February 26, 2025 • 45 mins
In this episode of Work Hard, Play Hard, and Give Back - A Real Estate Podcast, we sit down with David Marine, Chief Marketing Officer of Anywhere Brands, the parent company behind Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA Real Estate, and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
With over 22 years of experience in real estate marketing, David shares his incredible journey from creating the first digital listing presentation to pioneering social media in the industry by launching the first-ever Facebook page for real estate.
We dive into:
- The evolution of real estate marketing and branding
- How Coldwell Banker’s Move Meter campaign revolutionized consumer engagement
- The power of brand legacy and staying relevant in a changing industry
- Hilarious behind-the-scenes stories, including his unforgettable interview with Shaquille O'Neal
David also provides actionable insights on how agents can:
- Stand out with unique value propositions
- Measure marketing success with ROI-focused strategies
- Leverage brand recognition to pre-sell clients
Thank you for listening
Stay connected with us:
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- Twitter: twitter.com/cbamhomes
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/cbamhomes
Visit our website:
Interested in a career in real estate?
- Join our team: careers.cbamhomes.com
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the work hard, play hard and give back a
real estate podcast.
I'm Mike Litzner, your hostbroker owner, coldwell Banker,
american Homes.
I'm here at the Franklin Squarestudio at American Homes and I
have our guest today.
We're super excited to haveDavid Marine, chief marketing
officer of anywhere brands.
Welcome, david.
Oh, thanks for having me.
Mike, it's great to be here yeah, yeah, have David Marine, chief
(00:26):
Marketing Officer of AnywhereBrands.
Welcome, david.
Oh, thanks for having me, mike,it's great to be here.
Yeah, yeah, so this is adifferent type of interview than
we've had on the show beforeAnywhere.
Brands Tell our audience who,anywhere, brands is and what
they mean to real estate.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, so Anywhere.
Franchise brands includeColdwell, banker, century 21,
era Real Estate and Better Homesand Gardens Real Estate, so
they're kind of the core massmarket brands within the
Anywhere portfolio.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm glad you left Sotheby's and Corcoran off that
list right.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
They're separate, they're outside of my purview,
but as a chief marketing officer, I oversee the marketing teams
for all four of those brands,including Coldwell, Banker
Commercial as well.
And really, how do we bringthem to market, connect with
consumers, service our agentsand everything in between?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, now you spent 20 years 20-plus years in the
Coldwell Banker brandspecifically.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yes, this past March it was 22 years with the brand.
I started as the electronicproduct manager for a coal
banker not sure what that is,but neither was I, but basically
this is way back in 2002, okay,and I was newly married, second
(01:40):
job out of college, just hadbought 1300 square foot
townhouse and and I got a jobwith Coal Banker and basically
it was this idea of hey, theinternet and all these digital
things are becoming moreprevalent.
We need someone who's focusedon how do we create these more
electronic products for ouragents to use.
So claim to fame.
(02:00):
First day on the job I walkedin and they put down this giant
three ring binder in front of meand they said this is a listing
presentation.
It's the lifeblood of ourindustry.
It's what an agent uses everyday.
Yeah, we need to figure out away to make this digital.
And so I said oh, you mean liketurn it into a PowerPoint
presentation?
And my boss goes can you dothat?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And I said yes, so.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I created the first ever PowerPoint listing
presentation For yes, so.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I created the first ever PowerPoint listing
presentation in CoBanker history.
That is a pretty interestingclaim to fame, you know.
Bizarre, but yeah, that was methe funny part is that we can
look back now and from a lens of2025 and say that you know,
that was an impact changetechnologically for our industry
.
And it kind of brings me backto I remember being at a broker
(02:46):
council meeting in 2008, andthey were talking about
marketing and what have you?
And they're going on and onabout different ways that we
need to market ourselves better.
And then they say does anyoneelse have any questions?
And I raised my hand and I go,has anyone ever heard of this
Facebook thing?
And I got crickets.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
That's crazy because I remember distinctly in 2007,
2008, that same time frame, Ihad just gotten onto Facebook
and I walked into my boss'soffice at the time.
I was like, hey, I'm on thisthing called Facebook.
I'm seeing there's other brandson there.
Maybe it's something that weshould check out.
And one of the great thingsabout Coldwell Banker and their
(03:25):
leadership and really helpingwith even my own personal career
growth was there was alwaysthis idea of they were willing
to try something new and so myboss's response to me was go do
it and let's find out.
So we set up the first Facebookpage in all of real estate for
Coldwell-banker as a brand andstarted exploring that.
And then you look at it todayand it's like well, that seems
(03:47):
obvious.
Why wouldn't somebody do that?
But at the time I remember Ieven created a presentation that
was called what the Heck isSocial Media and why Should I
Care?
And it was going around like allright, here's what it can do
for you if you want to investthe time in it, and obviously
today there's no more like oh, Ithink it's a waste of time.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Right, should I Right ?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It is.
How are we going to be using itthe most effectively?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, now, with your role as a marketing director,
what type of strategies have youseen implemented?
I know you have been veryinstrumental, obviously on the
co-wall side, so you know it'sbeen kind of your baby, so to
speak.
Sure you know, yeah, but I knowyou've been very instrumental.
What marketing initiative moststands out to you from, you know
(04:31):
when?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
looking back in hindsight, yeah, looking back in
hindsight, there's so manydifferent campaigns that you can
say, wow, that was reallyamazing, it was groundbreaking,
it was different.
And then there are those thatwere like man, this really
produced incredible results.
One of the things that standsout to me, especially as we're
looking into today's age ofvirtual reality and artificial
(04:53):
intelligence and all that stuff,was back in 2009,.
There was a place called SecondLife.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Okay, I have no recollection of this at all.
You shouldn't at all.
But.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Second Life at the time was the first iteration of
a virtual world where you couldcreate an avatar and you could
go in and you could talk topeople and basically anything
was possible.
Okay, and so at the time we hadsaw this place, this thing, and
it started to get some buzz andit was, huh, I wonder if
there's a real estateapplication to this.
What if we opened up an officein this virtual world and sold
(05:27):
virtual homes for sale?
And then we took it a stepfurther.
It was like, well, what if werecreated a real life home in a
virtual world and had a virtualopen house for it?
So that was a bizarre idea.
And again, trying to explainthis to the powers that be, and
you're like, okay, here's whatwe want to do.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
And then it was like huh, that might be interesting.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Let's try it out.
So we recreated, based on thefloor plans and the specs, and
we had pictures, obviously, ofthe property for our sale in
Seattle Washington, recreated ina virtual world and then
created this virtual open housein addition to a real life open
house world.
And then created this virtualopen house in addition to a
real-life open house and the PRresponse to it was unlike
anything I've ever seen.
I mean, it exploded for months.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I know that looking for the right home can be
downright exhausting.
In this real estate update,Crowd4's Maureen Kelly shows us
new technology that one realestate company is trying out
that makes finding your dreamhome a little easier.
Here's what the open house ofthe future could look like.
This is a virtual tour Web 2.0style, but Coldwell Banker has
(06:33):
just taken it a step further.
They built a 3D version of this$3.1 million house.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Everything is to scale, an exact replica of the
actual listings.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
The virtual one was built in the online community
called Second Life.
Over 8.5 million people aroundthe world have signed on to this
site.
Part of the reason this101-year-old agency got into
this world is to try to stay intouch with the homebuyers of the
future.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
It was all that people wanted to talk to us
about.
From a coalbanger perspective,it was huge.
Now it was a short-lived effort.
Second Life no longer exists,right, but at the time it was
hey, this is somethinginteresting.
And how do we create somethingthat is marketable in the real
world, in a virtual?
So when I look back at howthings are today and my kids
(07:19):
have a VR headset and how thatexperience, it is Right.
We at CB were a leader inthinking ahead.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And while it was like bleeding edge at the time,
right now it's like, okay,that's something that seems very
reasonable to do, a virtualreality walkthrough of a home
using a VR headset, so that'sone of those things that kind of
stands out in my mind is like,wow, that was way out there.
But you know what, now, today,that's kind of realistic.
Yeah, I think you bring up agood point.
That and this is key to all ofmarketing is that whatever
(07:51):
you're doing, you need to knowwhether it is producing results
or not, right?
So I'm a big sports guy, as youknow, and I always use this as
an example is, it doesn't matterwhat sport you play, they
always keep score, right,whether is?
it doesn't matter what sport youplay, they always keep score.
Whether it's in the NBA orpickup basketball.
We're keeping score because youwant to know if you're winning
or not.
That's why you're playing Samething with marketing.
I can do this thing and oh wow,it's cool, and even from a
(08:14):
brand's perspective.
There's a lot of brands outthere and they're doing
advertising in these differentcampaigns.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Hey look, we won these awards or whatever, but is
it producing?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
results Right.
So, even as an individual agentor a team or a brokerage,
whatever you're investing yourtime and money in from a
marketing standpoint, you wantto be able to track whether that
is performing at yourexpectation.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
What's your ROI Exactly?
What's your return on?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
investment and, as a brand, is being able to showcase
that what we're doing isproducing results, whether that
is leading to traffic to awebsite, leads, conversion.
What is the return on immediatespend, investment, all those
things, and there are so manydifferent ways.
I love it when I walk into ameeting and someone's like but
(08:57):
how do we know that it's working?
And I say like, oh well, I havejust the answer for you.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Glad you asked.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Here's what I have, and here's how I can measure it.
So I think that that's a keyfor anyone out there who's doing
marketing is making sure you'rebeing able to show that that's
producing the results you want.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Exactly, exactly, like that, like that.
Now the current focus forColdwell Banker.
They had this past year thearrangement with Thursday Night.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Football.
Amazon Prime Thursday NightFootball.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Oh, it's Amazon, it's okay, you're a Jets fan, so
they're not on Thursday NightFootball.
No, I'm a Giants fan.
Oh are you.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, gallagher's the Jets fan.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Oh all right, it's hard to be either right now.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yes, very hard.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So why don't you share a little bit with our
audience what that looks likefrom a and how it supports the
brokers and agents?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, when you look at a brand, especially a
franchisee and an independentagent in this industry, and you
want to associate with a brand,who's going to give you some
sort of value.
One of the values thatColdBanker brings is one history
and legacy within the industry.
Two, the brand recognitionthat's out there.
So when you look at brandadvertising, it's providing
(10:04):
almost an air cover for theon-the-ground troops, if you
will.
We're making sure that our nameis out there and that there's
something that people can see inthe brand that is going to be
unique or different or make themgo.
