MAM
Guest Column: How interesting is real estate marketing
Fifty-three per cent of real estate transactions were influenced by the internet, according to a Google Zinnov study in 2013.
Four years later, this figure can only have become larger. There is a shift to greater research on the internet before engaging on the ground. I wouldn’t say that Indians are buying homes online as of now, but with the right builders and price point I would expect that investors could soon start to try that route as well.
The reason for the shift in one word is convenience. And this convenience is sought because there is an increasing demand on a person’s time. Rapid urbanisation has meant that real estate consumers are literally thrown into a new city and have to generate their own research to navigate through the complex world of real estate buying or renting. And this is where the internet real estate portals have added a whole lot of value for the home seeker.
1. Online real estate portals provide detailed information and some of them offer verified information so that it is real.
2. There is the visualisation of properties to give a sense of the property and the project/locality. In fact, in the case of recently launched properties, I would go as far to say that now there are views offered which are as superior and real as going and seeing the site. The 3-D tour is one such feature with which one can zoom out and get a slice view of the project and towers. In fact, one can even zoom further out and get an area wiki. Such tools help and enable a home seeker to visualise and even interact with the available real estate. This, further saves the time of the home seeker by helping him or her in shortlisting the properties.
3. The next logical step to visualisation is interaction and one can do so by transporting its avatar virtually and interacting with the partner, while being at work or even at different locations. Facebook Spaces is a pioneering effort towards this kind of interaction.
4. And finally the quality of information, the trust which the seeker has in the portal and the builder as the visualisation will lead to transactions happening online.
It is true that the real estate sector can be tough to navigate and it is also correct that it has been opaque as there is an information asymmetry which exists. But, this is factual for a lot of other sectors in India too. The opaqueness in the real estate sector sticks out because unlike a packet of chips, this is the most expensive purchase a person will make in his or her life. The first time you buy your house I can assure you, for most people it is a stretch and you do bet the farm.
The internet and real estate portals as part of it work towards reducing this information asymmetry and thus empowering the customer. And the way to do this is by ensuring that data, information and analysis are presented accurately. Today, portals take extra care to verify the data so that there is a bond of trust which is developed between the home seeker and the portal. Then there is the content which portals publish to keep their consumers abreast with what is happening. Some portals undertake drip marketing and serve content as per a home seeker’s requirement in the various stages of home buying journey he or she is in.
Thus, the broad mantra followed is that, less the information asymmetry more the empowerment.
Additionally, online real estate portals offer a suite of closely associated property services which also help empower the home seeker by providing help in legal services, home loans, property management and maintenance, furniture rentals, moving services and documentation services. These again help the home seeker close the deal. In the west there are portals which even help with valuation and are becoming more and more accurate to +/-5 per cent of the deal value. Price discovery is in fact one of the most difficult things to do and consumers have the benefit and support of advanced modelling done by the algorithms to give a good estimate of both buying and selling.
And, finally online real estate portals are doing a great job capturing the actual location of the properties and providing a map view which is accurate. Some portals also have a team of field experts to accurately map the property so that a consumer can check the distance and time to office or airport or anywhere and also see the average travel time during different phases of the day. This, again, is based on real data and thus a seeker is empowered by this knowledge to make a choice basis the location of the property.
So, in conclusion the real estate portals are doing exactly what is expected of any netizen, reduce information asymmetry, give more data and analysis and empower people to make their home buying dreams come true and not become a nightmare.
 The writer is the group chief marketing officer, Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com. Views expressed here are of the writer’s and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them. |
AD Agencies
WPP and Ogilvy top the global charts as India joins the creative elite: Warc rankings
A record five-year streak for Ogilvy while India secures a top five global spot
MUMBAI: The global advertising world has a familiar king, but a new powerhouse is gatecrashing the palace. In the latest Warc Creative 100 rankings, the industry’s definitive audit of excellence, WPP has once again been crowned the top holding company. Not to be outdone, its crown jewel, Ogilvy, has secured the top network spot for a staggering fifth consecutive year.
It is a “five-peat” that proves Ogilvy’s creative engine is not just running but purring. While many networks rely on one or two superstar offices to carry the load, Ogilvy’s dominance is a team effort across the globe. Hot on their heels is sister agency VML, which took the silver medal for networks, ensuring a WPP clean sweep at the very top of the podium.
The biggest noise, however, is coming from the East. India has officially vaulted into the top five most creative nations on Earth. Once viewed primarily as a back-office for production, the country is now a front-row leader in imagination. Driven by the brilliance of agencies like Ogilvy Mumbai and Leo Burnett India, the nation is proving that its work does more than just look good on a trophy shelf. In a market where every rupee must work twice as hard, Indian campaigns are blending high-concept artistry with ruthless commercial effectiveness.
The individual accolades saw Heineken toast to success as the top brand, finally knocking Apple off its perch. Unilever remains the world’s most awarded advertiser, proving that big business can still have a big heart through its work for Dove and Vaseline.
The title of the world’s most creative campaign went to Publicis Conseil Paris for their AXA “Three Words” initiative. By subtly adding “and domestic violence” to insurance policies to provide immediate relocation cover, the agency proved that the best advertising doesn’t just sell a service, it provides one.
The 2026 rankings also signal a shift in the industry’s DNA. The era of boring business-to-business marketing is dead, with B2B campaigns cracking the top ten for the first time. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence has moved past the gimmick stage. The winners this year used tech not for the sake of a trend, but to drive genuine human emotion.
Whether it is Paris providing a safety net for the vulnerable or India redefining the global creative order, the message from this year’s Warc rankings is clear. The best work in the world is no longer just about catching the eye, it is about changing the world.
