July 2011 $6.95www.rismedia.com

8Scene & Heard: RISMedia’s Achieve! Conference – page 23

A New Look at a 40-Year-Old Company®

CENTURY 21®

Smarter.Bolder.Faster.

cover story

A New Look at a 40-Year-Old Company

Smarter. Bolder. Faster. CENTURY 21®

By Paige Tepping

Rick 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

cover story

Real Estate magazine: You took over leadership of the most recognized brand in real estate at one of the most challenging times in the industry. What was your first move?Rick Davidson: First, I listened. I immersed myself in the people who bring this company to life, to gain an understanding from them about all aspects of this great brand. I wanted to learn what Century 21 stands for, and what it meant to be a part of this iconic real estate firm. Over the past 16 months, I have met with thousands of our professionals, both domestically and around the globe. One of the things I learned very quickly is that Century 21 has nearly universal brand name recognition. It is truly an icon-ic brand. When you say Century 21 you don’t even have to mention real estate. everyone knows!

I’ve always thought “Century 21: the Gold Stan-dard” is a great tagline, but I needed to understand the true meaning. I needed to hear directly from the sales professionals, managers, brokers and owners who carry the Century 21 business card, and who

serve the needs of home buyers and sellers in their local communities.

By listening, I learned that we have an incredibly committed, knowledgeable group of real estate pro-fessionals who are very passionate about the Centu-ry 21 brand. through my discovery process, I gained a deeper understanding of three very important fac-tors that contribute to the success of the Century 21 System:

1. The people who make up the System and repre-sent the brand

2. The people who they serve—consumers or pro-spective consumers, and

3. The tools, systems and support that we deliver to assist our franchisees to successfully com-pete in this industry.

All of that overlaid with my knowledge of the cur-rent market conditions helped me to better under-stand our position in the marketplace and the direc-tion we needed to go.

Smarter. Bolder. Faster. CENTURY 21®

“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 CEOCentury 21 Real Estate LLC

RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE July 2011 67

68 July 2011 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

cover story

What I took away from that invaluable listening and learning experience was the fact that the indus-try is undergoing a fundamental shift in the way consumers—particularly the first-time buyers who represented 50% of all home purchases in 2010—were going about the process of buying and selling homes. the advances in mobile and social media alone have been nothing less than revolutionary, and as a brand that takes great pride in being on the leading edge of innovation, it is incredibly impor-tant to ensure Century 21 sales professionals are well positioned to lead this revolutionary shift in the industry.

RE: What is your vision for the brand?RD: the Century 21 brand will be recognized as the global leader in real estate transactions.

today, we have approximately 120,000 real estate sales professionals serving customers in 71 countries and territories. Internationally, in 2010, the Cen-tury 21 System closed approximately 829,000 real estate sides. We are well positioned to grow inter-nationally and to become the global leader in real estate transactions.

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 performance. We recognize that Century 21 agents are an integral part of our success. through our awards and events programs, we incent, celebrate, and showcase professionals who lead our System.

the Century 21 System has always been known for training and education. to ensure we continue to enhance sales professionals’ capabilities in this manner, our learning platform has been updated to appeal to new agents as well as seasoned veterans, offering a career track that empowers agents to build a career as a real estate professional. this is a destina-tion brand where experienced real estate sales pro-fessionals and broker/owners may maximize their income potential.

In terms of the companies we affiliate, I am ac-tively engaged with each company we invite to join the brand, by examining their plans for the future.

each Century 21 franchisee represents this brand in their local market and I take that very seriously. each franchisee is a business partner in this enter-prise. Our mutual victory is tied to each individual business owner’s success and how they represent this brand in their local market. the most produc-tive franchisees within the Century 21 System are those that understand the value of our platform and ensure that their agents, managers and staff take full advantage of all that the Century 21 System has to offer in order to service their consumers well.

Last, but certainly not least, our new marketing campaign puts the agent at the center of our mes-sage as evidenced through the tagline, “Century 21 Agents: Smarter, Bolder, Faster.” the delivery of our message is a 360-degree approach to assuring that we attract both buyers and sellers, particularly the next generation of home buyers and sellers. From tV and radio broadcast advertising that reaches the broad market to mobile apps for all smartphones to customized Facebook business pages, our marketing campaign is designed to provide consumers with the information they want, when they want it and where they want it.

to ensure we are reaching as many consumers as possible with our message, we’ve taken the bold step of purchasing advertising time on the Super Bowl telecast next year! In addition, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of our iconic brand with a cake designed, baked and delivered to our international convention in Las Vegas by none other than the “Cake Boss,” Buddy Valastro. It was a great time and we were able to share the cake with 4,000 Century 21 profes-sionals. the entire celebration was filmed and broad-cast on tLC along with our new television ads.

From an industry perspective, we’re increasing our presence at industry events and within trade publi-cations. Century 21 is the brand everyone in the industry is talking about.

