The image below was forwarded to me by several people today. Each occupies a significant role within the real estate industry.
It’s funny that I’ve become the repository for this stuff. What’s funnier (or sad depending on your perspective) are the comments that accompany the emails coming in. None are favorable. Each, riddled with ridicule and cynical commentary.
Given the issues real estate faces today — the credit market meltdown, the distrust, the commission debate, and a looming sense that a reckoning is near — how do I process the idea that this Realtor of the month appears to have modeled himself after a
self-absorbed, sashaying, spoiled convicted felon with no
sense of the world around her?
You will notice, as did I, that Countrywide "presented" this issue.
With the dreams of tens of thousands of homeowners who began their trek down the road of homeownership with maps provided by unprofessional Realtors who turned many consumer dreams into nightmares, we all have to wonder how images like this play in consumer minds.
Final thought: was this dog thing ever a good idea?
– Davison
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Seriously – personal marketing for Realtors has gone too far. Big dogs, little dogs, kids and glamor shots. This is on par for the issue I saw this month – Brokers of the month had a 4 page spread – with 6 pictures of the same 2 people. Picture together, pictures separate, different backgrounds. Seriously, why don't you show a happy customer you helped. I want results – not a model shoot.
Or at the very least do something unique. Do something that differentiates. Something that expresses your professional self, as opposed than the very same bad idea that hundreds of thousands of other Realtors.
Hiya Marc ~
)
My German Shepherd thinks dogs like that are snacks
I grew up in Plymouth, Indiana and have a healthy respect for Midwestern values.
Spent 20 years in CA, and can say they are rare there in the land of fancy cars and $600k starter homes.
Boise, Idaho (where I live now) is a unique blend of CA progressiveness and Midwestern family values.
Funny thing about these dogs – checking AKC definitions and regarding their temperament.
I quote from the official AKC standard for the breed describes the Chihuahua as:
“A graceful, alert, swift-moving little dog with saucy expression. However, some Chihuahuas carry “saucy” and “terrier-like” to extremes and are grumpy, haughty, or downright nasty when provoked – and provocation may come easy.
The tendency to be temperamental, a reputation for being suspicious of everyone and a clannish dislike of any breed but his own makes the Chihuahua an unsuitable pet for households with small or boisterous children.
In light of what’s going on today, in light of the distrust, the crisis, the sentiments, Terry's use of this particular breed to convey whatever disposition the promotion was aiming for was ill conceived by everyone involved.
I don't know Terry. For all I know, the dog was simply a designer prop and wasn't even his idea.
My point is, like so much we have seen from real estate, the Diva like portrayal imaged in this magazine plays into all that is distasteful to the consumer. I am especially sensitive to this having spent 20 years in the advertising and imaging world of Madison Ave and the entertainment industry.
If I could have had 10 minutes with Terry, and the magazines photographer, I would painted a far more respectful image of Terry exploiting the very sincere aspects of his career that sum up his achievements.
Posing with a nasty little dog that bites and only likes his own kind is not the image I would have used.
Marc, oh Marc!
These types of venues play off the low self esteem of agents who will do ANYTHING to get themselves on a front cover. They actually pay money to look like a dork. Only to spend money to send these cheesball mags out to other REALTORS—–HELLO! Realtors—what the hell good is sending this to a BROKE Realtor gonna do for your business…….. Sometimes…..
ps. I thought I had that title all wrapped up??????
Agreed. And thus my post. It was sent to me from several inside sources – his peers – with captions that would even make the dog blush.
This post is really about calling attention to the reality that everything you do should be scrutinized as to what type of message it sends out to everyone including consumers who will see things like this. It's simply unavoidable.
I've never understood the massive number of realtors that think having their photo splashed with a dog does any good. Is it because dog is man's best friend and makes you look more trustworth?
Is it because it's all the rage now to pose with your animal?
Does it do anything for your image? (yes, I'm bringing my dog on all of our appts)
I'd rather see someone with a recent client they helped buy or sell and a testimonial about how they did it than a mug shot with a dog.
This practice is a result of the nominal marketing knowledge found within our industry. Granted there is an abundance of creativity but that alone is not enough to culture a great advertising or image making campaign.
The idea behind dogs was to humanize the agent. It’s a weak attempt at best and could have worked for the very first dog agent. That would have been their brand. But when 100,000 Realtors use dogs, many using the same dog, consumers view this as the oddity it is.
Firms like Hobbs Herder have fueled this practice by specializing in vanity advertising. As a result, other agents viewing the slick tri-folds featuring dogs, agents in boats, on horses, in baseball outfits or doing the Lambata with their spouses are often influenced to create the same things – thinking that these branding mechanism actually work.
During my days on Madison Ave, never would we push a branding campaign to the public without focus group feedback. Wisdom of the crowd always prevails.
This is what is lacking here. Testing the idea. Without research, consumer feedback or any attempt to double-check your creative idea, you go to the mat alone, with no formidable metric for to measure your campaign by. My point here, in this new era of consumer awareness and cynicism, everyone should seriously weigh the consequences of their misguided branding efforts.
Dogs, children, kooky hats or the worst transgression – using brand symbols already used by others – should be crossed off the list. Consider every, as the younger generation is cynical,
At the very least, if Terry was going to use a dog, he should have considered using one not used by a national fast food company.
You guys have got it all wrong. Terry Roberts is the dog. He may be small, but he's one hell of a Realtor. He won't be taking the housing correction lying down. Incidentally, the man's name is Tippy…
What I do not get is why this actually does work for agents. The agents in my market who publish "vanity ads" are very successful and I can only assume are making more from the advertising than they are spending. Could it be that the public has an expectation of this type of advertising by Realtors so it works by matching you to the image in pre-determined image in the public mind?
Being successful and tying that success into a particular campaign requires direct marketing research and results. Otherwise, we're become free to attribute our success to anything we want — from the style of our shoes to the car we drive.
In the past, I have performed consumer focus groups covering a wide range of agent tools – from websites – to marketing material. My research has yet to uncover a consumer who finds this imagery the deciding factor in hiring an agent.
In many cases, research has revealed that this type of imagery turns consumers off.
Is using dogs and other humanizing props cute? Possibly.
Is it fair to suggest that an agent spending $20,000 to create this campaign will believe that it works without concrete proof? Seems to be the case.
But is it an effective marketing tool that serves to brand an agent at truthful, honest, diligent, hard working, experienced and qualified to make sure that every detail of the transaction will be perfect?
Until I see concrete results of consumer surveys that indicate that, then I remain skeptical at best.
http://janetburke.homesandland.com/
Janet here is a horse lover… I think Brian, that agent that run these type of "vanity ads" run more of them. Hence more business… its not the ad that work, so much as its frequency…