PropertyFox Virtual Realty - Atmosphere Communications

The Challenge

PropertyFox is a disruptive business established by two young entrepreneurs. It gives South African home sellers a better deal than traditional realtors. Quirky, fresh and consumer-centric, PropertyFox sells houses online for a commission of 1.5% - a fraction of the average 6.25% charged in SA. After successful credential-building publicity in business media, Atmosphere was briefed to create a media relations-driven, brand-building campaign in the consumer space – to be executed on a shoe string budget.

The Idea

Do something that no property company in the world had done before. Use social media conversation to gain insights into sentiment on residential neighbourhoods - and overlay these findings with real-world property data. In the process, position PropertyFox as a disruptor in the property industry, a far cry from traditional estate agents and traditional property reports.

The Solution

Using hashtags as our measure, we commissioned a research house to analyse social media conversation to discover the most hashtagged: cities, neighbourhoods, restaurants and bars in South Africa. We then analysed the property prices in these areas and also uncovered the affordable neighbourhoods near the hottest suburbs which could allow people to buy property very close to the action. We produced a visual, shareable national report ranking the most instagrammed cities, neighbourhoods, restaurants and bars in South Africa. We used traditional, influencers and social media heavily to share our findings and also created an award for the most instagrammed bars and restaurants in each of South Africa's three main cities.

The Results

During the campaign period, inbound leads increased by 176%. Mandates (clients signing on to PropertyFox sell their homes) rose 55%. 18 media inserts across traditional media reaching nearly 2 million and valued at nearly R1-million. And a social media reach of 213 083.