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Developer Focus

Real Estate in Second Life: Coldwell Banker Enters the Market

Coldwell Banker, one of the biggest players in the real-estate industry, has set up shop in Second Life with a virtual office and more than 500 homes on 550,000 square meters in the Ranchero section of the mainland. Coldwell Banker entered Second Life to connect with a younger real world real estate while making certain it could make a positive impact within the metaverse.

"It's a Whole New World"
Charlie Young, senior vice president for marketing for Coldwell Banker, Real Estate LLC says the company is "very excited about our Second Life initiatives. The key thing for us is that we wanted to be in Second Life only if there was a reason for us to be there. We didn't want to be just an advertising presence. We only wanted to be there if we could bring value to Second Life participants, and if we could be a participant ourselves."

"It's a whole new world with new rules," Young says. "You have to be able to suspend normal conventions and go into it without an outcome. We have a great opportunity here to learn what will help us connect with consumers of ours that participate in Second Life. Plus, it's a test for us with learning we hope to take into the real world. The Internet is changing our business very rapidly, and the rate of change is getting exponentially faster every minute. We are gaining insight into how Second Life works and how it is going to apply to the real world Internet. We're now at the front edge of how to represent and reach consumers - through Second Life and through Coldwellbanker.com."

In It for the Long Haul
"This isn't about an incremental lift in our business," Young explains. "Our priority is to connect to the new real estate consumer. A lot of Second Life participants match who we think that new consumer is. We're sending a message about the Coldwell Banker brand that says: we're committed to innovation and to new ways of connecting. We also want to learn and to see if there's a way to connect the virtual world of Second Life and the real virtual world of Coldwell Banker. Can we drive traffic to and from those environments? We want to be able to learn as much as we can about how to connect online with consumers. We feel good about this venture in Second Life. We plan to be there for the long haul."

Jared Freedman, president and founder of Code4Software, developed the Coldwell Banker site and helped with the brand's Second Life strategy.

"I wanted to put Coldwell Banker on the mainland, and I wanted to bring them business. They're a special brand. They integrate well with Second Life. Here you've got a real estate company - a big, well-known real estate company that specializes in high-end stuff for new buyers. I told them: 'Second Life is perfect for you. I suggest you open up on the mainland. You'll get fly-by traffic, and people will see you and want to come by. You'll be integrated with the mainland and be able to sell property just like you do in the real world.'"

Freedman's enterprise-level software keeps things humming and provides unique tracking opportunities. "Coldwell Banker delivers an actual service that integrates with Second Life community, and it's a service that's needed within Second Life," he says. "We're moving the industry forward. We're actually staffing an office and paying fair wage to agents who are there wearing Coldwell Banker uniforms. You have to have staff on hand to engage the customers."