Huh, let me check that out.
So with the Thursday NightFootball, a great campaign was
done around what we call theMove Meter matchup.
So Move Meter, coldbankercomslash Move Meter.
(10:25):
It's a tool you can compare anytwo cities across the United
States and it measures a wholebunch of things beyond just the
value of a home Lifestyle,walkability, all sorts of stuff
that goes into the details of it.
So what we did is we createdads that would compare the
matchup between the two teamsplaying on Thursday night
football.
So it was Seattle versus SanFrancisco and the ad would talk
(10:47):
creatively about the differencesfrom them as a city, like the
home of grunge versus thesourdough type of stuff.
And then it would drive peopleto say you can go to
coldbankercom move meter and seethe difference not only between
these but any cities in the US.
What we saw is, when these adsran, there was a 15% increase in
the usage of MoveMeter duringthe course of On the Coldwell
(11:11):
Banker corporate site.
On coldwellbankercom betweenAugust and December when the ads
would run, boom across theboard 15% increase.
But we saw huge surges of like1, thousand percent increase in
usage when the commercial wasrunning.
And in fact, one of my favoriteclaims out of this is that
(11:33):
Amazon Prime did a study withGoogle that said, hey, what's
the most effective advertiserson Thursday Night Football?
And we're going to measure itbased on the search activity
that is happening within 10minutes of an ad running.
Okay, so people see the ad,who's taking action on it?
And what we found was ColdBanker was the number two
advertiser behind Gillette,spending significantly more
money, and is an officialpartner in the NFL, but more
(11:53):
people were doing searches forCold Banker than any of the
other brands on Thursday NightFootball, including Meta, google
, apple, kia, all the householdbrands you know and to me that's
showing that, hey, it's a great, creative, great venue.
It's getting a lot of eyeballsRight, but now it's also
producing the results that wetalked about before Measurable
results.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Measurable results.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That is business oriented, getting people engaged
on our site.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Then coming back to hopefully look for listings and
agents and so on, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And then there's the.
You know the halo effect, so tospeak, from that.
So when an agent walks into ahouse, are they pre-sold?
Because the consumer kind ofknows the brand.
So you know an agent has tosell the.
Why real estate?
You know, why do I need to hirea real estate person?
Why that real estate agent andwhy that company?
(12:45):
And it's great when the companyis already pre-sold as opposed
to who do you work for?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, and I get it all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
I mean, obviously I'm biased in the brands that I
work for, that I place greatvalue in the brands.
But I'll go down the shore onvacation and my parents have a
place down in Wildwood Crest andwe'll talk to people on the
beach and they know I'm in realestate and they're like what is
this EXP thing?
Who is that?
What is that?
But they immediately know oh,cold banker real estate.
(13:13):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I know that Better homes and gardens.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I know that one.
It already rings a bell inpeople's mind, and one
conversation that's beenhappening throughout the two
decades I've been part of thisindustry is like does a real
estate brand matter?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And the comparison that I like to use is it
absolutely matters.
And if it didn't matter, thenthere would be a Kmart real
estate and you wouldn't mindhaving a Kmart sign in your
front yard right Now as aconsumer, you're like no, I
don't want that in my front yard.
No, that says something about myproperty as an agent.
You don't want to be part ofthat.
That says something about who Iam.
But when you put a Cole BankerYard sign in your front yard,
(13:48):
that means something.
Consumers recognize it, theyknow it's a reputable name and
you are now associated with thatcompany and that name as well.
That does wonders for you aswell, saying, oh I know, mike,
he's an ethical, great businessguy and he's with Cole Banker,
who also is that.
That makes sense to me andtherefore makes me trust them
more.
So branding, I believe, isactually wired into our DNA as
(14:10):
humans.
There's something about beingaffiliated or associated with
something that's larger thanyourself that gives you pride,
esteem, self-worth.
I have four boys and when itcomes to athletic attire and
sneakers like, brand is critical, and it doesn't even
necessarily need to be like theNike or the Adidas.
It's the person who'sassociated with it.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
As well, all right.
So I know there's a story backhere.
So which brand is it that wesubscribe to?
Oh well, when it comes tosports stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Well, I'm a huge Nike and Air Jordan guy.
Okay, I've loved Air Jordansever since a kid, and having
shoes, playing basketball, okay,and that's kind of carried over
into my boys as well.
But they love being connectedor associated with those brands.
That's like, hey, this guy,he's up and coming, right, he's
(15:02):
great, he's the performer that Iwant to be and so therefore, I
want to be associated with that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And you're spot on.
They see themselves in hisshoes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Exactly, exactly those shoes.
But when it comes to purchasingthe largest investment that
you're going to make in yourlife, you want to.
It's kind of ironic that a lotof times most people are just
going with the random personthat they happen to be near or
associated with.
And so I think right now, andeven after COVID and kind of the
(15:30):
surge in real estate activity,people are now being a little
bit smarter about that andsaying like, hey, you know what
I just don't want to go with myaunt's best friend who I've
known for 30 years.
I want someone who really doeswell, knows what they're doing,
and there's some sort ofconnection there that I can
understand, that I feel like I'min the trusted hands.
So that's why I think beingpart of a brand, in addition to
(15:55):
your own personal brand, as anagent or a team or whatever I
love the line that it's yourname next to ours.
That really makes sets thedifference.
So when it's Coal Banker, it'scoal banker, american homes and
David marine, then you put allthose together.
That's where the magic happensand the the unique aspects of
each individual, whether it bethe brand or the agent, can
(16:16):
really set you apart.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I think that's a.
There's a really importantmessage here for agents,
especially because it's findingyour lane exactly very different
um delivery and expectations of, say, a global luxury brand
right or a property.
You know something that's goingto sell for two, three, four,
five million or above.
Then there is, you know thetypical, you know, starter home
(16:40):
and again they're they're bothimportant, so I don't mean to
diminish one.
They're both the most importantinvestment for that person at
that time in their life.
I'm sure you had your starthome, I had mine and it took
everything I had to try to getmy first start home and then you
build on it.
But the time you get to thathigher end property there's a
(17:00):
different expectation, adifferent marketplace and how do
you reach it?
So knowing how to tap into thatglobal luxury brand extension
and the tools I think is hugelyimportant if that's your lane.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yes, there's different levels of expectation.
At its core, the deals are thesame.
Right, you're dealing with aclient who has something that's
very precious to them and theywant to get the best deal for
and in the smoothest waypossible, correct?
However it's the details alongthe way that really make the
difference.
Yes, so I think what the GlobalLuxury Program does best is
helps educate our agents, and wehave great tools in that system
(17:37):
and there's great outreachthrough listing, distribution
through international sites andall that kind of stuff, right.
But the greatest thing to me isthe value of that network,
right, of going to the globalluxury events.
You're connecting with peoplebecause a lot of times those
types of deals are coming fromthe referrals.
Yes, it's going to be out oftown people looking to move to
our markets.
And if you can learn from someof the best in the business
(17:57):
about how they're going about itand say, hey, I'm running into
this scenario, have you ever runinto this before?
Nine times out of ten theperson's going to be like, yeah,
I know exactly what you'regoing through.
Here's how it worked for me, orhere's how it didn't work for
me previously.
Exactly, and to me, that's thevalue of the Global Luxury
Program, of the brand itself too, is that it's no longer just
reliant on you to figure thisout.
(18:19):
It's like now, all of a sudden,I've got people around me,
like-minded, in the same boat,who I can lean on to help, and
nine times out of 10, probably99 times out of 100, they want
to help, yes, and they want tobe able to share that experience
with you.
So that is a great part of notonly the training that's done at
Global Luxury, but the eventsthat they have as well to
connect our agents.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Correct, absolutely, absolutely.
So I want to pivot a little bit.
We hear a little bit because,um, again, as we touched on
earlier, you moved from thecolwell banker brand, which is
still under your purview, but,um, so now you're obviously four
different brands.
For the six brands is safe tosay, for, yes, for, uh, anywhere
(19:00):
brands, real estate brands.
How does that change your, yourposition?
How do you cross marketdifferent brands and their
identities, so to speak?
Yeah, it's super easy.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
No, I'm kidding this past year.
It's been about a year that I'vebeen in this new role and the
past year has been a reallyeye-opening learning experience,
both from an industryperspective but also as a
marketer.
And I like to start withresearch.
To me, that helps me get afoundational understanding of
what's going on within brands.
And I like to start withresearch.
To me, that helps me get afoundational understanding of
(19:30):
what's going on within brands.
So I spent the better part ofthe first three or four months
in the role researching andtalking to agents within each of
these brands, outside of thebrands consumers, getting an
understanding of what is theperception of each of these
companies Right, and then tryingto figure out what is the
unique messaging that each brandshould have that speaks
(19:51):
specifically to who they are butalso creates differentiation
between all of them.
They're often operating insimilar markets, closely
connected, so how do you createthose unique spaces for them?
And so spent a lot of timedoing that, and was able to find
out one just going to eachbrand's event.
There is truly a differentculture in each brand that is
(20:14):
unique to them.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
It has a personality, almost right yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It really is bizarre how different it is, and for
someone who's come to ColdBanker events for 20 years, I
had an expectation of like oh,this is what it is.
And I would walk into one eventand be like we would never do
this at a CV event.
And then it was like, not thatit's a bad thing, but it was
like, oh, it's very different.
They're much more open to thistype of stuff, so that was kind
of eye-opening.
(20:37):
And then how do you focus onwhat those differentiators are
and then create the uniquemessaging, not only for
consumers, but also the networksas a whole, so they can feel
the pride in the brand?
It really speaks to the core ofwho they are.
So what I'm excited about for2025 is, now that we've laid
this foundational messaging workin place, a lot of this stuff
is starting to come to fruition.
(20:57):
Creative is coming out there.
I'm excited about some of thenew campaigns that are being
rolling out across these brands.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Do you have any scoops for us, especially on the
Coldwell Banker side?
Oh, rolling out across thesebrands, do you?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
have any scoops for us, especially on the Coldwell
Banker side.
Oh, on the Coldwell Banker side.
So the great part aboutColdwell Banker is when we did
research with agents andconsumers and it was no prodding
or at all the current messagingthat was in place was spot on,
it was resonating.
They looked at us as a trustedguide within the real estate
(21:29):
process.
Experienced leadership,everything that we talked about
whether it's being the NorthStar in the real estate industry
, guiding you home since 1906.
