CENTURY 21 Real Estate - A New Look at a 40-Year-Old Company

1. 8Scene & Heard: RISMedia’s Achieve! Conference – page 23
Smarter.
Bolder.
Faster.
CENTURY 21 ®
A New Look at a
40-Year-Old Company®
July 2011 $6.95
www.rismedia.com

2. cover story
Smarter. Bolder. Faster.
CENTURY 21® By Paige Tepping
A New Look at a 40-Year-Old Company
R
ick Davidson began his leadership role as president and CEO of Century 21
Real Estate LLC in February 2010, one year before the brand reached its 40th
anniversary milestone. What follows is an exclusive interview between Real
Estate magazine and Rick Davidson about leading the largest residential real
estate sales organization, his vision for the future of the CENTURY 21® brand
and his insights on the direction of the real estate industry.
66 July 2011 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

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“We will leverage every
advantage that we have
globally to ensure that we
take our rightful position
as the worldwide leader in
this industry.”
Rick Davidson, President and CEO
Century 21 Real Estate LLC
Real Estate magazine: You took over leadership of the serve the needs of home buyers and sellers in their
most recognized brand in real estate at one of the local communities.
most challenging times in the industry. What was your By listening, I learned that we have an incredibly
first move? committed, knowledgeable group of real estate pro-
Rick Davidson: First, I listened. I immersed myself in fessionals who are very passionate about the Centu-
the people who bring this company to life, to gain ry 21 brand. through my discovery process, I gained
an understanding from them about all aspects of a deeper understanding of three very important fac-
this great brand. I wanted to learn what Century tors that contribute to the success of the Century
21 stands for, and what it meant to be a part of this 21 System:
iconic real estate firm. Over the past 16 months, I 1. The people who make up the System and repre-
have met with thousands of our professionals, both sent the brand
domestically and around the globe. One of the things
I learned very quickly is that Century 21 has nearly 2. The people who they serve—consumers or pro-
universal brand name recognition. It is truly an icon- spective consumers, and
ic brand. When you say Century 21 you don’t even 3. The tools, systems and support that we deliver
have to mention real estate. everyone knows! to assist our franchisees to successfully com-
I’ve always thought “Century 21: the Gold Stan- pete in this industry.
dard” is a great tagline, but I needed to understand
All of that overlaid with my knowledge of the cur-
the true meaning. I needed to hear directly from the
rent market conditions helped me to better under-
sales professionals, managers, brokers and owners
stand our position in the marketplace and the direc-
who carry the Century 21 business card, and who
tion we needed to go.
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What I took away from that invaluable listening each Century 21 franchisee represents this brand
and learning experience was the fact that the indus- in their local market and I take that very seriously.
try is undergoing a fundamental shift in the way each franchisee is a business partner in this enter-
consumers—particularly the first-time buyers who prise. Our mutual victory is tied to each individual
represented 50% of all home purchases in 2010— business owner’s success and how they represent
were going about the process of buying and selling this brand in their local market. the most produc-
homes. the advances in mobile and social media tive franchisees within the Century 21 System are
alone have been nothing less than revolutionary, those that understand the value of our platform and
and as a brand that takes great pride in being on the ensure that their agents, managers and staff take full
leading edge of innovation, it is incredibly impor- advantage of all that the Century 21 System has to
tant to ensure Century 21 sales professionals are offer in order to service their consumers well.
well positioned to lead this revolutionary shift in the Last, but certainly not least, our new marketing
industry. campaign puts the agent at the center of our mes-
sage as evidenced through the tagline, “Century 21
RE: What is your vision for the brand? Agents: Smarter, Bolder, Faster.” the delivery of our
RD: the Century 21 brand will be recognized as message is a 360-degree approach to assuring that
the global leader in real estate transactions. we attract both buyers and sellers, particularly the
today, we have approximately 120,000 real estate next generation of home buyers and sellers. From
sales professionals serving customers in 71 countries tV and radio broadcast advertising that reaches the
and territories. Internationally, in 2010, the Cen- broad market to mobile apps for all smartphones to
tury 21 System closed approximately 829,000 real customized Facebook business pages, our marketing
estate sides. We are well positioned to grow inter- campaign is designed to provide consumers with
nationally and to become the global leader in real the information they want, when they want it and
estate transactions. where they want it.
