Happy Birthday! COMPASS brand turns 6 in 2021
Yes, a few weeks ago the COMPASS brand turned 6 years old. Originally named “Urban Compass”, the brand name, logo, and graphics were changed in early 2015 when we were merely around 300 family members in total.
The speed at which Compass’ brand name recognition has grown – especially amongst home buyers, sellers, landlords, developers and renters, specifically in more luxury markets around the nation – in the past 6 years is quite remarkable. The brand name recognition amongst those monitoring the financial markets has been further accelerated since our IPO a month ago. The TOP 5 luxury brands in the world are: Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Christian Dior, and Louis Vuitton: all are at least 75 years old. According to Statista, there is only one brand amongst the world’s TOP 20 Most Valuable Worldwide Brands that is 10 years old…..the majority have been around much longer. Of the Top 25, only seven are not one-word name brands.
“Compass is a simpler, more universally memorable brand name that speaks directly to the connection between people and technology that is so central to what we are building,” Matt Spangler, February 2015 when discussing the shift from URBAN COMPASS to simply….COMPASS.
A powerful brand name is possibly your most competitive advantage: imagine Coca-Cola without its brand name…..it would be merely just another soft drink. A brand with a distinct personality drives value perception. A brand has to evoke a perception, a story. COMPASS’ brand speaks to modern luxury. It speaks to the next generation of luxury, regardless of age. It speaks to a mentality. Boldly broadcasting our best-looking properties promotes an identity and association that has tremendous value to ALL properties we market. The brand sets the tone. A brand has to speak its own unique language. The COMPASS brand speaks to simplicity, the new language of modern luxury that is more about authenticity and simplicity than gilded opulence or stodgy heritage. It speaks to contemporary, tech-fueled efficiencies and A-grade service.
When a newly built Condominium comes to market called for example “THE PRETTY CONDOMINIUM”, many locals may identify it after many weeks of advertising and marketing. But it would cost many millions of dollars to achieve the same recognition and quality association that you achieve if you were to brand-associate the building, eg: “THE FOUR SEASON’s Pretty Condominium”. That association INSTANTLY messages to the consumer years worth of advertising and personal experience no brand can ever hope to achieve without massive investments in money and time.
Imagine the value of the COMPASS brand when 20,000-plus in the COMPASS family are messaging that brand name multiple times per day, if not by the hour. Here are some examples:
* If every Compass agent sends out one social media post per day with the name COMPASS attached to it…..that’s over 7 million posts per year. If each social media post is exposed to on average 500 people, that’s 3.5 BILLION impressions.
* Imagine if every COMPASS family member sends 25 emails per day (I’m being kind!) with the COMPASS brand name attached….that’s close to 200 million impressions per year: that’s pessimistic knowing how much we email.
* Now add in T-shirts, print and digital advertising, billboards, mugs, video, public relations e, 6-million-plus website visits per month, yard signs, office signage, ticker-tape appearances, Robert’s book (coming out this week), etc…..you get the picture.
The COMPASS brand is now delivering MILLIONS of impressions ….daily. And Consistently. While all of this is very impressive, you may be asking the obvious question: “What’s in it for me?” As agents and teams, we are all our own individual brand and that is empowering and extremely valuable. Creating your own unique and differentiating identity is great. Attaching that identity to the COMPASS brand multiplies its effectiveness dramatically. It is a brand association/endorsement that speaks of invaluable marketing aspects – INSTANTLY – that is impossible to replicate.
BRAVO to our multiple teams of creative and marketing geniuses around the country who consistently and brilliantly build and nurture the COMPASS brand and maintain its high-quality standards every single day. THANK YOU!
Choice Education
by Leonard Steinberg
I am often troubled when people say about others who are in a bad way in their lives or careers: “Well, that’s what happens when you make poor choices!” Yes, it’s absolutely true, most predicaments are a direct result of choices. And yes, poor choices mostly lead to bad outcomes. But the biggest problem is that many people have never been taught HOW to choose, or they do not consult experts – or those with great experience – before they make a choice. Are you well versed on HOW to make choices?
Yes, it’s true many people make OBVIOUSLY poor choices that with just a wee bit of common sense are easily and wisely answered. But often people make uneducated or poorly informed choices. Sometimes this is a result of laziness. Often it’s because they don’t know what questions to ask of themselves and others or they are embarrassed to ask or they guess fueled by arrogance. Or they don’t pause to do the necessary homework. Going ‘with your gut’ is great, adding in thorough research and consideration is much more reliable.
Making choices via trial and error is a part of growth. Much time and aggravation and heartache and suffering could be avoided if we were better educated on HOW to make those choices. Mentors, managers, parents, teachers, solid education that teaches rationalization skills not just information, etc. are critical components in a well-lived life. Learning how to do research by consulting multiple sources and not relying on just one is helpful. All of this takes work and time. But this time spent may be your best investment.
So next time you are confronted with a choice (and all of us are, multiple times during any day) before you make that choice, ask yourself are you REALLY well enough equipped to make that choice wisely? Do you need an opinion from someone you really trust or someone who can help you navigate by asking the right questions? Have you done the correct, thorough research and fact gathering? Sometimes a simple pause is all you may need to choose wisely.
And maybe next time you attribute ‘poor choices’ to someone down on their luck or in serious trouble, try to understand whether they had the opportunity to be adequately equipped to have the ABILITY to make good choices. There is no excuse for poor choices, but often there is an explanation.
Remember: No one succeeds alone!
Nelson-Moe Group 