That was spot on that wasencouraging, like hey what?
we're doing is resonating withthem, excited for Better Homes
and Gardens Real Estate, andwhen we did some of the research
with them, I kept coming backto it and I was like, is this
too obvious?
But we need to get closerconnected to the magazine brand.
(21:51):
And so the new positioning forBetter Homes and Gardens Real
Estate was the real estate brandfrom the magazine you trust for
all things home.
Better Homes and GardensMagazine has been around for
over a hundred years.
It's one of the most readmagazines in the world, it's one
of the top 10 brands within theUnited States, and they have a
significant presence within GenX and Gen Y through their social
(22:13):
platforms.
And so I was like, well, ifpeople know and love the
magazine so much and our name isthe same as theirs, we're just
adding real estate into it.
We need to figure out apositioning and a campaign that
can do that, and so we launcheda two-page spread, a full page
spread, in the october issue ofthe magazines, continuing into
this year.
Yeah, and all of a sudden thenit clicked immediately.
With their network, we'realready seeing increases in
(22:35):
website traffic and leads on therums gardens real estate site.
Uh, and then this this month infebruary, we're rolling out a
large era campaign called moveup, which excited about some
media partnerships there.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Now, just for our audience, I you know the brands
that you're that are under youruh again, your purview, so to
speak, encompass how manyoffices, how many agents, how
many countries?
Yeah, because I know cobaltalone is in like 40 plus
countries, 42, 43 countries, uhyeah, it's over 60 countries.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
I think it's 250,000 agents across the globe.
But yeah, it's a very largefootprint.
And the amazing thing is eachof these brands and I didn't
even realize it until I starteddoing more detail is CB's been
around since 1906.
Center 21's been around sincethe 70s Right ERA as well, same
with Better Homes and GardensReal Estate in the early 80s.
(23:29):
Each of these brands have beenaround for like 40, 50 years,
right.
So these are established brandswithin the industry that have
that recognition.
So, as a brand guy myself, tome it's a great playground to be
a part of and being able towork with these trusted brands
that you don't have to establishlike well what does this thing?
Mean right.
People recognize there'salready something there and now
(23:51):
I have the ability to help shapeit and bring those
differentiators to the forefront.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know what's interesting From my perspective,
again, 41 years of being, youknow, on the brokerage side, so
more the application side.
You see the legacy of thebranch you talked about and
they're all very iconic.
And yet sometimes you seeagents who these new brands,
come out and all of a suddenthey get this.
(24:16):
You know, it's like the hot newthing, sure, and they seem to
get what I call the honeymoonperiod where they're all buzzing
, buzzing, buzzing.
It was like, oh yeah, they'rethe new thing, they're not the
old thing anymore.
And it was like, oh yeah,they're the new thing, they're
not the old thing anymore.
And then all of a sudden, threeyears later, it's like you know
, it disappears and then there'sanother new thing.
So there's a certain segment ofagents who really respect the
(24:39):
legacy and what it takes tosurvive 100-plus years, as
Coldwell Banker has, or even50-plus years, as Century 21, 21
has, as opposed to.
You know I'm the hot buzz, butcan you stay and show your value
that people and agents actuallystay with you?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I remember everybody from Purple Bricks to Foxtons
and probably 100 in between.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Speaking of multiple bankrupt companies right.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
The thing with brands is not just survival but
thriving, correct?
So can you one survive the testof time, but then continue to
show that you can thrive overthe course of it as well?
Yes, and so that's what I thinkeach of our brands have done in
their own unique ways.
And that's what we need tocontinue to showcase.
There's always going to be theheadline grabbers and everyone
(25:27):
loves like, hey, this is thehottest thing that's out there,
right, and oh, let's focus onthat for a hot second
Reinventing real estate, butmeanwhile it wasn't broken,
that's right and the key alsoshowing the evolution of the
brand over time as well, right,the fact that even it was kind
of the impetus for the rebrandfor Cole Banker was this idea of
(25:49):
, hey, everything that we weredoing and everything that we
were saying felt very currentand modern and hey, this is a
real estate brand for the future.
But they thought we just lookedold, right.
So I was like, oh all right,that that's a way easier thing
to fix, yeah.
Then like, hey, we have notrust that anything that you're
doing is worthwhile 100% Trustis everything, and so then, that
(26:10):
kind of brought the rebrand tolife and giving it a very modern
and a facelift to it.
With these other brands that I'mnow overseeing is what I'm
trying to do as well is showcase.
Okay, what is the consumer andwhat do our agents not only
think about our brand, but whatdo they want the brand to be,
what do they expect from it?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Are we?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
delivering on that expectation, and is that
expectation different from thecompetitor?
That's right next to us andthat, to me, even as individual
agents are listening to this, iswhen you're talking about your
own value proposition as anagent.
Yes, if you write out, hey,this is my value prop as a
company, as an agent, I alwaystell people, start with your
(26:49):
name, right, david Marine isfill it out, okay, one sentence.
Don't make it a run on just onesentence.
What is it?
Okay If I can change the nameat the front to someone else and
it still makes sense.
Your value prop's not goodenough.
You got to make it specific towho you are as a brand, as a
company, as an agent, and thenthat's what you can key on.
You're going to do other stuffbeyond that, but this is the
(27:12):
sweet spot of what really makesDavid Marine, david Marine or
Colbert American Homes trulyunique, and the more that our
brands and our agents can focuson that, the more success
they're going to have.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Yeah, ironically, I'm not sure if you just answered
it or not, but my next questionwas really more for like an
agent.
So you got an agent coming intothe business or they're in the
business and want to continue togrow their business.
What's one piece of advice youcan give them for marketing to
help them, or a powerfulstrategy that would help them
(27:44):
make an impact in their localmarkets?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Yeah, I'll share a little tool that I use.
I'm a big guy on storytellingand I think that if you can
formulate your story and usethat in your marketing, it's the
most powerful, timeless way toconnect with people and to
persuade them to want to workwith you.
So there's this little monikerthat we use on all of our what
(28:07):
we call creative briefs inmarketing.
So when you're starting a newproject, you put this hey, we
want this project to do this, tospeak to these people and
deliver on that.
And you put it in a brief andyou give it to an agency or
whomever, and the team is ableto say this is the confines of
what this project should be.
But at the top we start withthree words Convince that,
(28:28):
because so convince who?
Who do I want to talk?
To Be as specific as possiblethat what do you want them to do
?
That they should work withDavid Marine, that they should
sell their million dollar homewith David Marine properties,
right.
And then here's a tough one,because what's the reason why,
(28:50):
what's the proof to that, if youcan make that sentence, make
sense.
Convince luxury home buyers inyou know madison, new jersey,
right.
That david marine is the luxuryagent of choice that you want
to list your million dollar plushome with because no one has
sold more million dollar homesthan david marine in madison
over the past 18 months orwhatever specific it is.
(29:12):
Then, all of a sudden, you'vegot the confines that you can
create what is a unique storyand message that's specific to
you?
yeah, a lot of times we're justlike I want to be the I'm the
number one person for everyone,right, versus really honing in.
Yeah, will you take the othersthat are coming outside of that
construct?
Yes, but you can be able tomeasure and be able to showcase.
(29:32):
Hey, these are the specificpeople I really want to make a
difference with this year.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I think that will help people refine their story
and be more, uh, strategic aboutwhat they're doing one of my
pet peeves and you've almosttouched on it, but you kind of
danced around it in a differentway.
But agents or the industry, Ishould say has a habit of I'm
number one.
No, I'm number one.
I'm number one on Tuesdaysbetween 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock
in closings.
(29:57):
It's like so what are younumber one in and what does that
really mean to the consumer?
So when you say, convince who,who's your marketplace and do
they really care that you'renumber one, that's great for you
.
What's in it for me, theconsumer?
So that's why I feel like a lotof the marketing from an agent
side misses.
Am I?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
off base on that.
You're exactly right.
It's been something.
I've used that same line withpeople.
I'm talking about everybody'snumber one in something.
It's almost as if you see amovie trailer right, you know
the movie is garbage, butthey've got a quote from
somebody who's like best actionmovie ever made, right yeah,
you're like you just lost it.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It was incredible.
They cut off the end.
It was an incredible flop.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
But you know that you're not fooled by it, right,
but it's become an expectationthat everybody's every trailer
is going to have some amazingreviews part of it.
Every real estate agent isgoing to put that they're number
one or on the best or the most,whatever, on their advertising.
It's when you get past thatwhat's really going to make a
difference, a more compellingmessage, exactly so.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I like that.
I like that.
Now I want to go one otherplace.
We touched on this before whenyou're talking about your kids,
but you said you're a Nike guy.
Yeah, okay, I know you had aback and forth with Shaquille
O'Neal.
Isn't he a Reebok guy?
He is.
He's a.
Reebok guy Did you know thatwhen you interviewed For our
(31:24):
audience David was at Gen Blue,which was the international
convention for Cold War Banker.
You had the pleasure ofinterviewing Shaquille O'Neal on
stage as the keynote speaker.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Some would call it a pleasure, some would call it
something else, but yeah, it wasa truly unique experience.
It was one of the hardestthings and rewarding things that
I've ever done.
So for anyone who wasn't thereand didn't see it, shaq was
given questions ahead of timethat we had to agree that he was
going to be asked.
But Shaquille O'Neal isShaquille O'Neal oh a character,
(31:51):
what a personality.
He's a good guy went off on hisown and he was poking fun at me,
and so what I had to realize aspart of the interview was that
when he was pushing me, it wasall part of the act, yeah, and
so therefore, I had to adjust inmy own mind and be like all
these questions are out thewindow.
(32:11):
But I will be the the straightman in this two-man bit, and I
know that he's doing this justto be entertaining, and so he
made fun of my white pants.
I hope every last time youdon't get a jelly baby.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yes, yes, and you spill all of those sexy white
bags.
You know some sexy.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Stand up here with this lady Awesome Good luck to
you.
Good luck to you.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Come on, look at this hot guy in the white pants.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
It was all good fun.
And so afterwards, at the endof the interview, we walked off
stage and he turned to me and tome this is one of the best
compliments that I've evergotten.
He said thank you for being socool about all of this.
He goes.
I do 100 of these a year.
Yeah, yeah, and he says thatnine times out of 10, the person
(33:03):
reacts and is offended, andthen the interview just becomes
boring.
So thanks you for making it fun.
Yeah, and so, as you mentioned,yes, I was wearing Nike Air
Jordans on stage with him at thetime and he did point that out.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
That little Nike story you told me, forget that.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Reebok, by the way, dude.
