A NEW digital advertising platform that promises to hand more marketing power to Australian families selling their home will be piloted in Newcastle.
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Media company ACM and The Today Business will pilot the Today Acquire platform in partnership with six Newcastle real estate agencies to test its reach among potential home buyers.
Antony Catalano, a co-founder of The Today Business and the executive chairman of ACM, the publisher of this website, described the new platform as a "digital revolution for mum and dad vendors selling their greatest asset".
Today Acquire uses smart technology to place property ads on news websites and social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn in view of people who are not actively looking to buy, but have been identified as potential buyers from their online search history.
"This type of targeted digital media has traditionally only been available to large-scale advertisers, but now we're making it available for individual listings, large or small," Mr Catalano said.
The pilot will use direct buyer-acquisition software combined with print campaigns to drive awareness in view of boosting residential property sales.
The six agent partners in Newcastle are PRD Newcastle, PRD Shoal Bay, Street Property, Walkom Real Estate, O'Meara Property & First National Newcastle.
Mr Catalano, the former chief executive of property listings portal Domain, said Today Acquire's objective was to help vendors sell their properties more quickly.
"Combining the awareness driven by the ACM publishing platforms with digital activity that targets relevant buyers in environments they frequent will help push buyers along the path to purchase quicker," he said.
Trent Casson, general manager of residential at The Today Business, said Today Acquire used a "sophisticated multi-channel approach" that included multiple forms of advertising, ranging from displays to video format.
"The platform puts advertised properties in front of active and passive buyers anywhere they appear online - from news websites to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and eBay," Mr Casson said.
Users who match the buyer profile for a property are targeted and directed to the real estate agency's website, allowing the agency to build its brand, business intelligence, buyer data and expand its client database.
Mr Casson said the product's performance was "measured not just on reach and click through rates but conversion of those clicks through to inquiry".
Scott Walkom, of Walkom Real Estate, said his agency was excited about the potential of the ACM digital offering.
"We've been looking at ways to be more active in the digital space, knowing that some of the buyers are not always on the portals - Today Acquire looks to be a solution that ticks all the boxes for us," Mr Walkom said.
Mark Kentwell, of PRD Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, said local vendors could gain a wider audience for their property, driving better prices in less time.
"If we can replicate the pilot results we have seen from other areas in our area, it will be a big win for consumers and the industry," he said.
