The Right Word in the Right Ear
It all begins with an idea.
Roy Brooks, the legendary London estate agent understood excellent copy better than most. His classified property ads in the Observer and Sunday Times during the 1960s and 70s were humorous, insightful, thought-provoking and memorable. One ad headline, “Cheap Flat with Posh Address”, hooks the aspirant buyer and simultaneously offers a bargain, a double-hit in five compelling words, demonstrating Brooks’ deep understanding of buyer psyche. Through his copy, Brooks reminds us that property is more about people.
Strategy - The Ticking Clock
It all begins with an idea.
The challenge was marketing a small, untidy one-bedroom suburban apartment in an ugly block. The only redeeming feature was the close proximity to a railway station popular with commuters.
For advertising, we used an image of an old steam locomotive rather than an image of the property. The headline read, Ideal for Commuting. We were inundated with inquiries and soon found a buyer. We didn’t sell the apartment; we sold the location.
We reached the group most interested in the property by engagingly highlighting one attractive benefit. The legendary ad man, David Ogilvy, wrote the most famous motor car ad: “At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”. Ogilvy knew that the ad would attract wealthy buyers who demanded silent motoring through superlative auto-engineering, and he used the clock to make the unique point - just as we had used the steam locomotive to attract commuters.
It takes bold marketing to stray from the norm, but when executed well, it can produce spectacular results.