I told him during the interview.
I was like, like well, I'm asize 11.
If you ever have any extra pair?
So a week later, when I gothome, there was a large box on
my front porch and I opened itup and Shaquille O'Neal sent me
six pairs of shoes and I'mactually wearing a pair of those
(33:46):
Reeboks right now that he gaveme To me.
That really said it all.
It's like, okay, he rememberedthat thing.
That was said and there wasthat connection there.
So I have one pair that I don'ttouch.
It's just on a bookshelf athome.
But 100% street cred with thekids on my basketball team that
I coach and my own kids werelike, are those the shoes that
(34:06):
Shaq got you?
But yeah, so that was afantastic experience, but, yes,
a shocking one as well.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
I really think that the speech training that I got
in college really helps from aprofessional standpoint more
than anything else.
Yeah, I took marketing classes.
I got a degree in marketing.
Everything that I learned inmarketing no longer exists today
.
Right, there was no YouTube,ads and AI and that kind of
stuff.
It's all I learned about thecore basics of marketing and it
(34:37):
didn't matter.
But the speech classes that Itook 24 years ago I still use
every single day.
Yeah, and that helped me thatin the moment, because I knew
what I wanted to do and I knewhow to handle objections, was
able to shift even withoutthinking about it.
(34:58):
It just became part of like anatural reaction to it.
So anyone out there who'slistening and they're like, hey,
I want to get into marketing orbusiness or sales or whatever
the more speech classes that youcan take and the more you can
focus on your presenting skillsand how to persuade people, the
better, because it will be atimeless resource for you
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
So, david, I know you're married, have four kids,
four sons, right, four boys,yeah.
So how much of this education,so to speak, or words of wisdom,
do you share with your sons anddo they listen?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Do boys ever listen?
I don't know I've got six ofthem, so it's just over time,
right, the repetition eventuallysinks in.
So funny thing is, my oldestson is a junior in college.
He's majoring in communications.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
And he's taking some business and marketing classes
as part of that.
So he takes a class last yearor the year before called
digital storytelling.
Okay, and I'm just like digitalstorytelling, this is one.
Wish I had that class when Iwas in college.
Two, this is my sweet spot.
He's like, yeah, I got to do aproject on a video, I got to
build a website.
(36:07):
My sweet spot he's like yeah, Igotta do project on a video, I
gotta build a website, I gottado some social campaign, blah
blah.
I'm like I'm here, let me knowwhat, uh, what can I help with?
What do you want you?
Speaker 1 (36:15):
want me to take a look at anything, nothing.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He doesn't want to hear anything like.
He didn't ask for that for onething or the other, but the
greatest thing to me was he camehome and he shot that he had to
make like a short film.
It was a one minute film, nolines had to have these
different shots and it was partof this project.
And I was like well, can I seeit when you're done?
And he shows it to me and itwas better than anything that I
(36:38):
would have come up with.
So then there you're like wow,that's, that's a proud dad.
Examples, hopefully, that I'mproducing in my own life and
with my wife that they will thenbe able to implement with their
families when they grow older.
And you want to be a proudparent in this thing or that
(37:01):
thing.
And then people always say allthe time and side pet peeve of
mine like I just want my kids tobe happy, and to me happiness
is a low base.
They can be happy doing nothingand playing video games all day.
I don't want them to be thathappy.
But I want my children to bemore productive than I was.
(37:22):
I want them to be better thanme in whatever area that they
choose to go in.
So that's kind of what my wifeand I are trying to establish
and the right wisdom to sharewith them, and when you see one
nugget get taken and implemented, yeah, like that's.
It doesn't matter that theyignored the other 99 hour around
(37:44):
it, but it's that one that yougrab a whole lot all right.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
so, david um, just to get a little more personal
stuff, can you maybe share onefun fact about yourself that
most people don't know about you?
Speaker 2 (37:57):
I sing in my church not as frequently as I used to,
but yeah, I was.
My mom is a trained musician,piano teacher, choir instructor
for 30 plus years.
At a very early age I wassinging solos and duets in
church.
I used to have to pull out alittle chair.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
So you can hold a tune.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Not as good as I used to, Okay, but one of the most
rewarding things.
My wife is very musical and shesings as well, and each of my
boys have been required to takepiano lessons for a limited
amount of time.
Some have stuck with it, somehaven't, but my oldest is a
musician, still plays the piano,plays the euphonium.
My son Wyatt, who's 17 now, hesings and he's in the school
(38:41):
worship team and he sings atchurch.
And then my son Owen, who's 14,plays the trumpet, Okay, and my
youngest Cole plays the pianoand the I forget what he calls
it.
It's like a xylophone, but it'skind of different Glockenspiel
is the name of it.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I've heard of it, but I don't know if I could pick it
out.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
But yes, so just this past over Christmas break, a
little parenting rewardingmoment is I sang in a quartet
with actually it was a quintetwith my two oldest sons, myself,
and then my pastor and his sonas well, so it was a nice little
generational moment.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
but that's kind of the musical genes are passing
through, so is that on yourYouTube channel?
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Oh, it's probably on my dad's YouTube channel.
He records all those things,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
So I want to pivot real quickly to the give back.
So giving is a really importantpart of, I know, our life at
American Homes and I also knowit's a big part of Coldwell
Banker.
Are there any causes orinitiatives that you are
personally really passionateabout?
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Yeah, I believe in giving back, not only from
financial, but with your timeand effort, and both my wife and
I, and even my parents beforeme, invested in our local church
.
I've been going there for thepast I'm 46 now, so for about 40
years Wow and being part ofthat community and being in
(40:08):
service there as well as withinour school.
So my boys go to a smallChristian school.
My wife teaches that one Right,and they're always looking for
people to support and help out,and so whenever we can be part
of that and give our time andeffort, we'd like to do that.
One of the smallest ways that Ididn't even realize.
But also oftentimes and youknow this when you're part of a
(40:29):
charity or giving back, it'softentimes more rewarding to you
.
Yeah, and you don't realize itwhen you're trying to do
something good for others.
So with my son's high school,my oldest son was on the
basketball team during COVID andin late 2020, early 2021, New
Jersey wouldn't let fans in thegym Right the players could play
(40:49):
but there was no fans allowed.
So I said to the head coach Isaid listen, I will figure out
how to live stream and I'll getequipment and whatever if that
gets me in the gym and that wayother parents could see it.
And they're like, great, let'sdo it.
So I started live streamingthese games and during the games
I was just telling the scoreevery once in a while and one of
(41:10):
the parents came up to me andsaid just tell us what's going
on every once in a while.
Yeah, and one of the parentscame up to me and said just tell
us what's going on, justcommentate for the game, and so
I started doing that and itbecame a thing play by.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Play yeah, color commentary I was doing.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Play by play and color commentary, and so that
was 2021 and I'm still doing itto this day for the games that I
can go to, for both the highschool boys and girls teams, and
the great part about it is atgraduation, yeah, I get, um,
someone comes to me like no,this is, this is the guy on the
live stream.
And then like, hi, my name isjoe.
Uh, I'm so, and so'sgrandparents.
(41:43):
We live in north carolina andwe've been able to watch every
game because of you.
Thank you for that.
Yeah, so like that type ofreward and back, you don't even
realize that you're making thatimpact you're making that impact
.
You're just like, oh, I'm goingto do this thing and it'll help
out, right, but when you can getinvolved beyond the like, yes,
I'll give money to support thiscause, but when you can step
beyond that Right and getinvolved, I think that that's
(42:05):
the really where the sweet spothappens.
And you know, coal Bankers workwith St Jude Children's
Hospital is a huge, huge program, and I've been privileged
enough to get to go to St Jude.
When you go and you see thework that's being done there, it
is unbelievable.
The people who go there, theyare dedicated.
It's not just a job.
(42:25):
This is part of the cause thatthey want to be a part of, and
so being part of thatorganization and helping bring
that partnership to life was ahuge really rewarding thing.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
I think one of the highlights at the Gen Blue, the
international conference, whereyou have thousands of brokers
and agents from around the globebasically attend, is they do a
presentation from St Jude's andit's always so impactful.
And personally, my wife and Iare big fans and supporters of
St Jude's and one of the thingsI always look for in a charity,
(42:58):
if you're going to give on thatlevel, is what percentage of the
money actually gets to where itneeds to be to help the actual
helping people, and they alwayshave a very high percentage that
gets there and they share theirwork.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
They want to cure childhood cancer and they don't
care who does it Right.
It's not like, oh, we'rekeeping it all to ourselves.
They share their work witheveryone across the board.
Fantastic organization andreally proud to be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Very small part, oh awesome, awesome, so all right.
So I'm going to pivot to thedrop the mic question, which is
always again a little leftfieldish.
We're going to change paces andstuff like that.
So, and again, I just want toremind our audience if you like
our podcast here, just like andsubscribe, I think you're
supposed to say smash thatsubscribe button, smash it All
(43:45):
right, let's go smash it.
All right, let's go.
So all right, good, so here'sthe drop the mic question.
I know it's a little left fieldso I have to.
Haven't seen the ShaquilleO'Neal interview.
Have you worn white pants orbeen to Baby Gap since?
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Yes, I've worn the white pants before.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
I look good in those pants.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
He even said so my assistant at the time after that
interview, got me a shirt andit was a screenshot from the
video of me standing up in thewhite pants and Shaq sitting
next to me, and she pulled adirect quote from Shaq and he
said you're a good-looking dudeman.
Look at him in those hot pants.
(44:26):
So she got me a T-shirt withthat on there and a photo of it.
But yes, I've worn them again.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Yes, I wasn't sure if you were going to be scarred
for life after that.
So, David, so happy that youwere able to join us.
I know you traveled from out ofstate to be here on our podcast
and I think our audience isreally appreciative of your
insights.
Again, you have some reallyunique viewpoints at our
industry and it's really againlends some depth to the whole
(44:52):
understanding of what realestate really offers well.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Thank you so much for having me.
Appreciate the invite.
The GW view wasn't too bad thismorning.
But happy to come out here andI will say you are the better
looking of the partners at a CBAmerican Ops there we go and
wait.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
I just for the record , gallagher, I did not pay him
to say this, but I'm glad wehave.
We saved this for everyone tohear.
It's on the books, it'sofficial.
It's official, it's official.
There we go.
All right, so real quicklybefore we go, david, if anyone
in our audience wants to reachout or connect with you, what's
the best way?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Feel free to engage with me on social at David
underscore Marine on X or atDMarine40 on Instagram.
