Michelle Nantz’s Blog

RISMEDIA, July 8, 2009-Wherever one looks, there are exciting things to see and do in New York City’s Times Square. But it is not every day that consumers can actually interact with a company through a billboard. From July 6 through August 2, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC will be hosting an interactive billboard in Times Square that displays requested home listings in real time.

The Coldwell Banker® billboard featured above the W Hotel in Times Square encourages people to use their mobile phone to text the word “homes” and any zip code to the number, 30241. Within moments, the billboard will display the highest-, median- and lowest-priced properties in that area. They will also receive a text from Coldwell Banker Real Estate directing them to a link with more information. To see how the interactive billboard works, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEVs1ANgXvI .

“Times Square represents the epicenter of creative marketing, and as people from around the world take in the bright lights of the big city, they can also send a simple text to get real estate information that’s relevant to them,” said Michael Fischer, senior vice president of marketing, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Consumers want quick access to online listings and this campaign reinforces how easy it is to find listings and information, anytime, anywhere.”

Coldwell Banker Real Estate also incorporated elements from its “Portraits” Campaign into the campaign, which features portraits of the company’s dynamic (albeit deceased) founders, Colbert Coldwell and Benjamin Arthur Banker, who started the company back in 1906. The founder portraits will offer humorous quips on the Big Apple and modern-day technology, mirroring the commentary they provide in current Coldwell Banker commercials.

The unique, interactive billboard is the most recent undertaking in a series of industry “firsts” Coldwell Banker Real Estate has initiated. In September 2008, Coldwell Banker Real Estate became the first full-service national real estate brand to launch a customized online platform for iPhoneTM users. They continued to steadily pave the way in innovation by also being the first to launch an application for Microsoft Surface (March 2009). In May they became the first real estate company to launch a branded YouTube channel, Coldwell Banker On Location.

For more information, visit www.coldwellbanker.com.