Never one to shy away from controversy or publicity (pretty much the same thing, right?) Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, has an uncanny ability to create and leverage both. Can he help real estate?
With so many businesses and jobs going under, opinions are pretty strong and hot regarding the recent bank and auto bailouts. Flynt saw a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the buzz by asking the federal government for a $5 billion dollar bailout of the porn industry.
And it worked.
Everyone’s talking about it
Check out these results:
Not bad coverage, eh? News agencies, bloggers and pundits scrambling to post their views is bringing a lot of attention to the porn industry. Just as Flynt planned.
How porn applies to real estate
So, what’s the marketing lesson here?
It’s a great example of “entering the conversation already in your customer’s mind.”
Basically, your customer is most likely to pay attention to things that that interest them and that they’re already thinking or talking about. Talk about the same things and they’ll listen, especially if you give it a fresh spin.
Flynt found the prevailing topic of conversation – from the man on the street to the talking heads on the squawk box – and joined in, providing his own spin.
How to join in
As a Realtor, what conversations are occurring in your market that you can add your own spin to?
A few years ago a nearby city began experiencing problems with fissures popping up in residential areas. It was a big deal – lawsuits against the builder, planners, etc. But a home inspector capitalized on it by publicizing free home inspections. It can be as simple as that.