Happy to connect with you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Awesome, Awesome.
Thank you again for being hereand we'll see you soon.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
My pleasure.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Hold on.
Do you guys want baby Gap socks?
No, I got cold baby socks yougot those from Baby Gap Cold
anchors.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
I love them.
Oh, okay, cd, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
CD, CD what's up?
Cd?
Welcome to the work hard, play hard and give back a
real estate podcast.
I'm Mike Litzner, your hostbroker owner, coldwell Banker,
american Homes.
I'm here at the Franklin Squarestudio at American Homes and I
have our guest today.
We're super excited to haveDavid Marine, chief marketing
officer of anywhere brands.
Welcome, david.
Oh, thanks for having me.
Mike, it's great to be here yeah, yeah, have David Marine, chief
(00:26):
Marketing Officer of AnywhereBrands.
Welcome, david.
Oh, thanks for having me, mike,it's great to be here.
Yeah, yeah, so this is adifferent type of interview than
we've had on the show beforeAnywhere.
Brands Tell our audience who,anywhere, brands is and what
they mean to real estate.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, so Anywhere.
Franchise brands includeColdwell, banker, century 21,
era Real Estate and Better Homesand Gardens Real Estate, so
they're kind of the core massmarket brands within the
Anywhere portfolio.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm glad you left Sotheby's and Corcoran off that
list right.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
They're separate, they're outside of my purview,
but as a chief marketing officer, I oversee the marketing teams
for all four of those brands,including Coldwell, Banker
Commercial as well.
And really, how do we bringthem to market, connect with
consumers, service our agentsand everything in between?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, now you spent 20 years 20-plus years in the
Coldwell Banker brandspecifically.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yes, this past March it was 22 years with the brand.
I started as the electronicproduct manager for a coal
banker not sure what that is,but neither was I, but basically
this is way back in 2002, okay,and I was newly married, second
(01:40):
job out of college, just hadbought 1300 square foot
townhouse and and I got a jobwith Coal Banker and basically
it was this idea of hey, theinternet and all these digital
things are becoming moreprevalent.
We need someone who's focusedon how do we create these more
electronic products for ouragents to use.
So claim to fame.
(02:00):
First day on the job I walkedin and they put down this giant
three ring binder in front of meand they said this is a listing
presentation.
It's the lifeblood of ourindustry.
It's what an agent uses everyday.
Yeah, we need to figure out away to make this digital.
And so I said oh, you mean liketurn it into a PowerPoint
presentation?
And my boss goes can you dothat?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
And I said yes, so.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I created the first ever PowerPoint listing
presentation For yes, so.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
I created the first ever PowerPoint listing
presentation in CoBanker history.
That is a pretty interestingclaim to fame, you know.
Bizarre, but yeah, that was methe funny part is that we can
look back now and from a lens of2025 and say that you know,
that was an impact changetechnologically for our industry
.
And it kind of brings me backto I remember being at a broker
(02:46):
council meeting in 2008, andthey were talking about
marketing and what have you?
And they're going on and onabout different ways that we
need to market ourselves better.
And then they say does anyoneelse have any questions?
And I raised my hand and I go,has anyone ever heard of this
Facebook thing?
And I got crickets.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
That's crazy because I remember distinctly in 2007,
2008, that same time frame, Ihad just gotten onto Facebook
and I walked into my boss'soffice at the time.
I was like, hey, I'm on thisthing called Facebook.
I'm seeing there's other brandson there.
Maybe it's something that weshould check out.
And one of the great thingsabout Coldwell Banker and their
(03:25):
leadership and really helpingwith even my own personal career
growth was there was alwaysthis idea of they were willing
to try something new and so myboss's response to me was go do
it and let's find out.
So we set up the first Facebookpage in all of real estate for
Coldwell-banker as a brand andstarted exploring that.
And then you look at it todayand it's like well, that seems
(03:47):
obvious.
Why wouldn't somebody do that?
But at the time I remember Ieven created a presentation that
was called what the Heck isSocial Media and why Should I
Care?
And it was going around like allright, here's what it can do
for you if you want to investthe time in it, and obviously
today there's no more like oh, Ithink it's a waste of time.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Right, should I Right ?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It is.
How are we going to be using itthe most effectively?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, now, with your role as a marketing director,
what type of strategies have youseen implemented?
I know you have been veryinstrumental, obviously on the
co-wall side, so you know it'sbeen kind of your baby, so to
speak.
Sure you know, yeah, but I knowyou've been very instrumental.
What marketing initiative moststands out to you from, you know
(04:31):
when?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
looking back in hindsight, yeah, looking back in
hindsight, there's so manydifferent campaigns that you can
say, wow, that was reallyamazing, it was groundbreaking,
it was different.
And then there are those thatwere like man, this really
produced incredible results.
One of the things that standsout to me, especially as we're
looking into today's age ofvirtual reality and artificial
(04:53):
intelligence and all that stuff,was back in 2009,.
There was a place called SecondLife.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Okay, I have no recollection of this at all.
You shouldn't at all.
But.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Second Life at the time was the first iteration of
a virtual world where you couldcreate an avatar and you could
go in and you could talk topeople and basically anything
was possible.
Okay, and so at the time we hadsaw this place, this thing, and
it started to get some buzz andit was, huh, I wonder if
there's a real estateapplication to this.
What if we opened up an officein this virtual world and sold
(05:27):
virtual homes for sale?
And then we took it a stepfurther.
It was like, well, what if werecreated a real life home in a
virtual world and had a virtualopen house for it?
So that was a bizarre idea.
And again, trying to explainthis to the powers that be, and
you're like, okay, here's whatwe want to do.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
And then it was like huh, that might be interesting.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Let's try it out.
So we recreated, based on thefloor plans and the specs, and
we had pictures, obviously, ofthe property for our sale in
Seattle Washington, recreated ina virtual world and then
created this virtual open housein addition to a real life open
house world.
And then created this virtualopen house in addition to a
real-life open house and the PRresponse to it was unlike
anything I've ever seen.
I mean, it exploded for months.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I know that looking for the right home can be
downright exhausting.
In this real estate update,Crowd4's Maureen Kelly shows us
new technology that one realestate company is trying out
that makes finding your dreamhome a little easier.
Here's what the open house ofthe future could look like.
This is a virtual tour Web 2.0style, but Coldwell Banker has
(06:33):
just taken it a step further.
They built a 3D version of this$3.1 million house.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Everything is to scale, an exact replica of the
actual listings.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
The virtual one was built in the online community
called Second Life.
Over 8.5 million people aroundthe world have signed on to this
site.
Part of the reason this101-year-old agency got into
this world is to try to stay intouch with the homebuyers of the
future.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
It was all that people wanted to talk to us
about.
From a coalbanger perspective,it was huge.
Now it was a short-lived effort.
Second Life no longer exists,right, but at the time it was
hey, this is somethinginteresting.
And how do we create somethingthat is marketable in the real
world, in a virtual?
So when I look back at howthings are today and my kids
(07:19):
have a VR headset and how thatexperience, it is Right.
We at CB were a leader inthinking ahead.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
And while it was like bleeding edge at the time,
right now it's like, okay,that's something that seems very
reasonable to do, a virtualreality walkthrough of a home
using a VR headset, so that'sone of those things that kind of
stands out in my mind is like,wow, that was way out there.
But you know what, now, today,that's kind of realistic.
Yeah, I think you bring up agood point.
That and this is key to all ofmarketing is that whatever
(07:51):
you're doing, you need to knowwhether it is producing results
or not, right?
So I'm a big sports guy, as youknow, and I always use this as
an example is, it doesn't matterwhat sport you play, they
always keep score, right,whether is?
it doesn't matter what sport youplay, they always keep score.
Whether it's in the NBA orpickup basketball.
We're keeping score because youwant to know if you're winning
or not.
That's why you're playing Samething with marketing.
I can do this thing and oh wow,it's cool, and even from a
(08:14):
brand's perspective.
There's a lot of brands outthere and they're doing
advertising in these differentcampaigns.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Hey look, we won these awards or whatever, but is
it producing?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
results Right.
So, even as an individual agentor a team or a brokerage,
whatever you're investing yourtime and money in from a
marketing standpoint, you wantto be able to track whether that
is performing at yourexpectation.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
What's your ROI Exactly?
What's your return on?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
investment and, as a brand, is being able to showcase
that what we're doing isproducing results, whether that
is leading to traffic to awebsite, leads, conversion.
What is the return on immediatespend, investment, all those
things, and there are so manydifferent ways.
I love it when I walk into ameeting and someone's like but
(08:57):
how do we know that it's working?
And I say like, oh well, I havejust the answer for you.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Glad you asked.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Here's what I have, and here's how I can measure it.
So I think that that's a keyfor anyone out there who's doing
marketing is making sure you'rebeing able to show that that's
producing the results you want.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Exactly, exactly, like that, like that.
Now the current focus forColdwell Banker.
They had this past year thearrangement with Thursday Night.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Football.
Amazon Prime Thursday NightFootball.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Oh, it's Amazon, it's okay, you're a Jets fan, so
they're not on Thursday NightFootball.
No, I'm a Giants fan.
Oh are you.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Yeah, gallagher's the Jets fan.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Oh all right, it's hard to be either right now.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yes, very hard.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So why don't you share a little bit with our
audience what that looks likefrom a and how it supports the
brokers and agents?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Yeah, when you look at a brand, especially a
franchisee and an independentagent in this industry, and you
want to associate with a brand,who's going to give you some
sort of value.
One of the values thatColdBanker brings is one history
and legacy within the industry.
Two, the brand recognitionthat's out there.
So when you look at brandadvertising, it's providing
(10:04):
almost an air cover for theon-the-ground troops, if you
will.
We're making sure that our nameis out there and that there's
something that people can see inthe brand that is going to be
unique or different or make themgo.
Huh, let me check that out.
So with the Thursday NightFootball, a great campaign was
done around what we call theMove Meter matchup.
So Move Meter, coldbankercomslash Move Meter.
(10:25):
It's a tool you can compare anytwo cities across the United
States and it measures a wholebunch of things beyond just the
value of a home Lifestyle,walkability, all sorts of stuff
that goes into the details of it.
So what we did is we createdads that would compare the
matchup between the two teamsplaying on Thursday night
football.
So it was Seattle versus SanFrancisco and the ad would talk
(10:47):
creatively about the differencesfrom them as a city, like the
home of grunge versus thesourdough type of stuff.
