The words “flash mob” and “real estate” are not typically heard in the same sentence, but Douglas Elliman’s latest promotional video puts the two together in a creative way.
The Avigdor/Penkova Team from the real estate firm’s Southampton office took branding to a new level last week when it spent all day choreographing and producing a short film that challenges by-the-book home listing videos.
The filming began with a walkthrough of the Southampton office, followed by interior and exterior shots of listed homes. The grand finale took place in a home at David Whites Lane, which began with a young girl skipping through the home and out on to the deck, joining actors, volunteers, and company employees in a Bollywood-style flash mob that ended with a jump into the pool. Producing the movie involved a professional film crew, including drone shots of the property.
Head of the Avigdor/Penkova Team, Raphael Avigdor, has experience with the film industry. In addition to his career in real estate, Mr. Avigdor has a passion for filmmaking, and has produced several documentaries, including “Blue Gold: American Jeans,” “The Man Who Saved the World,” “The Road Movie” and “Ruth Finley’s Fashion Calendar.”
“I thought it would be a good idea to bring my filmmaking skills to the Hamptons and to our team for a branding piece,” Mr. Avigdor said. “Exposure for our listings is a big benefit, as is setting Douglas Elliman apart in the marketplace as a unique company with original branding strategies.”
As for the Bollywood-style angle, Mr. Avigdor attributed this idea to the ultimate goal of wanting to stand out as much as possible to create traffic for Douglas Elliman listings.
“I have never seen a real estate agent organize a flash mob around one of their listings and thought that would be a great way to get a home additional exposure,” he said. “We felt this was a creative new way to expose our listings instead of the normal ‘listing videos’ that we are all accustomed to seeing.”
One- and three-minute versions of the video will be available online at raphaelavigdor.elliman.com in mid-June.