We have a tremendous group of brokers who un-
derstand and support our direction and vision. the
decisions we are making now will carry this brand
forward and ensure that Century 21 is well rep-
resented across any relevant metric associated with
success in this industry. We have a great deal of work
in front of us, but I’m confident that we have laid
out a cogent path to achieve our vision.
Success in this industry is based on three simple
metrics: the professionals we associate; the compa-
nies we affiliate; and the transactions we complete.
We are focused on smart growth, not only interna-
tionally, but domestically. We are being very selec-
tive now with regard to which professionals earn the
privilege of representing the Century 21 System.
everything we do is tied to agent productivity and to ensure we are reaching as many consumers as
performance. We recognize that Century 21 agents possible with our message, we’ve taken the bold step
are an integral part of our success. through our of purchasing advertising time on the Super Bowl
awards and events programs, we incent, celebrate, telecast next year! In addition, we celebrated the 40th
and showcase professionals who lead our System. anniversary of our iconic brand with a cake designed,
the Century 21 System has always been known baked and delivered to our international convention
for training and education. to ensure we continue in Las Vegas by none other than the “Cake Boss,”
to enhance sales professionals’ capabilities in this Buddy Valastro. It was a great time and we were able
manner, our learning platform has been updated to to share the cake with 4,000 Century 21 profes-
appeal to new agents as well as seasoned veterans, sionals. the entire celebration was filmed and broad-
offering a career track that empowers agents to build cast on tLC along with our new television ads.
a career as a real estate professional. this is a destina- From an industry perspective, we’re increasing our
tion brand where experienced real estate sales pro- presence at industry events and within trade publi-
fessionals and broker/owners may maximize their cations. Century 21 is the brand everyone in the
income potential. industry is talking about.
In terms of the companies we affiliate, I am ac-
tively engaged with each company we invite to join RE: Where do you see the best opportunities for
the brand, by examining their plans for the future. your franchisees in the months and years ahead
68 July 2011 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

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Why CENTURY 21?
Brokers Explain the
Difference
David Romero, president and CEO,
CENTURY 21 Award – San Diego
“CENTURY 21 is a global real
estate company on the
move, and CENTURY 21
Award looks forward to
being on the leading
edge of this movement.
We are reinventing our
Century 21 celebrated its 40th birthday with a cake brand here in Southern
from the ‘Cake Boss.’ California and Century 21 Real
and what is CENTURY 21 doing Estate LLC is spearheading a revolution
to assist in taking advantage of in the industry. Together, we are rebuilding
these opportunities? the American Dream of homeownership
RD: I see three major areas of not be stopped from achieving and it starts by understanding the needs
opportunity: mergers and acqui- our vision. of our customers and our agents.”
sitions; the distressed property through our learning platform
market (short sales and reO); and we are focused on providing ac- Tracy Hutton, president, CENTURY
enhanced marketing to the next cess to industry-leading training 21 Scheetz, Indianapolis, Indiana
generation of buyers and sellers. and tools designed to prepare “It is important that people are comfort-
Century 21 has taken action to Century 21 sales professionals able with a brand that they
support our franchisees and sales to better serve sellers of distressed know and recognize. But
professionals to take advantage of properties and transact reO prop- the brand alone is only
all three. erties. this is an important seg- the starting point. As a
the economic challenges have ment of the market and we have leader in the Indianap-
taken their toll on many local taken steps to ensure our sales olis market, CENTURY
real estate companies. As a brand, professionals are prepared to meet 21 Scheetz has been
we have focused on providing the demands of the market. recognized for our philan-
support to assist our franchisees We believe our 2011 marketing thropic foundation, innovative
with mergers and acquisitions of campaign represents the start of business solutions and technology, and a
companies in their local commu- a revolution. Our campaign is es- thriving company culture supporting our
nity who may be looking for an sentially a 360-degree program— management team, staff and agents. It’s
exit strategy. With such a large with advertising that reaches to the whole package that builds customers
network, joining a successful lo- buyers and sellers using powerful for life and attracts the best and brightest
cal Century 21 franchise is a vi- broadcast and digital media both in the industry.”
able option for many companies online and offline.