And then it would drive peopleto say you can go to
coldbankercom move meter and seethe difference not only between
these but any cities in the US.
What we saw is, when these adsran, there was a 15% increase in
the usage of MoveMeter duringthe course of On the Coldwell
(11:11):
Banker corporate site.
On coldwellbankercom betweenAugust and December when the ads
would run, boom across theboard 15% increase.
But we saw huge surges of like1, thousand percent increase in
usage when the commercial wasrunning.
And in fact, one of my favoriteclaims out of this is that
(11:33):
Amazon Prime did a study withGoogle that said, hey, what's
the most effective advertiserson Thursday Night Football?
And we're going to measure itbased on the search activity
that is happening within 10minutes of an ad running.
Okay, so people see the ad,who's taking action on it?
And what we found was ColdBanker was the number two
advertiser behind Gillette,spending significantly more
money, and is an officialpartner in the NFL, but more
(11:53):
people were doing searches forCold Banker than any of the
other brands on Thursday NightFootball, including Meta, google
, apple, kia, all the householdbrands you know and to me that's
showing that, hey, it's a great, creative, great venue.
It's getting a lot of eyeballsRight, but now it's also
producing the results that wetalked about before Measurable
results.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Measurable results.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That is business oriented, getting people engaged
on our site.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Then coming back to hopefully look for listings and
agents and so on, yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
And then there's the.
You know the halo effect, so tospeak, from that.
So when an agent walks into ahouse, are they pre-sold?
Because the consumer kind ofknows the brand.
So you know an agent has tosell the.
Why real estate?
You know, why do I need to hirea real estate person?
Why that real estate agent andwhy that company?
(12:45):
And it's great when the companyis already pre-sold as opposed
to who do you work for?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, and I get it all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
I mean, obviously I'm biased in the brands that I
work for, that I place greatvalue in the brands.
But I'll go down the shore onvacation and my parents have a
place down in Wildwood Crest andwe'll talk to people on the
beach and they know I'm in realestate and they're like what is
this EXP thing?
Who is that?
What is that?
But they immediately know oh,cold banker real estate.
(13:13):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I know that Better homes and gardens.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I know that one.
It already rings a bell inpeople's mind, and one
conversation that's beenhappening throughout the two
decades I've been part of thisindustry is like does a real
estate brand matter?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
And the comparison that I like to use is it
absolutely matters.
And if it didn't matter, thenthere would be a Kmart real
estate and you wouldn't mindhaving a Kmart sign in your
front yard right Now as aconsumer, you're like no, I
don't want that in my front yard.
No, that says something about myproperty as an agent.
You don't want to be part ofthat.
That says something about who Iam.
But when you put a Cole BankerYard sign in your front yard,
(13:48):
that means something.
Consumers recognize it, theyknow it's a reputable name and
you are now associated with thatcompany and that name as well.
That does wonders for you aswell, saying, oh I know, mike,
he's an ethical, great businessguy and he's with Cole Banker,
who also is that.
That makes sense to me andtherefore makes me trust them
more.
So branding, I believe, isactually wired into our DNA as
(14:10):
humans.
There's something about beingaffiliated or associated with
something that's larger thanyourself that gives you pride,
esteem, self-worth.
I have four boys and when itcomes to athletic attire and
sneakers like, brand is critical, and it doesn't even
necessarily need to be like theNike or the Adidas.
It's the person who'sassociated with it.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
As well, all right.
So I know there's a story backhere.
So which brand is it that wesubscribe to?
Oh well, when it comes tosports stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Well, I'm a huge Nike and Air Jordan guy.
Okay, I've loved Air Jordansever since a kid, and having
shoes, playing basketball, okay,and that's kind of carried over
into my boys as well.
But they love being connectedor associated with those brands.
That's like, hey, this guy,he's up and coming, right, he's
(15:02):
great, he's the performer that Iwant to be and so therefore, I
want to be associated with that.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
And you're spot on.
They see themselves in hisshoes, exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Exactly, exactly those shoes.
But when it comes to purchasingthe largest investment that
you're going to make in yourlife, you want to.
It's kind of ironic that a lotof times most people are just
going with the random personthat they happen to be near or
associated with.
And so I think right now, andeven after COVID and kind of the
(15:30):
surge in real estate activity,people are now being a little
bit smarter about that andsaying like, hey, you know what
I just don't want to go with myaunt's best friend who I've
known for 30 years.
I want someone who really doeswell, knows what they're doing,
and there's some sort ofconnection there that I can
understand, that I feel like I'min the trusted hands.
So that's why I think beingpart of a brand, in addition to
(15:55):
your own personal brand, as anagent or a team or whatever I
love the line that it's yourname next to ours.
That really makes sets thedifference.
So when it's Coal Banker, it'scoal banker, american homes and
David marine, then you put allthose together.
That's where the magic happensand the the unique aspects of
each individual, whether it bethe brand or the agent, can
(16:16):
really set you apart.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
I think that's a.
There's a really importantmessage here for agents,
especially because it's findingyour lane exactly very different
um delivery and expectations of, say, a global luxury brand
right or a property.
You know something that's goingto sell for two, three, four,
five million or above.
Then there is, you know thetypical, you know, starter home
(16:40):
and again they're they're bothimportant, so I don't mean to
diminish one.
They're both the most importantinvestment for that person at
that time in their life.
I'm sure you had your starthome, I had mine and it took
everything I had to try to getmy first start home and then you
build on it.
But the time you get to thathigher end property there's a
(17:00):
different expectation, adifferent marketplace and how do
you reach it?
So knowing how to tap into thatglobal luxury brand extension
and the tools I think is hugelyimportant if that's your lane.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Yes, there's different levels of expectation.
At its core, the deals are thesame.
Right, you're dealing with aclient who has something that's
very precious to them and theywant to get the best deal for
and in the smoothest waypossible, correct?
However it's the details alongthe way that really make the
difference.
Yes, so I think what the GlobalLuxury Program does best is
helps educate our agents, and wehave great tools in that system
(17:37):
and there's great outreachthrough listing, distribution
through international sites andall that kind of stuff, right.
But the greatest thing to me isthe value of that network,
right, of going to the globalluxury events.
You're connecting with peoplebecause a lot of times those
types of deals are coming fromthe referrals.
Yes, it's going to be out oftown people looking to move to
our markets.
And if you can learn from someof the best in the business
(17:57):
about how they're going about itand say, hey, I'm running into
this scenario, have you ever runinto this before?
Nine times out of ten theperson's going to be like, yeah,
I know exactly what you'regoing through.
Here's how it worked for me, orhere's how it didn't work for
me previously.
Exactly, and to me, that's thevalue of the Global Luxury
Program, of the brand itself too, is that it's no longer just
reliant on you to figure thisout.
(18:19):
It's like now, all of a sudden,I've got people around me,
like-minded, in the same boat,who I can lean on to help, and
nine times out of 10, probably99 times out of 100, they want
to help, yes, and they want tobe able to share that experience
with you.
So that is a great part of notonly the training that's done at
Global Luxury, but the eventsthat they have as well to
connect our agents.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Correct, absolutely, absolutely.
So I want to pivot a little bit.
We hear a little bit because,um, again, as we touched on
earlier, you moved from thecolwell banker brand, which is
still under your purview, but,um, so now you're obviously four
different brands.
For the six brands is safe tosay, for, yes, for, uh, anywhere
(19:00):
brands, real estate brands.
How does that change your, yourposition?
How do you cross marketdifferent brands and their
identities, so to speak?
Yeah, it's super easy.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
No, I'm kidding this past year.
It's been about a year that I'vebeen in this new role and the
past year has been a reallyeye-opening learning experience,
both from an industryperspective but also as a
marketer.
And I like to start withresearch.
To me, that helps me get afoundational understanding of
what's going on within brands.
And I like to start withresearch.
To me, that helps me get afoundational understanding of
(19:30):
what's going on within brands.
So I spent the better part ofthe first three or four months
in the role researching andtalking to agents within each of
these brands, outside of thebrands consumers, getting an
understanding of what is theperception of each of these
companies Right, and then tryingto figure out what is the
unique messaging that each brandshould have that speaks
(19:51):
specifically to who they are butalso creates differentiation
between all of them.
They're often operating insimilar markets, closely
connected, so how do you createthose unique spaces for them?
And so spent a lot of timedoing that, and was able to find
out one just going to eachbrand's event.
There is truly a differentculture in each brand that is
(20:14):
unique to them.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
It has a personality, almost right yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It really is bizarre how different it is, and for
someone who's come to ColdBanker events for 20 years, I
had an expectation of like oh,this is what it is.
And I would walk into one eventand be like we would never do
this at a CV event.
And then it was like, not thatit's a bad thing, but it was
like, oh, it's very different.
They're much more open to thistype of stuff, so that was kind
of eye-opening.
(20:37):
And then how do you focus onwhat those differentiators are
and then create the uniquemessaging, not only for
consumers, but also the networksas a whole, so they can feel
the pride in the brand?
It really speaks to the core ofwho they are.
So what I'm excited about for2025 is, now that we've laid
this foundational messaging workin place, a lot of this stuff
is starting to come to fruition.
(20:57):
Creative is coming out there.
I'm excited about some of thenew campaigns that are being
rolling out across these brands.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Do you have any scoops for us, especially on the
Coldwell Banker side?
Oh, rolling out across thesebrands, do you?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
have any scoops for us, especially on the Coldwell
Banker side.
Oh, on the Coldwell Banker side.
So the great part aboutColdwell Banker is when we did
research with agents andconsumers and it was no prodding
or at all the current messagingthat was in place was spot on,
it was resonating.
They looked at us as a trustedguide within the real estate
(21:29):
process.
Experienced leadership,everything that we talked about
whether it's being the NorthStar in the real estate industry
, guiding you home since 1906.
That was spot on that wasencouraging, like hey what?
we're doing is resonating withthem, excited for Better Homes
and Gardens Real Estate, andwhen we did some of the research
with them, I kept coming backto it and I was like, is this
too obvious?
But we need to get closerconnected to the magazine brand.
(21:51):
And so the new positioning forBetter Homes and Gardens Real
Estate was the real estate brandfrom the magazine you trust for
all things home.
Better Homes and GardensMagazine has been around for
over a hundred years.
It's one of the most readmagazines in the world, it's one
of the top 10 brands within theUnited States, and they have a
significant presence within GenX and Gen Y through their social
(22:13):
platforms.
And so I was like, well, ifpeople know and love the
magazine so much and our name isthe same as theirs, we're just
adding real estate into it.
