The Insider: Issue 033

We’re nearing the end of what always feels like the longest month of the year… which also means we’re about to enter Super Bowl season. Whether you’re in real estate, tech, finance or something else… everyone always seems to come away from advertising’s biggest spectacle with opinions on what worked and what did not. If you’re looking for takeaways this year, try paying attention to which brands made you feel something and why. Also, we’re taking bets on how many times the words “NFT,” “metaverse,” and “blockchain” get tossed into the fray.

Last Week This Week

Hometap, a company that enables homeowners to sell part of their home’s equity instead of borrowing against it, raised $245 million, bringing its funding total to $415 million. The raise comes from institutions that want to get a piece of a piece of the residential real estate market. Unison, Point, and Unlock are among other players in this space, which we expect to continue growing as investors chase returns and an inflation hedge in the housing market, and homeowners seek debt alternatives as rates rise.

Relatedly, John Burns Real Estate Consulting reported that $5 billion has already been pumped into the SFR (single family residential) and BFR (build for rent) sector in the first weeks of 2022 alone. It seems that there is a new floor being established for housing demand — one that is raised on a foundation of institutional dollars.

RE/MAX named Nick Bailey CEO after announcing two weeks ago that Adam Contos had resigned. Nick held the CEO spot at Century 21 for 18 months in 2017-2019, and served as VP of Broker Relations at Zillow before that. Nick is a sharp and charismatic guy, but we think RE/MAX is worth keeping an eye on this year from an M&A standpoint, and tend to think about this move in that context. We talked about this more in our Q1 2022 industry landscape briefing, so check that out if you missed it.

Have You Heard About This?

Get Your Surfboards Out
Propy last week launched the first ever NFT platform for real estate transactions in the U.S. Last year, the blockchain startup facilitated the sale of an apartment as an NFT in the Ukraine. But this news marks its journey into the U.S. market and legal system. NFTs, blockchain and crypto have already been taking up a lot of space in conversations all over the web. We expect this to blow up even more after the Super Bowl, where we’re likely to see all sorts of brands — from chips to beer to insurance — jump in and figure out how to make them part of their world. Surf’s up! (Disclosure: Propy is a 1000watt client.)

What's Inside

Marc has been sharing some fantastic ideas in our Insiders-only LinkedIn group over the past couple weeks. Head over there if you want a dose of big thinking.

If you’re struggling to differentiate, or want to sharpen your messaging, download the Smart Guide we released last week on crafting a positioning statement.

 
Inspiration Point

Cheap Or Not Cheap
Your competitors will always take their easiest shots when trying to defend against you. One of the most common is usually around price. “They’re too expensive.” Instead of ignoring these shots, a branding device that can help you use them to your advantage is to address it head on and point out why it’s a good thing. We like this example above from Canadian home decor company Maison Tess, which comes right at the accusation directly. “Our sheets are not cheap.” Let’s own it and explain why — effectively making the competition look just the opposite: cheap.

It’s Oat Milk, People
We know: we keep mentioning this Swedish oat milk company, Oatly. Why are these 1000watt people so obsessed with this bizarre European drink company? Because its execs know how to build a brand, that’s why. It’s oak milk. Yet we stop and listen. It’s oat milk. Yet it’s superbly creative and entertaining. It’s oat milk. Yet it’s bold and fresh and unique. You may assume this is a little mom-and-pop company that has all sorts of creative liberties by way of its size. You would be wrong. Oatly is an enormous corporation with a board of directors and shareholders. It had a $10 billion IPO last year. Much of its success came after over a decade of slogging and fighting to compete with a cadre of other oat drink competitors. And much of its success came when it doubled down on brand, integrated brand strategy into its highest executive functions, and followed through.

Quote of the week

“Competence over credentials.”

—James Clear