BlackArc Ogilvy launches digital unit

The new unit, called BlackArc OgilvyOne Organisation (BAOOO), will be the digital interactive marketing discipline of the BlackArc Ogilvy Group.

BAOOO’s range of services will cover five core areas: brand building for corporations, services and locations; digital communication including website development and optimisation; CRM including prospect identification; showroom promotions, and digital property management services.

Recent moves by the Chinese government to enforce new regulations limiting home purchases and property loans have caused the previously robust real estate market to slow considerably. As a result, the agency believes the real estate market has shifted from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

“While the real estate market will eventually recover, consumer behaviour will not be the same as before. So marketers need to prepare for the bounce back ahead of time," Angel Chen, CEO of BlackArc Ogilvy and president of OgilvyOne China commented.

In addition to traditional information channels such as housing fairs and real estate agencies,  buyers are increasingly conducting their own research online, Sasa Liu, president and founder of BlackArc Ogilvy, pointed out. Approximately 58 per cent of buyers say the internet is the best source of real estate information, according to the Data Center of China Internet.

“These days, unlike in the past, buyers in China need more than basic information (of property brands) from flyer ads and text messages,” Chen said, adding that buyers now expect targeted information, preferably online from their trusted peer groups – either through word-of-mouth recommendations or discussions in social media.