We need to figure out apositioning and a campaign that
can do that, and so we launcheda two-page spread, a full page
spread, in the october issue ofthe magazines, continuing into
this year.
Yeah, and all of a sudden thenit clicked immediately.
With their network, we'realready seeing increases in
(22:35):
website traffic and leads on therums gardens real estate site.
Uh, and then this this month infebruary, we're rolling out a
large era campaign called moveup, which excited about some
media partnerships there.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Now, just for our audience, I you know the brands
that you're that are under youruh again, your purview, so to
speak, encompass how manyoffices, how many agents, how
many countries?
Yeah, because I know cobaltalone is in like 40 plus
countries, 42, 43 countries, uhyeah, it's over 60 countries.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
I think it's 250,000 agents across the globe.
But yeah, it's a very largefootprint.
And the amazing thing is eachof these brands and I didn't
even realize it until I starteddoing more detail is CB's been
around since 1906.
Center 21's been around sincethe 70s Right ERA as well, same
with Better Homes and GardensReal Estate in the early 80s.
(23:29):
Each of these brands have beenaround for like 40, 50 years,
right.
So these are established brandswithin the industry that have
that recognition.
So, as a brand guy myself, tome it's a great playground to be
a part of and being able towork with these trusted brands
that you don't have to establishlike well what does this thing?
Mean right.
People recognize there'salready something there and now
(23:51):
I have the ability to help shapeit and bring those
differentiators to the forefront.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know what's interesting From my perspective,
again, 41 years of being, youknow, on the brokerage side, so
more the application side.
You see the legacy of thebranch you talked about and
they're all very iconic.
And yet sometimes you seeagents who these new brands,
come out and all of a suddenthey get this.
(24:16):
You know, it's like the hot newthing, sure, and they seem to
get what I call the honeymoonperiod where they're all buzzing
, buzzing, buzzing.
It was like, oh yeah, they'rethe new thing, they're not the
old thing anymore.
And it was like, oh yeah,they're the new thing, they're
not the old thing anymore.
And then all of a sudden, threeyears later, it's like you know
, it disappears and then there'sanother new thing.
So there's a certain segment ofagents who really respect the
(24:39):
legacy and what it takes tosurvive 100-plus years, as
Coldwell Banker has, or even50-plus years, as Century 21, 21
has, as opposed to.
You know I'm the hot buzz, butcan you stay and show your value
that people and agents actuallystay with you?
Speaker 2 (24:56):
I remember everybody from Purple Bricks to Foxtons
and probably 100 in between.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Speaking of multiple bankrupt companies right.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
The thing with brands is not just survival but
thriving, correct?
So can you one survive the testof time, but then continue to
show that you can thrive overthe course of it as well?
Yes, and so that's what I thinkeach of our brands have done in
their own unique ways.
And that's what we need tocontinue to showcase.
There's always going to be theheadline grabbers and everyone
(25:27):
loves like, hey, this is thehottest thing that's out there,
right, and oh, let's focus onthat for a hot second
Reinventing real estate, butmeanwhile it wasn't broken,
that's right and the key alsoshowing the evolution of the
brand over time as well, right,the fact that even it was kind
of the impetus for the rebrandfor Cole Banker was this idea of
(25:49):
, hey, everything that we weredoing and everything that we
were saying felt very currentand modern and hey, this is a
real estate brand for the future.
But they thought we just lookedold, right.
So I was like, oh all right,that that's a way easier thing
to fix, yeah.
Then like, hey, we have notrust that anything that you're
doing is worthwhile 100% Trustis everything, and so then, that
(26:10):
kind of brought the rebrand tolife and giving it a very modern
and a facelift to it.
With these other brands that I'mnow overseeing is what I'm
trying to do as well is showcase.
Okay, what is the consumer andwhat do our agents not only
think about our brand, but whatdo they want the brand to be,
what do they expect from it?
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Are we?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
delivering on that expectation, and is that
expectation different from thecompetitor?
That's right next to us andthat, to me, even as individual
agents are listening to this, iswhen you're talking about your
own value proposition as anagent.
Yes, if you write out, hey,this is my value prop as a
company, as an agent, I alwaystell people, start with your
(26:49):
name, right, david Marine isfill it out, okay, one sentence.
Don't make it a run on just onesentence.
What is it?
Okay If I can change the nameat the front to someone else and
it still makes sense.
Your value prop's not goodenough.
You got to make it specific towho you are as a brand, as a
company, as an agent, and thenthat's what you can key on.
You're going to do other stuffbeyond that, but this is the
(27:12):
sweet spot of what really makesDavid Marine, david Marine or
Colbert American Homes trulyunique, and the more that our
brands and our agents can focuson that, the more success
they're going to have.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Yeah, ironically, I'm not sure if you just answered
it or not, but my next questionwas really more for like an
agent.
So you got an agent coming intothe business or they're in the
business and want to continue togrow their business.
What's one piece of advice youcan give them for marketing to
help them, or a powerfulstrategy that would help them
(27:44):
make an impact in their localmarkets?
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Yeah, I'll share a little tool that I use.
I'm a big guy on storytellingand I think that if you can
formulate your story and usethat in your marketing, it's the
most powerful, timeless way toconnect with people and to
persuade them to want to workwith you.
So there's this little monikerthat we use on all of our what
(28:07):
we call creative briefs inmarketing.
So when you're starting a newproject, you put this hey, we
want this project to do this, tospeak to these people and
deliver on that.
And you put it in a brief andyou give it to an agency or
whomever, and the team is ableto say this is the confines of
what this project should be.
But at the top we start withthree words Convince that,
(28:28):
because so convince who?
Who do I want to talk?
To Be as specific as possiblethat what do you want them to do
?
That they should work withDavid Marine, that they should
sell their million dollar homewith David Marine properties,
right.
And then here's a tough one,because what's the reason why,
(28:50):
what's the proof to that, if youcan make that sentence, make
sense.
Convince luxury home buyers inyou know madison, new jersey,
right.
That david marine is the luxuryagent of choice that you want
to list your million dollar plushome with because no one has
sold more million dollar homesthan david marine in madison
over the past 18 months orwhatever specific it is.
(29:12):
Then, all of a sudden, you'vegot the confines that you can
create what is a unique storyand message that's specific to
you?
yeah, a lot of times we're justlike I want to be the I'm the
number one person for everyone,right, versus really honing in.
Yeah, will you take the othersthat are coming outside of that
construct?
Yes, but you can be able tomeasure and be able to showcase.
(29:32):
Hey, these are the specificpeople I really want to make a
difference with this year.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
I think that will help people refine their story
and be more, uh, strategic aboutwhat they're doing one of my
pet peeves and you've almosttouched on it, but you kind of
danced around it in a differentway.
But agents or the industry, Ishould say has a habit of I'm
number one.
No, I'm number one.
I'm number one on Tuesdaysbetween 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock
in closings.
(29:57):
It's like so what are younumber one in and what does that
really mean to the consumer?
So when you say, convince who,who's your marketplace and do
they really care that you'renumber one, that's great for you
.
What's in it for me, theconsumer?
So that's why I feel like a lotof the marketing from an agent
side misses.
Am I?
Speaker 2 (30:17):
off base on that.
You're exactly right.
It's been something.
I've used that same line withpeople.
I'm talking about everybody'snumber one in something.
It's almost as if you see amovie trailer right, you know
the movie is garbage, butthey've got a quote from
somebody who's like best actionmovie ever made, right yeah,
you're like you just lost it.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
It was incredible.
They cut off the end.
It was an incredible flop.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
But you know that you're not fooled by it, right,
but it's become an expectationthat everybody's every trailer
is going to have some amazingreviews part of it.
Every real estate agent isgoing to put that they're number
one or on the best or the most,whatever, on their advertising.
It's when you get past thatwhat's really going to make a
difference, a more compellingmessage, exactly so.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
I like that.
I like that.
Now I want to go one otherplace.
We touched on this before whenyou're talking about your kids,
but you said you're a Nike guy.
Yeah, okay, I know you had aback and forth with Shaquille
O'Neal.
Isn't he a Reebok guy?
He is.
He's a.
Reebok guy Did you know thatwhen you interviewed For our
(31:24):
audience David was at Gen Blue,which was the international
convention for Cold War Banker.
You had the pleasure ofinterviewing Shaquille O'Neal on
stage as the keynote speaker.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Some would call it a pleasure, some would call it
something else, but yeah, it wasa truly unique experience.
It was one of the hardestthings and rewarding things that
I've ever done.
So for anyone who wasn't thereand didn't see it, shaq was
given questions ahead of timethat we had to agree that he was
going to be asked.
But Shaquille O'Neal isShaquille O'Neal oh a character,
(31:51):
what a personality.
He's a good guy went off on hisown and he was poking fun at me,
and so what I had to realize aspart of the interview was that
when he was pushing me, it wasall part of the act, yeah, and
so therefore, I had to adjust inmy own mind and be like all
these questions are out thewindow.
(32:11):
But I will be the the straightman in this two-man bit, and I
know that he's doing this justto be entertaining, and so he
made fun of my white pants.
I hope every last time youdon't get a jelly baby.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yes, yes, and you spill all of those sexy white
bags.
You know some sexy.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Stand up here with this lady Awesome Good luck to
you.
Good luck to you.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Come on, look at this hot guy in the white pants.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
It was all good fun.
And so afterwards, at the endof the interview, we walked off
stage and he turned to me and tome this is one of the best
compliments that I've evergotten.
He said thank you for being socool about all of this.
He goes.
I do 100 of these a year.
Yeah, yeah, and he says thatnine times out of 10, the person
(33:03):
reacts and is offended, andthen the interview just becomes
boring.
So thanks you for making it fun.
Yeah, and so, as you mentioned,yes, I was wearing Nike Air
Jordans on stage with him at thetime and he did point that out.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
That little Nike story you told me, forget that.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Reebok, by the way, dude.
I told him during the interview.
I was like, like well, I'm asize 11.
If you ever have any extra pair?
So a week later, when I gothome, there was a large box on
my front porch and I opened itup and Shaquille O'Neal sent me
six pairs of shoes and I'mactually wearing a pair of those
(33:46):
Reeboks right now that he gaveme To me.
That really said it all.
It's like, okay, he rememberedthat thing.
That was said and there wasthat connection there.
So I have one pair that I don'ttouch.
It's just on a bookshelf athome.
But 100% street cred with thekids on my basketball team that
I coach and my own kids werelike, are those the shoes that
(34:06):
Shaq got you?
