In an apparent continuing bid to woo the younger generations of potential buyers, Century 21 is buying real estate in We City, a mobile game that is only currently available on iPhones, iPads and other Apple based devices.
“CENTURY 21 agents are connecting with the next generation of buyers and sellers,” said Bev Thorne, chief marketing officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “We’re proud to be at the center of a new frontier in marketing, which enables gamers to interact with our brand in an expected and exciting way.”
While in the eyes of some, this is a ground breaking marketing effort, other industry observers view the audience as too young and limited to very few ‘eligible buyers”.
Will this effort at branding to a new generation pan out? Time will tell.
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Well, I knew real estate should be viewed as a “long term investment”, but farming pre-teen texters is pushing the argument!
Good story – but I’m not sure if it should be placed under “real estate” or “off-beat news”.
This is mindbending. Who would have thought a real estate company would be advertising in a world where real estate doesn’t really exist. I give props to Century 21 for reaching out to the younger crowd. I hope it works!
How young of a generation are we trying to appeal to? If the audience for this game is in the twenties then it may be a perfect approach to finding a new generation of buyers. Perhaps, though if it is a pre-teen or teen audience we can appeal to them in a different way. Suppose these teenagers decide they want to purchase a home, what a great time for them to begin saving for a down-payment and budgeting for the future. These teenagers are probably not ready to buy a home anytime soon, but we’re preparing them for the future in another way.Then–when they are a little older–they may be ready to purchase a home sooner than most, with leses debt and risk. I think in the long-term targeting this generation could have a lot of great benefits, and not just for the Real Estate industry! Let’s give them a goal and a dream from their early years. I hope it works too!
The 20 & 30 year olds love their smart phones gotta pay attention they are the next buyers in the RE game.
Sounds like C21′s money could be better spent else where. However, product placement advertising is the new big thing. Like you said Eric, only time will tell.
I agree. Time will tell, but when mom and dad look for a real estate agent, what is the likelihood that the teenager is going to jump in and remind them about Century21 because they saw them in a game? Maybe putting ads on billboards by the freeway would be a better idea?