who find themselves in difficult the next generation of home Todd Hetherington, CEO, CENTURY
circumstances. this is the time to buyers will approach the real es- 21 New Millennium, Alexandria,
join the company with the larg- tate transaction dramatically dif- Virginia
est real estate sales organization ferent than when I purchased “CENTURY 21 New Millen-
in the world. We are targeting my first home. today’s 25 to nium has established a
urban markets where we see op- 35-year-old consumer will start solid and successful
portunities for growth. I want our their search online, share their real estate firm in the
competitors to understand that favorite listings on Facebook and Washington-Baltimore
when they see the Century 21 download their favorites to their metropolitan area;
sign go up in their market, it is smartphone through a Qr code— however, our affiliation
the time to climb on board or get all before they seek the help of a with such a well known
out of the way because we have real estate professional! this rep- international brand has been tremen-
moved into that market with a resents a huge opportunity for dously beneficial, especially given the
purpose. We will provide the nec- our sales professionals. international clientele doing business in
essary support for our franchisees From social media programs to this market.”
to gain market-share and we will branded Facebook, twitter, and
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youtube pages to location-based services like the the national Association of reALtOrS® and Fannie
Century 21 smartphone app, to our blog @C21- Mae, there will be approximately 5.1 to 5.2 million
Home Matters, we have taken proactive steps to en- existing home sales in the u.S. during 2011. Where
sure we remain on the leading edge in how our brand we need to be focused as professionals is assisting
and our sales professionals reach today’s consumer. consumers to make smart real estate decisions.
It is also incredibly important to give back to the
RE: How much do you see international growth of the community. Philanthropy is an area that I am ex-
brand playing a role in helping the CENTURY 21 Sys- tremely passionate about. In 2010, the Century
tem achieve your vision? 21 franchise system reached nearly $102 million in
RD: Century 21’s organizational goal is to be rec- lifetime contributions to easter Seals, its sole philan-
ognized as the global leader in real estate transac- thropic partner since 1979.
tions. Our international position plays a critical role In fact, by the time your readers read this article,
in achieving this objective. I may be summiting one of several peaks in the
We have unique advantages domestically and we Alaska Mountain range. In support of easter Seals,
will continue to be an industry leader in the u.S. four brave Century 21 System members and I have
that said, we are operating in a global economy. Ac- committed to climb 30,000 feet in total elevation for
cording to the national Association of reALtOrS® the 2011 Climb for Kids. you may follow our climb
Profile of International Home Buying Activity 2011, every step of the way at Facebook.com/Century21.
the total u.S. existing Home Sales market was ap-
proximately $1.07 trillion in the 12 months ending
in March 2011. In addition, recent immigrants (who
have moved to the u.S. within the past two years)
and individuals with visas for more than six months
purchased an additional $41 billion, for total inter-
nationally oriented sales of $82 billion, up from $66
billion reported in 2010.
the Century 21 System is well-positioned to le-
verage our global presence and to drive transactions
country to country and continent to continent. As
an international organization, we have tremendous
strength, operating in 71 countries and territories Century 21 is reaching
worldwide. For example, China represents the fast- consumers with the
est growing international region within the Cen- latest social media
tury 21 System with more than 21,000 sales profes- programs and mobile
sionals and over 1,500 offices serving home buyers
technology.
and sellers throughout 32 cities in the world’s most
populous country. In Brazil, I will help celebrate our
100th franchise opening in Sao Paulo later this year.
this type of growth and presence is representative
of what we are doing in markets around the world. In regard to the future, I remain very bullish about
even with a global footprint of over 5,000 offices real estate and extremely excited about the future of
(outside the u.S.), we have just scratched the surface our brand. Century 21 maintains its leadership in
of opportunity for our brand internationally. brand awareness and our strategic vision is gaining
momentum and strength around the globe. I feel
RE: The economic recovery in the U.S. and worldwide the momentum in every office I visit and with every
remains unsteady. How has CENTURY 21 positioned agent I meet.
itself to thrive in such a challenging environment? the industry is changing, and the Century 21
While current housing market conditions still System is committed to leading the change. As a
present challenges, there is ample room for oppor- brand, we will continue to meet consumers wherev-
tunity. Housing prices and historically low mortgage er they are searching for real estate information and
rates make it a great time for first-time home buyers our sales professionals will continue to provide valu-
or those considering moving into a better neighbor- able service to their customers and community. this
hood, downsizing or even a vacation home. For ex- is the 40th anniversary of the brand and Century
ample, housing affordability conditions today are 60 21 is smarter, bolder and faster than ever before. RE
percentage points higher than during the housing
boom, making it a very strong buyers’ market, espe-
cially for families with long-term plans. According to For more information, please visit century21.com.
70 July 2011 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE