The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals who have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s Marketing Leaders award are now open through Friday, April 21, 2023. Click here to nominate someone you know — a client, colleague, boss or friend — it can even be you!
Last week’s listings rate remained super low and available inventory of homes for sale fell again by almost 1% to 410,000, according to Altos Research.
“The biggest challenge for us in the past year has been to reassure our agents that they still have a viable business despite the current economic challenges,” said Christina Panos, chief marketing officer for The Corcoran Group. “We have been through market downturns before…and we believe that the agents who continue to connect with consumers during these tough times and refine their own value proposition and what makes them a good agent, will pay off in spades as the climate improves.”
Panos was recognized as a 2022 HW Marketing Leader for marketing initiatives throughout her 20 years with The Corcoran Group. Her accomplishments include her work on the ‘Be Home’ campaign and her efforts around jumpstarting Corcoran’s digital presence and expanding its social media profile.
We reached out to Panos to learn more about how she and her team are adjusting their strategies based on the current housing market and what projects she’s looking forward to in 2023.
HousingWire: How have the current mortgage rate and inventory challenges impacted the direction of Corcoran’s marketing strategies?
Christina Panos: We work closely with agents to ensure their marketing strategies are nimble. In a market like this, whether they’re focusing on the uniqueness of their properties or the value of purchasing a home for long-term investment purposes, our team partners with them on ways they can creatively and honestly attract buyers and sellers.
HW: What has been the biggest challenge to your marketing team in the past year and how did you manage this challenge?
CP: The biggest challenge for us in the past year has been to reassure our agents that they still have a viable business despite the current economic challenges. We have been through market downturns before — from 2008 to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that the agents who continue to connect with consumers during these tough times and refine their own value proposition and what makes them a good agent, will pay off in spades as the climate improves.
HW: Can you share any projects that you’re working on now and what are you looking forward to the most for your marketing team in 2023?
CP: 2023 is Corcoran Group’s 50th Anniversary, a milestone that we’re very proud of. We’re working on a variety of different plans to celebrate five decades of our inimitable brand. We’re also hosting BeCorcoran, our exclusive company-wide gathering in Nashville in just a few short weeks. Attendees will hear from senior Corcoran Group executives, external experts and panels led by top agents from across the network covering everything from business agility to marketing mastery. And finally, I’m really looking forward to launching the next evolution of our ‘Be Home’ brand campaign in late 2023.
HW: How do you stay connected with the consumer to ensure that your message and brand strategy is resonating?
CP: We focus on consumer research, we stay very well read and ultimately, the close relationships that we have with our agents help ensure we know what they’re hearing on the ground from their buyers, sellers and renters.
