Updates from the Marketing Department (3/16/11)

Last week I promised you an eCard campaign.  Today we’re taking our first steps at rolling that out.  The first four cards in the series include a St. Louis Cardinals baseball schedule,  a River City Rascals baseball schedule, a St. Patrick’s Day eCard and a Photos with the Easter Bunny eCard (for offices with client events)  These are now both now in your website system for you to use. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

How are these different from what we’ve been doing in the past?  For the last few years we’ve been making eCards as they are needed.  Every eCard has looked different than the one before; never providing that all important brand-identity we need in order to make an impact on consumers.

The new cards will be part of a branded series, focusing on our ‘St. Louis’ campaign and offering calls-to-action on the right hand side.  

Please note that the ‘login’ button and “apply for a loan’ button can be customized for your website.  It’s a quick edit and directions are below.  

eCard_Diretions.docx
Download this file

Business Cards

A few of you had requested business cards that reflect our ‘you know you’re from St. Louis when’ campaign. These two business cards are now available through Xpressdocs and you can choose one of two backs that have different ‘you know you’re from’ phrases.

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

However, if you want to order one of the standard business cards we’ve also created optional backs for you to use. Three of these backs include room for a ‘contact’ QR code. This is one of my favorite uses of QR codes. When scanned it adds your contact information into the user’s phone contact list.  Very practical. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

I’ve also spoken to Xpressdocs on having a QR code options on the Property Business Cards. Coming Soon. 

 

Listing Presentation: Your Voice Needed

Monday I sent out a poll asking you which CMA / Listing Presentation tool you use. . . Toolkit, eNeighborhoods, MARIS, Resource Center materials, etc.  I simply need to find out what is being used so I have the right materials in the right place.  A HUGE thanks to Art Vibulakaopun for being the ONLY agent to respond to the poll. If we end up with a listing presentation with every page customized to him, you’ll now know why! 🙂

A special thanks to Doug Hippler, Greg Bowen and Glenn Miller for the email follow-up on listing presentation ideas. 

If you want to take the poll on your preferred CMA options and voice your wish-list for the company listing presentation please do so here: http://www.facebook.com/discoverstlcareers

 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

That small black and white box

When we recently offered a ‘Select Circle’ class on QR Codes, the level of interest forced us to create two sessions.  I think the newest marketing craze has fully hit St. Louis real estate.

QR codes – that small black and white box –  allows a user with a smart phone equipped with a QR application to view a webpage when the user holds the phone over the QR code.

I know a few of you have been experimenting with code providers, namely Scanlife.  The PSP Help Desk (webfix@psphomes.com) been attempting to help you navigate through the difficulties you’ve encountered, but it’s been hard to trouble-shoot on platforms that we don’t control.  

However, this week our website system will launch an application that automatically generates a QR code for every listing. The application allows you to print the listing’s QR code (small, medium, or large versions) for wherever you want to use it.

Additionally the Print or Email Flyers section of the listing manager provides a flyer with the QR code built onto it.

 

Below provides an example of how the listing appears after scanning the QR code with a smart phone.

 

I’m hoping this enhancement not only helps you in your marketing efforts but allows us to support you better since it it though our website provider, Reliance Network.  This is one of several enhancements that make their debut this week.  If you’re into that type of thing there is a full technical brief here:

SiteUpdate.pdf
Download this file

 

But if you want the 5 second version:

• QR Code Generator (discussed above)
• Mailing Labels, now generate mailing labels from your website contact list
• eCard Stationary

• Listing Management Enhancements.  For example you can now use a niffty report to find out which of your listings do not have a seller’s report set-up. 
• Frame for Custom Websites. If you don’t have a custom website, hosted outside of us, then this doesn’t apply to you.  If you do, now you can frame the full Reliance search to integrate their mapping capabilities and contact management tools. 

 

This release should be out today.  If you experience bugs or issues please email the Help Desk (webfix@psphomes.com).   

 

 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

 

 

 

It’s only been a year. . . .

I’m pretty much expecting a call from Rick Colburn the second I publish this blog. He’s been teasing me that he’s tried pushing ‘refresh’ on my blog page in anticipation of my second entry. . . for a year now.

 

Last year, about this time, I spoke to you about a new marketing plan based off the familiar “You know you’re from St. Louis when. . . “ phrase.  In 2010, we rebranded our website DiscoverStL.com and placed ads in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Your Next Home Magazine, and Feast Magazine discussing what makes St. Louis unique.  If you missed this one in Feast, it was one of my favorites. 

 

(For a full view, click here) 

 

Our campaign focus has been how well we know and love our city.  To truly capture this we created a ‘You Know You’re From” Facebook Fan Page and gave away Cardinals tickets and Ted Drewes concretes to consumers who shared their favorite ‘you know you’re from StL ‘moments with us.   And today, we have over 2,280 Facebook fans.  Visit us here and if you haven’t already, please share it with your friends.

 

In 2011, we’d like to continue branding ourselves as the local choice for St. Louis real estate. In the next few months we’re going to be delivering to you an eCard campaign, updated PowerPoint Listing Presentation, a PSP Marketing Plan brochure and new website enhancements, including QR Code marketing integration.  So stay tuned.

 

Just for fun here’s a brief look at the fans of other real estate companies and St. Louis institutions.

 

134 RE/MAX Properties West

287 Prudential Alliance

516 Crown Candy Kitchen

637 Coldwell Banker Gundaker

1,152 Boat House Forest Park

1,608 St. Louis Homes & Lifestyle Magazine

2,280 Prudential Select Properties ‘You Know You’re From St. Louis When. . . “

3,240 Blueberry Hill

4,554 St. Louis Magazine

5,074 Soulard Farmers Market

8,464 Riverfront Times

9, 083 St. Louis Post / StLtoday.com

 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

 

Prudential Select Properties & Prudential Patterson Realtors Join Forces

St. Louis, MO – December 12, 2010 – Prudential Select Properties and Prudential Patterson Realtors announced today an agreement to create a St. Louis real estate leader. The combined company will be the #1 locally owned real estate company in St. Louis and operate as the largest Prudential affiliate in Missouri and one of the top Prudential affiliates in the nation. The new Prudential Select Properties will offer residential and commercial real estate services to the greater St. Louis area.  

The agreement is expected to expand the market coverage and stimulate continued growth of Prudential Select Properties. The new company will have operations in St. Louis, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, St. Charles County and Lincoln County with over 650 sales associates. The company is headquartered in Des Peres.

George Bruns, president and chief executive officer of Prudential Select Properties, will be president and CEO of the new Prudential Select Properties. Maryann Vitale, Deb Colburn, Angie Ignatowski, and Sharon Huber are owners of Prudential Select Properties.

“We are very excited about the combination of Prudential Patterson Realtors and Prudential Select Properties,” said Bruns. “Because we are locally owned and operated, we focus all of our attention on delivering the most professional real estate service to St. Louis area homeowners. St. Louis is our home and our sole priority. ”