Affiliations that Boost Exposure

Working in luxury hardly means limiting the marketing and promotion to one’s background. Rather, luxury agents must approach their businesses with an international scope, and our sources uniformly agreed, with each speaking to the importance of a global business presence. Tripti Kasal, vice president of sales for Baird & Warner, explains that her brokerage is in the process of revamping its luxury program to emphasize the lifestyle and elegance inherent in high-end real estate.

“It’s not only about the quality, the finishes or the size of the property,” Kasal explains. “It’s about the lifestyle. We’re finding more and more that the luxury buyer is looking for a way of living.”

So while a more entry-level listing, Kasal says, may contain copy describing the number and size of the available bedrooms, a luxury listing will not, as such qualities are assumed; rather, the copy for a luxury listing will emphasize the lifestyle that the bedrooms can provide, and how the rooms’ finishes will complement that style.

“We look at it as a package,” Kasal says. “The marketing materials have to be of the same quality and reflect the same lifestyle as the person looking for it.”

Wendy Purvey, the chief marketing officer of Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, agrees, adding in the aforementioned Wealth X-Sotheby’s joint report: “Lifestyle is one of the key motivating factors in the purchase of a luxury home.”

As Kasal goes on to explain, perhaps the most traditional selling tactic of all – the open house – receives a makeover with Baird & Warner luxury listings when the client desires such an approach.

“For luxury homes, we are more likely to do a cocktail party as an evening event,” Kasal says. “We’ve had situations where we’ve partnered with another type of business, like an art gallery, for an event. If that’s what the seller wants, we will tailor a special type of event in the home.”

Also important, Kasal says, is exposure in luxury publications.

“We give our luxury properties international exposure through Luxury Portfolio,” she says, referencing Luxury Portfolio International, which is the luxury face of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World – the largest global network of premier locally branded companies, dominated by many of the world’s most powerful independent luxury brokerages. “Through portfolio, all of our luxury properties appear on its website, which is marketed all over the world. The brokers who have access to Luxury Portfolio come from 40 different countries. Each property listing is translated into nine languages. There’s even the ability to see the price in different currencies by just clicking on the property.”

@properties, also a member of Luxury Portfolio, takes the added measure of a highly visable print ad campaign. Anne Brahin, the vice president of brokerage services for @properties, says that one of her brokerage’s key luxury components is traditional print advertising, albeit with a modern twist.

“We do more print ads than any of our competitors,” Brahin says. “We never go dark, whereas many of our competitors go dark for maybe 26 weeks a year. We are one of the few brokerages that enhances all of the peeks inside on Zillow, Trulia, Yahoo!, realtor.com, PopAds and Homefinder; we have a program of print advertising in The Wall Street Journal and maintain an online presence on WSJ.com and LuxuryPortfolio.com; and we also have a beautiful custom luxury brochure that we’re about to upgrade, so that all of our luxury listings will receive their brochure in hardcover book form.”