Throughout the day, representatives of the Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty team presented on the past, present and future of the firm, from the latest sales data and a rundown of the 2019 marketing initiatives, to new technology platforms, what’s ahead in new developments and beyond.
The day began with a brief presentation by Dean and Stacy Jones, who discussed the firm’s most impressive stats from 2018. RSIR.com user activity grew by 44.5% on a year-over-year basis! 2018 projections indicate that there will be over 1,200 blog posts by year’s end (a 19.2% increase compared to 2017 stats). The firm achieved a staggering 950,000 impressions across social media with a combined audience of over 17,500 people across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
On the brand level, data from the third quarter of 2018 indicates that Sotheby’s International Realty® is generating over 2.8 million monthly web visits with 67 percent of visitors from outside the U.S. There were nearly 24 million property detail views in the third quarter, and organic traffic — 41 percent of overall visits to the site for the quarter — continues to be the largest source of site traffic.
The Joneses also touched on the firm’s exclusive local media partnerships, including GeekWire “Home of the Week,” which achieved over 2.7 million page views in 2018 and Puget Sound Business Journal “Home of the Day,” which generated over 900,000 page views and accounted for 4 percent of PSBJ’s total web traffic.
A year-to-date comparison among the top ten largest brands in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service revealed that RSIR brokers are the most productive on a per-broker basis, with average sales prices (on the buy and sell side) ranking second among the brands (at $893,500 and $1,035,433, respectively). The firm is currently representing over $1,000,000,000+ in active new development inventory, with pending inventory at $350,000,000+. In total, RSIR represents 79 percent of the brand’s sales volume in Washington state. The Joneses pulled out two key highlights in sales activity in 2018: first, Becky Gray, who achieved the highest ever listing price reported in the NWMLS at $26,750,000 in Medina; and second, Dave Janssens, who helped his selling clients secure a final sales price $295,000 over list price on a Kirkland home.
Dean and Stacy Jones welcomed attendees with a brief presentation on the firm’s success from the past year.
“We want to share our appreciation to the marketing team and broker care staff that worked tirelessly to envision, plan, produce and manage a well-run event. They were committed to leveling up from last year and I believe they accomplished that goal and then some,” said Dean Jones, president and chief executive officer, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “I’d also like to thank our event partners at Nyhus Communications, UBS Wealth Management, Colliers International, Amazon, Alaska Airlines, Woodbery Partners, The Weitz Effect, Glamhive and especially to Caliber Home Loans for their ongoing service, not just for supporting these events, but for the great work you do for RSIR every day.”
What’s Ahead for RSIR in 2019
Andrea Savage, vice president of marketing, and Ryan Hodgson, chief operating officer, RSIR, rolled out an exciting campaign for 2019 to be announced soon, that leverages the brand’s heritage, award-winning marketing, global exclusivity, cutting-edge approach and more. They also touched on the recent announcement of MyHQHome.com, a relocation portal and partnerships with affiliates in all Amazon HQ cities, which will fully launch in January 2019; a Spring edition of RESIDE magazine; exciting new market update and tracker email options for brokers and clients; and the launch of RSIR Connect, a new “one stop shop” tool for brokers to use when managing listings, ordering marketing materials and more.
The Ritz-Carlton’s Five-Star Service Training
RSIR team members Stacia Smith, Shelley Cribby and Natalie Kelly took to the stage to share highlights from a recent Ritz-Carlton Five-Star Service training that approximately twenty-five staff members completed.
Stacia, Shelley and Natalie were excited to share key insights from The Ritz-Carlton Five-Star Training session.
The session, which focused heavily on how to serve others, outlined four keys to customer service, in addition to tactics for resolving conflict, elevating oneself professionally, and more.
RSIR Connect
Just after participating in the second Sotheby’s International Realty® Market Makers Panel, J Kuper presented RSIR Connect, a specialized app that will serve as a portal for brokers to utilize when managing properties, curating marketing plans, paying invoices and more. Kuper emphasized that the tool is simple yet effective and is aimed at creating a large amount of efficiency in the day-to-day of brokers and staff alike.
J Kuper introduces RSIR Connect, which will roll out in early 2019.
What’s Ahead in New Developments
Kimberly Morrison, director of marketing for new developments, RSIR, outlined marketing misconceptions and talked a bit about how she is leveraging her background in tech and strategy in her approach to new development marketing. Then Alexa Johnson, new development and prestige property marketing leader with Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, LLC, came on stage and debuted the newest brand marketing video, in which Kevin Thompson talked about where the brand is headed in 2019.
Johnson also talked about Keystone, the new development marketing platform, leveraging relationships with the auction house, the forthcoming Global Networking Event which will be held in Vancouver, B.C., and editorial opportunities within Sotheby’s magazine and the auction house network.
“We partner with leading media powerhouses to deliver content to discerning audiences worldwide. Our partner’s cutting-edge innovation, strategic positioning and international impact enable the Sotheby’s International Realty brand to successfully connect with global consumers,” said Johnson. “With an emphasis on exclusivity, Sotheby’s International Realty advertising plans are driven by a consumer-centric approach targeting buyers at all stages of the real estate journey. Our robust digital and print strategy is aimed at showcasing homes to highly-qualified buyers.”
Then Morrison came back onstage to discuss some of the major new development milestones achieved in 2018, including NEXUS going 92% presold, KODA going 95% reserved in its opening weekend, the Downtown Seattle Association 2018 annual meeting which featured a condominium showcase and the debut of SPIRE, SOLIS going 50% reserved, the opening of the SPIRE sales center and model home in late October, and RSIR being selected as the new listing team for Gridiron condominiums. RSIR is currently representing 15 new development projects with over $1.2 Billion in active developments, $800 Million in the pipeline, and approximately 8,000 registrants.
Marketing Mavericks
The final task of the day was to pass out a few awards, as Ashley Breunich, digital marketing manager, and Milo Steimle, digital marketing strategist, came out to recognize a few of the firm’s Digital Marketing Mavericks.
Gallery Photo Credit: Saskia Potter Photography
Surprise Guest
Just before heading out into the foyer for cocktail hour, guests were treated to a surprise as the Can Can dancers descended upon the crowd and to the stage for entertainment, which continued into the evening as everyone enjoyed libations and good company.
Gallery Photo Credit: Saskia Potter Photography