SIR Network Launches 2012 Marketing Program

On April 20th, 2012, Ward Wight Sotheby’s International Realty announced the launch of the Sotheby’s International Realty network’s 2012 marketing program, which was designed to deliver an estimated 506 million overall impressions, reaching a global audience of qualified consumers.

At the core of the brand’s 2012 strategy are its relationships with pre-eminent media powerhouses in both the print and online arenas: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC.com, The Telegraph Media Group, Bloomberg Markets magazine and Google. These relationships were developed to showcase unique properties from the brand’s approximately 590 offices in 44 countries and territories worldwide through unique, media rich advertising units that offer an immersive experience and position the brand in front of a relevant audience of consumers.

As part of its exclusive relationship with The New York Times, the brand maintains a presence on the publication’s global edition search module with integrated content and an interactive experience, reaching their millions of valued international readers every day. The brand also will be part of a new advertising opportunity that provides an effective way to target ads to readers on NYTimes.com who are using their Safari iPad browser.

 
The Wall Street Journal offers the Sotheby’s International Realty network a global reach and exposure for the listings it represents through the publication’s US, Europe and Asian websites and a dedicated presence among key local targets. This exclusive relationship provides the brand with opportunities to showcase properties throughout The Wall Street Journal Digital Network including the real estate homepage. This engaging new advertising content includes the popular Business of Extraordinary Living Microsite.

The brand will continue to exclusively sponsor BBC.com’s “Living in” series, which highlights the virtues of living in cities and regions around the world, as well as its “Once You’re There” series, which allows readers to continue their journey into the Living In destinations, providing in-depth and first hand information. The Sotheby’s International Realty network will continue its collaboration with The Telegraph Media Group to produce the successful World’s Best Places to Live online feature, which showcases custom content built in conjunction with the network’s office locations and interactive maps that integrate all firms.

In 2012, the brand developed a new relationship with Bloomberg markets that allows for the listings its network represents to reach an elite global business and financial audience, with Sothebysrealty.com integrated ad units rotating on 375,000 Bloomberg Terminals. “Our goal is to provide targeted and impactful exposure for the extraordinary homes our network represents through innovative and cutting-edge programs,” said Wendy Purvey, chief marketing officer, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. “Our focus is working with iconic global brands to help us reach our clientele wherever in the world they are searching. We also are committed to redefining the role of video in the real estate industry and utilizing this unique medium to reach luxury real estate consumers in a way that offers them a unique value in their home search. One way we are accomplishing this is through our relationship with Google’s YouTube, the world’s number one video site, and the development of our official YouTube brand channel.”

The brand will continue to develop its YouTube channel, launched last year, to provide consumers an inside view of some of the world’s most extraordinary properties by focusing on the distinctive life styles and amenities they offer at any price point. The channel features four categories of video: the Spotlight section provides candid views into some of the Sotheby’s International Realty network’s most exceptional properties and their lifestyles; the Property section contains videos on the many homes represented by the network; the Destination section spotlights the many luxury markets served by the network around the world; and the Brand section features an insider’s view of the Sotheby’s International Realty brand and the Sotheby’s Auction House.

According to Purvey, the brand’s website, sothebysrealty.com, this year will be translated into additional languages and further develop its focus on lifestyle. “Since we launched the new sothebysrealty.com last March, we have seen a year-over-year increase of 12 percent in unique visitors and 25 percent in page views,” she said. “We attribute this to our lifestyle focus and the availability of our website in 15 languages, with more to be added. Last year we debuted a Specialty Markets section that featured properties by five lifestyles: Farm & Ranch, Golf, Skiing, Vineyards and Waterfront. This will be an area we continue to enhance this year. Our data tells us that consumers are spending twice as long on sothebysrealty.com than the industry average, at nearly 13 minutes. That is a testament to the value of the information we are offering in the home-buying process.”

 

“This year’s marketing campaign will offer Ward Wight Sotheby’s International Realty’s clients exposure in a varied array of proven outlets, in both the print and online spaces, complementing our firm’s overall marketing strategy for the homes we represent in the Southern Monmouth & Northern Ocean County markets,” said Richard Wight, Broker / Owner. Ward Wight Sotheby’s International Realty looks forward to offering its clients innovative and effective ways to position their homes in front of an international audience of well-qualified buyers.”