The rules of marcomms are being rewritten – is real estate ready?

At this year’s UKREiiF, I had the pleasure of joining the very first event dedicated to marketing and communications. A day of panels, discussions, workshops and networking focused purely on the often-overlooked profession of building, managing and protecting profiles across the real estate industry, and maintaining meaningful connections with their audiences.  

And it couldn’t have come soon enough as practitioners – both in-house and agency side – grapple with a tough market coupled with a near unrecognisable landscape. 

Strategic communicators find themselves in one of the most competitive environments in recent history – across all sectors – where the need for distinction and impactful audience engagement is at an all-time high. Yet the opportunity and appetite to experiment with anything new remains limited.

Audiences “have gone AWOL”, in the words of LinkedIn’s Fredrik Borestrom during an exclusive session on the transformation of digital marketing (which could have taken a day to unpack in itself). Their cross consumption of media means they’re no longer confined to helpful silos, instead showing up anywhere and everywhere, with both B2C and B2B sharing the same spaces.

Meanwhile, AI has revolutionised how information and inspiration is sourced, fundamentally rewriting the rules for where and in what ways brands need to show up - not only to ensure they have a presence, but an accurate one. It’s no coincidence that brands have experienced a major drop-off in their web traffic since AI-led search became the dominant force, as they’re not optimised to show up correctly, if at all.

The interaction of media sources is also now more intertwined than ever with earned content (i.e. press coverage and endorsements from validated, trustworthy and authoritative voices) now the primary basis of said AI searches. In a generative engine optimisation (GEO)-dominated world, the primary value is in being talked about, not just talking. Self-published content now only takes a brand or personal profile so far.

Thankfully, these challenges were met by a delegation of curious, creative and tenacious marcomms professionals. And rather than outright despair, the day became a hotbed of clarity and opportunity.   

So, what were the key takeaways for maintaining an effective edge in real estate marcomms?

• Strategies need to shift in their approach, moving from campaign-led structures to more ‘system thinking’ that compounds activity over time, generates its own longer-term momentum and builds enduring authority, data and trust. 
• Marcomms should be more integrated than ever to unlock its full value, with all facets of digital, marketing and comms working harder, together, optimising efforts and investment across the board.
• Every activity and touchpoint created should be with a multi-stakeholder mindset rather than segmented between B2C and B2B or selective demographic groups. Brands and businesses need to show up in ways that resonate with all audiences, at all times.
• Brand presents the prime opportunity to foster distinction rather than product alone, which has been the focus for the residential sector in particular. With the thorough understanding this extends beyond a logo and colour palette to values, behaviour and personality. And it requires buy-in from the top down. This will become even more vital in the fast-growing subscription living models.

It was refreshing and encouraging to share challenges, ideas and insight from such a large and varied collective of lived experiences. And see the profession come together, once again, to work collegiately on defining a way forward that keeps real estate brands and businesses ahead in an ever-changing landscape. I’m looking forward to next year already.