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James Flanagan
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COLDWELL BANKER FLANAGAN REALTY PARTICIPATING IN NEW COLDWELL BANKER ‘ON LOCATION’ YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Coldwell Banker On Location is First in Industry to Fully Leverage Video for Local Search and Insights
Toms River, NJ, July 31, 2009 – Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty is announcing its participation in the new Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC branded YouTube channel that offers consumers a new way to search for and interact with real estate information and listings. Named Coldwell Banker On Location (www.youtube.com/coldwellbanker), the channel will fully leverage video to drill deeper into the local insights that consumers want when searching for real estate, and will provide unique information about Ocean County, NJ.
On Location is a collaboration between Coldwell Banker Real Estate, YouTube (a Google subsidiary) and Google. As the first branded YouTube channel to automatically provide local results when visitors first hit the site by using dynamic IP lookup, it is arguably one of the most comprehensive and immersive brand channels on the YouTube platform.
What Makes Coldwell Banker On Location Different?
“This channel allows us to give potential home-buyers a much more in-depth view of what it’s like to live in Ocean County, whether they are purchasing their first home, retiring or looking to move because of a new job,” said Jim Flanagan, Broker of Record of Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty. “Our agents are excited that they can use this unique video platform to share knowledge and more effectively showcase their homes online, saving time and energy for consumers.”
Coldwell Banker On Location differs from other real estate Web sites by using video to bring real estate more vividly to life – offering behind-the-scene looks at towns and neighborhoods, smart tips and timely news on real estate topics, and video listings of homes for sale. Secondly, content posted to On Location has a strong emphasis on local information and insights, so consumers can dig deeper into the areas of the country that interest them most.
Coldwell Banker Flanagan Realty plans to develop in-depth videos highlighting the unique aspects of Ocean County, NJ, with an emphasis on Toms River and Manchester, as well as videos that feature tips and information about the real estate selling and buying process overall. “Right now, we have an $8,000 Tax Credit available for qualified buyers”, noted Jim Flanagan, “that’s something we’re going share on YOUTUBE!”
Supporting this highly localized perspective is one of the more unique aspects of Coldwell Banker On Location – the ability to search for videos through a special map feature that has been developed specifically for the site. The map ‘widget’ is a prominent feature at the top of the On Location site and the main starting point for consumers searching for a home, a specific area of the country or more information on a real estate topic.
Residents of Ocean County, NJ, will automatically be shown local video search results when first visiting the site. If they are looking for homes in another part of the country, they can “Browse By Map,” and enter the city / state or zip code of their choosing – immediately pulling up that area’s videos listings, local community spotlights and Coldwell Banker sales associate/representative profiles. Consumers can click through to view specific videos – as well as connect back to the main Coldwell Banker Web site to learn more about a specific property for sale.
“Video is a critical part of how today’s consumers want to explore real estate, and we intend to use it to an extent never before seen in our industry,” said Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “On Location provides an exciting new platform for our vast network of thousands of sales associates to directly share the kind of local insights and knowledge that is invaluable to consumers hoping to learn about a new area.”
“Every month, millions of people search on YouTube for real estate content. Consumers are hungry for real estate-related videos. I'm thrilled that Coldwell Banker is the first in the industry to develop such a substantial innovation for real estate video. I look forward to seeing Coldwell Banker build On Location into one of the most active destinations for real estate search, discussion and engagement.”
Some of the video and written content for On Location will be supplied by a select group of content providers, including the Associated Press, CNN, Reel Productions TV, This Old House and TurnHere. Coldwell Banker On Location will complement the company’s main Web site at www.coldwellbanker.com – including the ‘Learn’ section which features educational content as well as news articles and updates on the real estate sector. It extends the company’s already robust social media strategy, which includes Facebook pages for the brand and its two founders, Colbert Coldwell and Arthur Banker, a Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/coldwellbnkr) and profiles on Flickr and FriendFeed.
In addition to using YouTube as a platform, Coldwell Banker Real Estate is leveraging the Google family of ad networks and channels for promotion of On Location. This includes both Google and YouTube search ads, YouTube banner promotions and Google TV.
Development of the On Location site was a collaborative effort by Coldwell Banker interactive agency partners, FD Kinesis and Bootstrap Software, Inc.
To see a video about Coldwell Banker On Location please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1AKZDhUrLY
