweden had Braden Huenefeld—president of Dee Sign—seeing real estate listings in a whole new light.
“I kept noticing real estate offices in different towns as we were driving through the country and realized that the backlit displays were the standard because their brightness made it so you couldn’t help but look. The backlit displays allowed for the offices to be a lot more visible than empty windows,” says Huenefeld, who explains it was a natural progression for Dee Sign to provide their clients the tools and technology they needed to highlight their listings at their offices.
Partnering with VitrineMedia, a French company that’s been making backlit LED display panels for more than 10 years—showcased in more than 21,000 offices around the world—Dee Sign’s high-end product was introduced to the industry at the 2015 National Association of REALTORS® Conference & Expo in San Diego, Calif.
“It was important to us to work with products that had been tested and proven reliable in real-world conditions, that have undergone multiple generations of improvement,” says Huenefeld, who notes the display system is patented in the United States, allowing for the arrangement of panels using varied sizes and orientation, providing real estate professionals the ability to create a design that works for their own unique needs.
While the end result is nothing short of sleek, Huenefeld goes on to explain that the LED display panels can easily be changed out as new listings are added to the mix. “Advertising properties is easier than ever,” says Huenefeld. “With our system, listings are simply printed on special film using an inkjet or office laser printer, making it easy to showcase exactly what’s available.”
“When you see a brilliant idea, you don’t wait,” says Jon Coile, president and CEO of Champion Realty, Inc., in Severna Park, Md., who purchased the panels on the spot at last year’s NAR Conference & Expo.
“It was a beacon of light that caught my eye,” adds Coile, of Dee Sign’s dramatic display.
But the attention-grabbing power of the LED panels doesn’t stop there.
“Not only are the LED panels very attractive,” says Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Co. Real Estate in Washington, D.C., “they attract attention in a nice way.”
With two storefront offices and one townhouse-style office—all of which have good foot traffic—the LED panels have been instrumental when it comes to attracting the type of attention Evers is looking for.
“They provide much more of a draw than the plain pictures we had in our windows previously,” says Evers, who is counting on the signs to bring more people into the office, especially on the weekends.
“Getting them inside the office is our hope,” says Evers, who goes on to explain that the LED panels will save prospective buyers a lot of time in the long run. “Instead of having to wander around to a lot of open houses, they can sit with one of our experts and see everything that’s available in a certain area on our screen.”
Coile—who has seen a substantial increase in traffic since incorporating 40 11-in.-by-17-in. panels into the front windows of his two most prominent offices—couldn’t agree more.
“It’s all eye candy to get people to contact our agents or come right into the office,” he says.
In addition to increased traffic, the backlit window displays are setting the bar higher when it comes to exuding professionalism within his local market.
“The LED panels have helped to raise the professionalism and appearance of our offices, setting the standard that we have a professional operation and know what it takes to create great marketing,” says Coile.
Thanks to their vibrant colors and eye-catching appeal, Dee Sign’s backlit LED panels are popping up far and wide, allowing real estate professionals to create a vivid listing presence—no matter the type of market they’re working in.
“We’re heavily situated in the resort market,” says Jim Wright, president and CEO of CENTURY 21 All Islands in Honolulu, Hawaii. “Walk-by traffic is high, and it’s important to get the consumer to stop and browse. These LEDs do the trick.”
With two offices up and running and a third just ordered (at press time), Wright has his sights set on incorporating LED panels into all seven of the company’s retail locations.
“In resort markets, it’s somewhat of an impulse for consumers to look at window displays,” says Wright. “Some are just shopping, or waiting for another who is shopping, and they spend the time looking at our real estate offerings. This gives us a chance to interact with them and find out what they like and the timeframe they’re looking at to acquire real estate in the area.”
While CENTURY 21 All Islands has had listings posted in their windows in various forms for many years, Wright notes that the LED panels go above and beyond when it comes to making the window pop.
“I think the LED displays have taken over. If you’re going to have pictures in the window, you have to have lighting,” concludes Evers. “Otherwise, it looks dull and like yesterday’s process.”
For more information, please visit www.deesign.com/displays.