RE: Where do you see the best opportunities for your franchisees in the months and years ahead

RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE July 2011 69

cover story

and what is CENTURY 21 doing to assist in taking advantage of these opportunities?RD: I see three major areas of opportunity: mergers and acqui-sitions; the distressed property market (short sales and reO); and enhanced marketing to the next generation of buyers and sellers. Century 21 has taken action to support our franchisees and sales professionals to take advantage of all three.

the economic challenges have taken their toll on many local real estate companies. As a brand, we have focused on providing support to assist our franchisees with mergers and acquisitions of companies in their local commu-nity who may be looking for an exit strategy. With such a large network, joining a successful lo-cal Century 21 franchise is a vi-able option for many companies who find themselves in difficult circumstances. this is the time to join the company with the larg-est real estate sales organization in the world. We are targeting urban markets where we see op-portunities for growth. I want our competitors to understand that when they see the Century 21 sign go up in their market, it is the time to climb on board or get out of the way because we have moved into that market with a purpose. We will provide the nec-essary support for our franchisees to gain market-share and we will

not be stopped from achieving our vision.

through our learning platform we are focused on providing ac-cess to industry-leading training and tools designed to prepare Century 21 sales professionals to better serve sellers of distressed properties and transact reO prop-erties. this is an important seg-ment of the market and we have taken steps to ensure our sales professionals are prepared to meet the demands of the market.

We believe our 2011 marketing campaign represents the start of a revolution. Our campaign is es-sentially a 360-degree program—with advertising that reaches to buyers and sellers using powerful broadcast and digital media both online and offline.

the next generation of home buyers will approach the real es-tate transaction dramatically dif-ferent than when I purchased my first home. today’s 25 to 35-year-old consumer will start their search online, share their favorite listings on Facebook and download their favorites to their smartphone through a Qr code—all before they seek the help of a real estate professional! this rep-resents a huge opportunity for our sales professionals.

From social media programs to branded Facebook, twitter, and

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 brand here in Southern

California and Century 21 Real Estate LLC is spearheading a revolution in the industry. Together, we are rebuilding the American Dream of homeownership and it starts by understanding the needs of our customers and our agents.”

Tracy Hutton, president, CENTURY 21 Scheetz, Indianapolis, Indiana“It is important that people are comfort-

able with a brand that they know and recognize. But

the brand alone is only the starting point. As a leader in the Indianap-olis market, CENTURY

21 Scheetz has been recognized for our philan-

thropic foundation, innovative business solutions and technology, and a thriving company culture supporting our management team, staff and agents. It’s the whole package that builds customers for life and attracts the best and brightest in the industry.”

Todd Hetherington, CEO, CENTURY 21 New Millennium, Alexandria, Virginia

“CENTURY 21 New Millen-nium has established a solid and successful real estate firm in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area;

however, our affiliation with such a well known

international brand has been tremen-dously beneficial, especially given the international clientele doing business in this market.”

Century 21 celebrated its 40th birthday with a cake from the ‘Cake Boss.’

70 July 2011 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE

cover story

youtube pages to location-based services like the Century 21 smartphone app, to our blog @C21-Home Matters, we have taken proactive steps to en-sure we remain on the leading edge in how our brand and our sales professionals reach today’s consumer.

RE: How much do you see international growth of the brand playing a role in helping the CENTURY 21 Sys-tem achieve your vision?RD: Century 21’s organizational goal is to be rec-ognized as the global leader in real estate transac-tions. Our international position plays a critical role in achieving this objective.

We have unique advantages domestically and we will continue to be an industry leader in the u.S. that said, we are operating in a global economy. Ac-cording to the national Association of reALtOrS® Profile of International Home Buying Activity 2011, 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 worldwide. For example, China represents the fast-est growing international region within the Cen-tury 21 System with more than 21,000 sales profes-sionals and over 1,500 offices serving home buyers 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. even with a global footprint of over 5,000 offices (outside the u.S.), we have just scratched the surface of opportunity for our brand internationally.

RE: The economic recovery in the U.S. and worldwide remains unsteady. How has CENTURY 21 positioned itself to thrive in such a challenging environment?

While current housing market conditions still present challenges, there is ample room for oppor-tunity. Housing prices and historically low mortgage rates make it a great time for first-time home buyers or those considering moving into a better neighbor-hood, downsizing or even a vacation home. For ex-ample, housing affordability conditions today are 60 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

the national Association of reALtOrS® and Fannie Mae, there will be approximately 5.1 to 5.2 million existing home sales in the u.S. during 2011. Where we need to be focused as professionals is assisting consumers to make smart real estate decisions.

It is also incredibly important to give back to the community. Philanthropy is an area that I am ex-tremely passionate about. In 2010, the Century 21 franchise system reached nearly $102 million in lifetime contributions to easter Seals, its sole philan-thropic partner since 1979.

In fact, by the time your readers read this article, I may be summiting one of several peaks in the Alaska Mountain range. In support of easter Seals, four brave Century 21 System members and I have committed to climb 30,000 feet in total elevation for the 2011 Climb for Kids. you may follow our climb every step of the way at Facebook.com/Century21.

In regard to the future, I remain very bullish about real estate and extremely excited about the future of our brand. Century 21 maintains its leadership in brand awareness and our strategic vision is gaining momentum and strength around the globe. I feel the momentum in every office I visit and with every agent I meet.

the industry is changing, and the Century 21 System is committed to leading the change. As a brand, we will continue to meet consumers wherev-er they are searching for real estate information and our sales professionals will continue to provide valu-able service to their customers and community. this is the 40th anniversary of the brand and Century 21 is smarter, bolder and faster than ever before. RE

For more information, please visit century21.com.

Century 21 is reaching consumers with the latest social media programs and mobile technology.