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Thursday, September 28, 2023
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View Media Group (VMG) has today announced the launch of view.com.au, which delivers an enhanced new way for buyers to find properties and for vendors and agents to connect with those buyers via a “Freemium” listing model.
VMG Executive Chairman Antony Catalano said “This is really exciting and the culmination of years of hard work since we initially took an equity position in the realestateview.com.au business and subsequently launched VMG last year.”
“While VMG is much more than a portal play, it's critical that we have a consumer-facing brand that will act as the front door to attract consumers and in turn allow us to offer products and services in a range of verticals across the property ecosystem. Our plan is to create a digital real estate superstore under the new View brand that will play in the $300 billion adjacency categories rather than solely focus on the $1 billion of digital property advertising.”
“With View, our “Freemium” listings model is a game changer and will allow vendors to list their properties for free, with upgrade options available for those agents who wish to further promote their listings and their brands. We’ve listened to the industry and the time is right for an offer to come to market with an alternative model that addresses the real estate industry’s concern at the continually escalating price of advertising.”
“The feedback from the industry to View has been overwhelmingly positive with many looking to invest in the VMG business as a result. There’s no question there is real frustration in the market and something has to give, which is why we have come to market with an alternative that addresses the concerns over price and provides a compelling alternative that allows agents to participate in the adjacency businesses VMG is expanding into.”
The new View portal is available via App stores and at view.com.au and offers a complete view of the market with all established properties across the country featured, whether they’re currently for sale or not. “That means view.com.au will showcase more than 11 million properties in Australia compared to some of the portals which feature around 140,000 properties for sale. From Day 1 we will provide consumers with a complete view of the market.’’ Catalano said.
“We feel that restricting consumers to only being able to search for those properties that are currently for sale is extremely limiting. It's like saying that you should only advertise a job vacancy to those that are unemployed. Often the best candidate is already employed and we feel the same logic can be applied in the property category and that often the best house for an individual is not currently for sale. View allows buyers to look at all properties; listed or unlisted and if a property isn't currently for sale they will be able to express interest in that property to hopefully stimulate the market and encourage transactions that might not have otherwise occurred.” Catalano said.
The new website has been developed to provide property-seekers with an easy to navigate experience in a superior map-based search delivered via mapping partner Nearmap.
View CEO Toby Balazs said “We’ve had a look globally at best practice search for property and we’ve consumer tested a range of options and without doubt the preferred experience is map-based search. So unlike others in the market who default consumers to a list view, we’ll default our search results via a map.”
“The map also enables us to more seamlessly display both listed and unlisted properties all in the one unified experience, so consumers can look to buy, rent, sell or research property in context and on the same platform.”
“Nearmap’s product has to be seen to be believed. The unparalleled clarity, high resolution, and frequent updates of their aerial imagery make it the most compelling solution on the market.”
Nearmap’s Head of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, Vlad Gagovic said “Finding the perfect property, in the perfect location is an emotional and often very slow journey. Giving property seekers the ability to see Australia’s property market with incredible resolution, recency and coverage, with up to 95% of the population captured, is truly a game changer. The functionality we are building together will become an indispensable new way to find, explore and select your next property or suburb. Nearmap is excited to work with a partner that wants to make this easier for everyone.”
The product launch will be supported by View’s fresh new brand, positioning and marketing campaign that will launch on AFL Grand Final Day with brand TVC spots nationally during the AFL Grand Final broadcast on Channel 7, 7plus, and print wraps across the ACM network.
VMG Chief Marketing Officer Paul Tyrrell said that “we want to do things a bit differently from what we traditionally see in property marketing. Our positioning is that with View you ‘See All’; a simple and clean representation of the complete view of the market that the new View product delivers.”
“Our brand campaign developed in partnership with The Monkeys in Melbourne illustrates the extraordinary lengths that some people go to get ahead in the property game, however with View there’s no need to. Our aim is to present View as the solution to the problem of the difficulty in finding property that suits you.”
“We want to have a bit of fun with it, so we have played with humour to ensure memorability and cut through while always ensuring the core message out take and product uniqueness is clear, which is critical for any launch. Keep an eye out for our Property Eagle.”
Ant Keogh, Chief Creative Officer, The Monkeys added, “The real estate category is highly competitive, and as the new player to market we needed to cut through and be as distinctive as possible. Nothing says distinctive like your very own property eagle. Because short of having an actual eagle, View.com.au gives punters the best view at properties across Australia.”
The initial media campaign will run until early December across Channel 7, 7plus, ACM, QMS digital assets and will be supported by extensive digital activity.
“It’s fantastic having such wonderful media partners in SWM and ACM who are truly invested in the success of VMG and the View launch. The team at SWM have been fantastic to deal with, constantly coming up with new ideas and ways to integrate the brand or raise the profile of it; it's well and truly above a spots and dots type plan.” Tyrrell said.
Seven West Media Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said: “View Media Group is an exciting game-changer for the property industry. Antony’s experience and the expert team he has assembled will help VMG be the ultimate destination for property seekers and sellers in Australia. Seven West Media is firmly behind Antony and the VMG team and looks forward to its success.”
View.com.au’s launch is another milestone since VMG’s formation in August 2022, announced by Antony Catalano and co-owner Alex Waislitz.
Catalano said: “VMG continues to grow and tick off the key parts of its strategic plan. We are well on the way to forming a global-first conglomerate of proptech assets including portals, ad tech, lead generation, lead management solutions, media planning and buying, AI services, data and connections all under the one roof.”
“We are bringing together a group of businesses and experts in the industry to form a true disruptor in the rapidly evolving proptech sector.”
For more information please contact:
Paul Tyrrell
View Media Group
P: 0416124568