But yeah, so that was afantastic experience, but, yes,
a shocking one as well.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
I really think that the speech training that I got
in college really helps from aprofessional standpoint more
than anything else.
Yeah, I took marketing classes.
I got a degree in marketing.
Everything that I learned inmarketing no longer exists today
.
Right, there was no YouTube,ads and AI and that kind of
stuff.
It's all I learned about thecore basics of marketing and it
(34:37):
didn't matter.
But the speech classes that Itook 24 years ago I still use
every single day.
Yeah, and that helped me thatin the moment, because I knew
what I wanted to do and I knewhow to handle objections, was
able to shift even withoutthinking about it.
(34:58):
It just became part of like anatural reaction to it.
So anyone out there who'slistening and they're like, hey,
I want to get into marketing orbusiness or sales or whatever
the more speech classes that youcan take and the more you can
focus on your presenting skillsand how to persuade people, the
better, because it will be atimeless resource for you
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
So, david, I know you're married, have four kids,
four sons, right, four boys,yeah.
So how much of this education,so to speak, or words of wisdom,
do you share with your sons anddo they listen?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Do boys ever listen?
I don't know I've got six ofthem, so it's just over time,
right, the repetition eventuallysinks in.
So funny thing is, my oldestson is a junior in college.
He's majoring in communications.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
And he's taking some business and marketing classes
as part of that.
So he takes a class last yearor the year before called
digital storytelling.
Okay, and I'm just like digitalstorytelling, this is one.
Wish I had that class when Iwas in college.
Two, this is my sweet spot.
He's like, yeah, I got to do aproject on a video, I got to
build a website.
(36:07):
My sweet spot he's like yeah, Igotta do project on a video, I
gotta build a website, I gottado some social campaign, blah
blah.
I'm like I'm here, let me knowwhat, uh, what can I help with?
What do you want you?
Speaker 1 (36:15):
want me to take a look at anything, nothing.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He doesn't want to hear anything like.
He didn't ask for that for onething or the other, but the
greatest thing to me was he camehome and he shot that he had to
make like a short film.
It was a one minute film, nolines had to have these
different shots and it was partof this project.
And I was like well, can I seeit when you're done?
And he shows it to me and itwas better than anything that I
(36:38):
would have come up with.
So then there you're like wow,that's, that's a proud dad.
Examples, hopefully, that I'mproducing in my own life and
with my wife that they will thenbe able to implement with their
families when they grow older.
And you want to be a proudparent in this thing or that
(37:01):
thing.
And then people always say allthe time and side pet peeve of
mine like I just want my kids tobe happy, and to me happiness
is a low base.
They can be happy doing nothingand playing video games all day.
I don't want them to be thathappy.
But I want my children to bemore productive than I was.
(37:22):
I want them to be better thanme in whatever area that they
choose to go in.
So that's kind of what my wifeand I are trying to establish
and the right wisdom to sharewith them, and when you see one
nugget get taken and implemented, yeah, like that's.
It doesn't matter that theyignored the other 99 hour around
(37:44):
it, but it's that one that yougrab a whole lot all right.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
so, david um, just to get a little more personal
stuff, can you maybe share onefun fact about yourself that
most people don't know about you?
Speaker 2 (37:57):
I sing in my church not as frequently as I used to,
but yeah, I was.
My mom is a trained musician,piano teacher, choir instructor
for 30 plus years.
At a very early age I wassinging solos and duets in
church.
I used to have to pull out alittle chair.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
So you can hold a tune.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
Not as good as I used to, Okay, but one of the most
rewarding things.
My wife is very musical and shesings as well, and each of my
boys have been required to takepiano lessons for a limited
amount of time.
Some have stuck with it, somehaven't, but my oldest is a
musician, still plays the piano,plays the euphonium.
My son Wyatt, who's 17 now, hesings and he's in the school
(38:41):
worship team and he sings atchurch.
And then my son Owen, who's 14,plays the trumpet, Okay, and my
youngest Cole plays the pianoand the I forget what he calls
it.
It's like a xylophone, but it'skind of different Glockenspiel
is the name of it.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
I've heard of it, but I don't know if I could pick it
out.
Speaker 2 (38:57):
But yes, so just this past over Christmas break, a
little parenting rewardingmoment is I sang in a quartet
with actually it was a quintetwith my two oldest sons, myself,
and then my pastor and his sonas well, so it was a nice little
generational moment.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
but that's kind of the musical genes are passing
through, so is that on yourYouTube channel?
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Oh, it's probably on my dad's YouTube channel.
He records all those things,okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (39:29):
So I want to pivot real quickly to the give back.
So giving is a really importantpart of, I know, our life at
American Homes and I also knowit's a big part of Coldwell
Banker.
Are there any causes orinitiatives that you are
personally really passionateabout?
Speaker 2 (39:47):
Yeah, I believe in giving back, not only from
financial, but with your timeand effort, and both my wife and
I, and even my parents beforeme, invested in our local church
.
I've been going there for thepast I'm 46 now, so for about 40
years Wow and being part ofthat community and being in
(40:08):
service there as well as withinour school.
So my boys go to a smallChristian school.
My wife teaches that one Right,and they're always looking for
people to support and help out,and so whenever we can be part
of that and give our time andeffort, we'd like to do that.
One of the smallest ways that Ididn't even realize.
But also oftentimes and youknow this when you're part of a
(40:29):
charity or giving back, it'softentimes more rewarding to you
.
Yeah, and you don't realize itwhen you're trying to do
something good for others.
So with my son's high school,my oldest son was on the
basketball team during COVID andin late 2020, early 2021, New
Jersey wouldn't let fans in thegym Right the players could play
(40:49):
but there was no fans allowed.
So I said to the head coach Isaid listen, I will figure out
how to live stream and I'll getequipment and whatever if that
gets me in the gym and that wayother parents could see it.
And they're like, great, let'sdo it.
So I started live streamingthese games and during the games
I was just telling the scoreevery once in a while and one of
(41:10):
the parents came up to me andsaid just tell us what's going
on every once in a while.
Yeah, and one of the parentscame up to me and said just tell
us what's going on, justcommentate for the game, and so
I started doing that and itbecame a thing play by.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Play yeah, color commentary I was doing.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Play by play and color commentary, and so that
was 2021 and I'm still doing itto this day for the games that I
can go to, for both the highschool boys and girls teams, and
the great part about it is atgraduation, yeah, I get, um,
someone comes to me like no,this is, this is the guy on the
live stream.
And then like, hi, my name isjoe.
Uh, I'm so, and so'sgrandparents.
(41:43):
We live in north carolina andwe've been able to watch every
game because of you.
Thank you for that.
Yeah, so like that type ofreward and back, you don't even
realize that you're making thatimpact you're making that impact
.
You're just like, oh, I'm goingto do this thing and it'll help
out, right, but when you can getinvolved beyond the like, yes,
I'll give money to support thiscause, but when you can step
beyond that Right and getinvolved, I think that that's
(42:05):
the really where the sweet spothappens.
And you know, coal Bankers workwith St Jude Children's
Hospital is a huge, huge program, and I've been privileged
enough to get to go to St Jude.
When you go and you see thework that's being done there, it
is unbelievable.
The people who go there, theyare dedicated.
It's not just a job.
(42:25):
This is part of the cause thatthey want to be a part of, and
so being part of thatorganization and helping bring
that partnership to life was ahuge really rewarding thing.
Speaker 1 (42:36):
I think one of the highlights at the Gen Blue, the
international conference, whereyou have thousands of brokers
and agents from around the globebasically attend, is they do a
presentation from St Jude's andit's always so impactful.
And personally, my wife and Iare big fans and supporters of
St Jude's and one of the thingsI always look for in a charity,
(42:58):
if you're going to give on thatlevel, is what percentage of the
money actually gets to where itneeds to be to help the actual
helping people, and they alwayshave a very high percentage that
gets there and they share theirwork.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
They want to cure childhood cancer and they don't
care who does it Right.
It's not like, oh, we'rekeeping it all to ourselves.
They share their work witheveryone across the board.
Fantastic organization andreally proud to be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
Very small part, oh awesome, awesome, so all right.
So I'm going to pivot to thedrop the mic question, which is
always again a little leftfieldish.
We're going to change paces andstuff like that.
So, and again, I just want toremind our audience if you like
our podcast here, just like andsubscribe, I think you're
supposed to say smash thatsubscribe button, smash it All
(43:45):
right, let's go smash it.
All right, let's go.
So all right, good, so here'sthe drop the mic question.
I know it's a little left fieldso I have to.
Haven't seen the ShaquilleO'Neal interview.
Have you worn white pants orbeen to Baby Gap since?
Speaker 2 (44:02):
Yes, I've worn the white pants before.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
I look good in those pants.
Speaker 2 (44:06):
He even said so my assistant at the time after that
interview, got me a shirt andit was a screenshot from the
video of me standing up in thewhite pants and Shaq sitting
next to me, and she pulled adirect quote from Shaq and he
said you're a good-looking dudeman.
Look at him in those hot pants.
(44:26):
So she got me a T-shirt withthat on there and a photo of it.
But yes, I've worn them again.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Yes, I wasn't sure if you were going to be scarred
for life after that.
So, David, so happy that youwere able to join us.
I know you traveled from out ofstate to be here on our podcast
and I think our audience isreally appreciative of your
insights.
Again, you have some reallyunique viewpoints at our
industry and it's really againlends some depth to the whole
(44:52):
understanding of what realestate really offers well.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Thank you so much for having me.
Appreciate the invite.
The GW view wasn't too bad thismorning.
But happy to come out here andI will say you are the better
looking of the partners at a CBAmerican Ops there we go and
wait.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
I just for the record , gallagher, I did not pay him
to say this, but I'm glad wehave.
We saved this for everyone tohear.
It's on the books, it'sofficial.
It's official, it's official.
There we go.
All right, so real quicklybefore we go, david, if anyone
in our audience wants to reachout or connect with you, what's
the best way?
Speaker 2 (45:27):
Feel free to engage with me on social at David
underscore Marine on X or atDMarine40 on Instagram.
Happy to connect with you.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
Awesome, Awesome.
Thank you again for being hereand we'll see you soon.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
My pleasure.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Hold on.
Do you guys want baby Gap socks?
No, I got cold baby socks yougot those from Baby Gap Cold
anchors.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
I love them.
Oh, okay, cd, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (45:55):
CD, CD what's up?
Cd?
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