Real Estate Disruptor and Technology Startup
A real estate disruptor that is a technology startup company was ready to launch in the marketplace. BidMyListing was introducing a groundbreaking concept where real estate agents actually paid the homeowner to list their house. This provided homeowners with a unique way to find top agents in their area and gave them the confidence that their home would be a priority since the agent literally was ‘putting money where their mouth was’. BML turned to THO to build brand awareness and credibility in the US market through a robust earned media program.
Our program centered on the development and execution of a strategic media relations program that would maximize the business’s exposure leading up to the launch, and brand layer the platform with several of the company’s well-known founders, who were already well known in the real estate space.
The Challenge
Key to the launch was positioning the company as moving further into the marketplace, given they had already done a soft launch – almost a year earlier – then went radio silent. Thus, while this indeed was a launch, the platform has actually entered the market already. In addition, one of the partners was a well-known brand in his own right, and scheduling interviews and appearances around his other commitments was a challenge in itself.
The Solution
THO developed a tailored strategy that focused on securing tier-one national media interviews for the founders, as well as offering interviews with local press, podcasts and trade media outlets for one of the other key team members. THO created a list of press materials and deliverables, including a comprehensive media strategy, fact sheet, executive bios, LinkedIn bios, launch press release, updated language for Crunchbase, key messaging points and real estate statistics. This ensured that the BML team had the necessary tools to effectively engage with media outlets and convey their message.
The Results
THO’s strategic communications efforts yielded impressive results. The media relations program resulted in key placements with top-tier national media outlets with key placements secured with top-tier national media outlets — including Inman, Entrepreneur, Authority Magazine, KCBS-TV, Phoenix Business Journal and more. Other key metrics include:
- Over 21 placements generated totaling 887 million impressions
- 57.5K broadcast views across residential real estate, local and national media
- Improved BML’s SEO with a doubling of domain authority to 338 backlinks
Additionally, THO’s efforts attracted media interest from prestigious outlets such as the Today Show, People Magazine, The Playbook Podcast, Dottie Herman Radio Show “Eye on Real Estate,” and Adam Mendler’s Leadership Blog. Overall, THO’s strategic communications strategy successfully achieved BML’s goal of building brand awareness and establishing the company as a disruptive force in the real estate marketplace as a technology startup.
