Coldwell Banker Bain has announced it is undertaking a revolutionary organizational change with its launch of “Unleashed,” which represents a major change in culture and identity, and an innovative approach to how it will provide brokerage services going forward. Unleashed includes a brand refresh, new messaging and positioning, staffing additions and restructuring, as well as sweeping changes to its technology tools, both for transaction management and its website and intranet. The company’s investment in the initiative represents 25 percent of the total Support Services Center’s annual budget and doubles its investment over last year.
When searching for a new home, a homebuyer is transcended into an exciting new realm of possibilities as they view available properties, markets and lifestyles. Through Unleashed, Coldwell Banker Bain will enable customers to “unleash” their imaginations, and provide them with everything they need to imagine what their futures can be, and empower them to make these dreams a reality.
Says Mike Grady, president and COO, “At its core Unleashed is a major operational shift change that implements a new staffing structure and an enhancement in thinking and philosophy throughout the company. It represents an exciting opportunity for us to communicate our innovation, attention to concierge services and competitiveness in the real estate sector, further enhancing our reputation as the premier company to work with for both clients and potential recruits.”
The initiative was inspired by the Coldwell Banker national Global Luxury campaign, and Coldwell Banker Bain’s desire to provide the same high-end, concierge experience to its brokers and customers, no matter at which price point level they are working.
“The real estate industry has experienced significant change over the past few years, with digital companies entering the field. While they have promised technology that is incomparable, that hasn’t yet happened and we’re seeing their business models change given technology is not the only element needed for success. It’s a great time for traditional brokerages to evolve and respond as we know that our expertise on the ground differentiates us,” says Grady. “With Unleashed, we not only have brokers with intimate knowledge of neighborhoods and lifestyles; we now have the technology and other important tools to fully support their efforts to best serve homebuyers and sellers.”
Adds Don Hines, a Coldwell Banker Bain of Seattle Lake Union broker with 35 years of experience, and who left the company briefly in 2018 to work at Compass, a digital real estate company, “My experience is a testament to the fact that technology is only one component of the process, and in the end, a company whose brokers have the relationships and market knowledge is what makes or breaks a transaction. The core of any successful brokerage must be focused around relationships with people and the practice of real estate, rather than technology. That’s what Coldwell Banker Bain offers.”
New Website Design and Hosting Solution – Delta Media Group
As part of Unleashed, Coldwell Banker Bain is moving to a new digital platform that no other Northwest brokerage offers: DeltaNet by Delta Media Group. This represents complete replacement of Coldwell Banker Bain’s previous website and tools platform to provide a more advanced infrastructure created by developers focused exclusively on solving the technology challenges unique to leading real estate firms. This includes the public-facing website, global luxury website and broker websites that will now all offer mobile responsiveness.
This new solution also includes enhanced search engine optimization (SEO) with strategies focused on content curation and better search engine rankings, lead text notifications, e-marketing campaigns, integrated blogging and testimonials, automated market reporting tools, seller lead AVM platform and social media connectors for automated posting.
New Digital Tools Platform – DeltaNet
Additionally, the DeltaNet platform provides a robust digital infrastructure developed specifically for the real estate industry that consolidates and streamlines the mission critical tools Coldwell Banker Bain brokers need into a single powerful, integrated solution: website content management; lead routing and response management; customer relationship management; file management and distribution; listing management; blog and social media marketing; intelligent email marketing; printable property flyers and brochures.
Delta’s platform is touted as being one of the best in the industry, providing robust tools for less money. This integration and expansion of service offerings will make brokers more efficient and empower them to better solve the needs of their clients.
New Transaction Management – SkySlope
Transaction management has been replaced with a regionally-supported approach that is powered by SkySlope which streamlines the transaction process, enabling brokers to focus on what matters most: growing their business. Regional staff will be responsible for managing the transaction details, providing broker support and ensuring document compliance, leading to a more efficient closing process.
New Regional Marketing Structure
A new regional marketing structure will provide brokers with the daily marketing support they need to relieve them from much of the work involved with daily marketing activities, and ensure they market themselves and their listings efficiently and professionally. The program will also provide complete custom support for brokers who want proprietary marketing solutions through the in-house creative agency located at Coldwell Banker Bain’s Support Services Center.
The company will be divided into seven regions with a designated creative marketing professional assigned to each area. Having boots on the ground at the branch level will provide four key support functions: 1) complete broker customization with beautiful marketing themes; 2) customer service support and quality control of listing automated marketing program; 3) regional market reports and newsletters; and 4) regional-focused social media content curation.
Brand Refresh and New Advertising Campaign
Unleashed includes refreshed branding that integrates with Coldwell Banker International’s global luxury branding, as well as a new advertising approach for the Coldwell Banker Bain enterprise and its brokers. A new campaign, “Imagine…,” centers around a message of the benefits working with a Coldwell Banker Bain broker provides, rather than one that has a feature-based message.
The campaign is the brainchild of the marketing arm of Coldwell Banker Bain’s Support Services Center, under the direction of Rob Wachter, the company’s chief marketing officer.
“We have worked hard to build an internal creative department that includes top-notch talent with creative agency experience,” says Wachter. “When we started discussing why homebuyers and sellers should work with our brokers, and the benefits in doing so, it became clear that the emotional connection with home and lifestyle, and the major decision a home purchase represents, was the critical component. We believe that the ‘Imagine’ campaign captures the process one goes through when looking for a home and the excitement around imagining what a new future can look like. We wanted to communicate how our brokers are the best people to make their dreams come true.”
Visit the new website and view the ad campaign at www.coldwellbankerbain.com/imagine.
To ensure a complete integration with the new campaign, and to leverage the major ad buys the company has purchased, each Coldwell Banker Bain office will allocate advertising dollars that are pooled into one budget to maximize the purchasing power of the company and generate consistent and impactful advertising messages across every region. Brokers will enjoy a new advertising program that provides easy online ordering of advertisements that have been negotiated by the enterprise at the best rates possible. Coldwell Banker Bain’s marketing team will provide creative support to generate the artwork for every participating broker. The advertising approach is bolstered by the brand refresh and clear vision and story the company will unveil with Unleashed.
For more information, please visit www.coldwellbankerbain.com.