Extravagant inspections: 4 creative marketing ideas

Larissa Gardner
4 min read

All over the country agents are upping the ante by hosting open for inspection events to promote and sell luxury listings.

From a Cirque du Soleil themed soiree in Forde, a Gatsby themed pool party in Griffith and a designer converted church with harpist, heavenly nibbles and free flowing champagne in Paddington (pictured below), agents are going all out to make their inspections more extravagant to appeal to big ticket buyers.

 Images: Black Diamondz Property Concierge,  265 Oxford Street, Paddington, QLD
Images: Black Diamondz Property Concierge, 265 Oxford Street, Paddington, QLD

Out of the box marketing ideas such as these can be a great way to promote not only luxury homes, but all types of properties to engage with and capture the interest of a whole new audience of clients.

While showy events may not be every agent’s cup of tea and are not always within the marketing budget, here are four ideas guaranteed to draw a crowd and get people talking about your open house and business.

Grand final BBQ open

Let’s face it Aussies are suckers for sport and a free snag. So why not try scheduling an open during the AFL or NRL grand finals or other big sporting events. You’ll be surprised by how many people will drop by at half time for a squiz and a chat about the game (and real estate!). Bill the open as a grand final party and invite attendees to don their footy club clobber and colours. If anything, the footy gear will provide a good talking point to break the ice.

Fire up the barbie to delight potential buyers with a complimentary sausage and to exhibit just how good the large patio area is for home entertaining. The smell alone will beckon passers-by and neighbours inside for a look. This idea also works especially well if your listing has a man cave or cinema room with incredible surround sound that you want to showcase to buyers, by broadcasting all the thrills and spills of the big game.

 For sale:  2 Charleton Street, Southport, QLD
For sale: 2 Charleton Street, Southport, QLD

Carnival themed garden party

This is a great idea for a family geared property with a big back yard and during school holidays, when mums and dads are stuck for entertainment ideas. Think free face painting, show bags, snow cones, fairy floss and even a kid-friendly Ferris wheel if space allows.

Create buzz around your carnival open house with a promoted Facebook event and letterbox drop, this way you’ll get to network with other locals on the day who may be thinking of selling too. Even if they don’t come along, they’ll be impressed by the creative lengths you go to for the sake of marketing your clients’ homes.

Don’t forget to share photos of the event on your website and professional social media pages so future clients can also get a glimpse of your innovative approach to hosting inspections.

Invite-only cocktail evening

Send out party invitations to hot leads that have registered their interest in the home and qualified clients from your database for an exclusive viewing. Twilight cocktail parties are ideal if your listing has pretty city or harbour views or exterior lighting that looks its best at night time. It’s also useful for attracting buyers that can’t typically make daytime inspections.

Roll out the red carpet and go the whole nine fancy yards with a string quartet, canapes, waiters and champagne on arrival. Make your VIP clients feel like celebs with red carpet photography, a photo booth and promote a special Instagram hashtag for the event on the night.

By hosting elaborate and exclusive VIP viewings you’ll become known as the go-to agent in your suburb for selling luxury property. You’ve got to spend money to make money, right!

Play up the style

Draw attention to what makes your listing unique by using the interior decor or architectural style of the home as a cue for your open house event theming. For example, if the home has a Spanish flavour why not host a lunchtime viewing with a delicious tapas self-serve platter on offer. For an Art Deco property you could go for a Great Gatsby roaring 20s poolside theme, as did Canberra agent Holly Komorowski in the marketing of the Griffith property below.

 Image: @hkrea, 44 Frome Street, Griffith, ACT
Image: @hkrea, 44 Frome Street, Griffith, ACT

For a French Provincial beauty serve up macaroons, brie and crackers, croissants and coffee while playing French music over the sound system to create a magnifique atmosphere for a weekend brunchtime viewing. Go that fun and extravagant Francophile step further by hiring a crepe chef, mime and caricaturist.

If you’re worried about your listing getting lost amongst the competition try hosting an open house event for a change. Think about what specific features make the property unique and develop an inspection theme and time from there.

See also: Six essentials to sell a multi-million dollar property and easy ways to draw more traffic to your inspections.

Larissa Gardner
Larissa Gardner is the Marketing Manager at arguably Australia’s best looking real estate website homely.com.au. With a superb devotion to product innovation, user-centred design and innovative marketing platforms for real estate agents, homely.com.au helps millions of Australians find their next home.

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