3 Great Branding Ideas That Could Absolutely Set You Apart

Marketing strategy is easier to digest when it’s broken down into smaller pieces. Three, for instance, is a pretty good number to work with. Here are three marketing approaches, offered up by three RE/MAX stars, outlined in three parts. Maybe these ideas could work for your business.

THE YOUTUBE APPROACH

Lissa Weinstein
RE/MAX PREMIER PROPERTIES
CHICAGO, ILL.

1. Lissa Weinstein’s YouTube channel includes professional-quality video tours of the city’s most popular neighborhoods. The productions establish her as a credible expert in Chicago’s residential real estate market.

2. Weinstein, who joined RE/MAX in 2012, started creating videos about seven years ago, profiling local neighborhoods and off“ering market insights. She started by purchasing a high-end Canon video camera, along with microphones, a dolly, a tripod and a computer loaded with special editing software. She spent roughly $5,000 on equipment in order to ensure a highly polished result; then she hired students in DePaul University’s School of Cinema and Interactive Media to shoot the videos.

3. Weinstein prepares a detailed script for herself ahead of filming each session, and carefully edits the footage afterward. When she posts the finished products to her YouTube channel, she includes tags, such as names of specific neighborhoods in Chicago, to help buyers find her quickly through web searches. She routinely ranks among the top YouTube search results for Chicago real estate.

“It can take two full days to shoot and edit one of these videos, which is a big investment of time and energy,” Weinstein says. “But when you start doing deals with people who found you on YouTube, you see the payoff. If I’ve made one sale of a $1 million property tied to someone who found me on YouTube, I’ve already paid for a couple of years of work.”

THE PERSONAL BRAND APPROACH

Diane Bennett
RE/MAX 100, INSPIRED TEAM
MISHAWAKA, IND.
HALL OF FAME & 100 PERCENT CLUB

1. When Diane Bennett joined the network seven years ago, she wanted to create a personal brand that would supplement the power of her RE/MAX affiliation. One of her first moves as a Team Leader was hiring a marketing firm to help capture her team’s unique flair.

2. Bennett has an affinity for the color red; it’s always been her favorite color, and the fact that it’s a RE/MAX color makes the connection even stronger. Because her team members believe their mission in life and in real estate is to serve others, the marketing company recommended the team brand itself “Inspired.” Bennett loved the idea instantly.

3. The “Inspired” theme and logo is part of everything the team does now. Bennett wears something red virtually every day, and the personal brand is woven into all of the team’s marketing. The logo graces everything from the team’s fliers to its social media platforms, which include Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. “I don’t go out of the house without red on anymore,” says Bennett, a Hall of Fame and 100 Percent Club member. “It’s nice to have the big RE/MAX brand behind my little team, and the freedom to add our creative twist through a personal brand.

THE VISIBILITY IN MOTION APPROACH

Carlo Monteiro
RE/MAX BUSINESS II VILA
VILA NOVA DE FAMALICÃO, PORTUGAL
HALL OF FAME & PLATINUM CLUB

1. Carlo Monteiro joined RE/MAX in February 2009, after years in the textile industry, and immersed himself in RE/MAX education courses. He especially enjoyed the classes on sales and marketing, including a RE/MAX Portugal four-day sales-training course taught by a top-producing RE/MAX agent. Immediately after the course concluded, Monteiro got to work acting on the ideas he’d gleaned from his instructor. He printed fliers with his name and logo, and recruited his wife to go door-to-door in his farm area to hand them out.

2. His wife’s support did not immediately extend to his next big idea: the wrapped car. She wasn’t comfortable with all the exposure. The car is white, with a red, white and blue stripe down its middle; Monteiro’s name is emblazoned across the top of the front windshield, with his phone number on both doors. An image of the RE/MAX Balloon floats above the gas tank.

3. Although Monteiro’s wife was hesitant, she couldn’t argue with the results. Monteiro says his business has grown at a rate of 40 percent to 50 percent each year since he branded his car. He now has a fleet of 13 similarly decorated cars, from four-door BMWs to a one-seat kiddie car “driven” by his 3-year-old daughter. Perhaps the biggest indicator of his success, though, is the fact that one of those cars is now driven by his wife. “Everyone thought I was crazy,” says the Platinum Club member, who’s on a fast track to the RE/MAX Hall of Fame. “Now 70 percent of my lead calls come from those cars.”