If you've noticed Kris Lindahl Real Estate's marketing efforts over the last several years - and let's face it, it's hard not to - then the company's new yard signs feel like the final piece of an elaborate puzzle. Seemingly overnight, Lindahl's famous arms-out pose isn't just on TV commercials, billboards, banner ads and bus wraps; it's in people's yards.
According to Lindahl, the reason for the new signs is simple: They work. KLRE has already seen an uptick in calls and offers since they went live, and the company is set to close on over 4400 homes in 2021.
"We're the first convenience-based real estate company, and we don't do anything unless it helps our customers sells their homes faster and for more," says Lindahl. "People might see these signs as ads for us, but they're actually ads for our customers. When you have one in your yard, the most recognizable name in real estate is working to get the market's attention and sell your home. It's the ultimate culmination of 'Doing the Lindahl.'"
While consumer needs, behaviors and expectations have changed dramatically over the years, the real estate yard sign has sat frozen in time: rectangular, 20 x 30 or 18 x 24 inches, broker name, phone number, URL. Lindahl's reinvented yard sign features not only a die-cut version of his image, but also QR codes, a brochure holder and the message "Open House: All Day, Every Day."
"When have you ever heard someone say, 'I saw the coolest real estate yard sign the other day!'" says Lindahl. "They're the industry's most underused tool to help consumers, and we thought it was time to do something radically different. The only surprising thing is that it took so long to do it."
According to Lindahl, the impetus to change came from several places. KLRE agents routinely ask homeowners to name the company and agent of the last 10 yard signs they've driven by, and very few can do it. Road studies in multiple states confirmed the fact that most traditional yard signs are unreadable and unnoticeable. And in KLRE surveys asking homeowners whether they'd want a sign like everyone else's or one that stands out from the crowd, "different" was the clear winner.
As for the design, Lindahl's "arms out" pose was the obvious choice. The image has quickly become iconic in his markets, as has "Doing the Lindahl." Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Lindahl parodies abound on the internet and beyond. (Lindahl was reminded of the image's power last February, when several people posted Photoshopped images of his billboard on Mars, as if they were the Perseverance Rover's first discovery on the Red Planet.)
"We've invested tens of millions of dollars into this image because it creates an advantage for our clients that no one else can match," says Lindahl. "Today, everyone knows real estate agents in their friend and family circle. But they can't do what we do, which is offer incredible convenience and create a marketing frenzy. And we're still a local brand. It's like having the convenience of Amazon with the 'buy local' and community benefits of a local business."
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"Today, everyone knows real estate agents in their friend and family circle. But they can't do what we do."
-Kris Lindahl
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In addition to the iconic arms-out image, other elements of the new signs serve distinct purposes. The "All Day, Every Day" open house message reflects Lindahl's belief that traditional open houses are a thing of the past, and the QR codes reflect the wide acceptance of a technology once thought dead. Since the pandemic, nearly everyone has used their phone camera at a restaurant to scan a code and open a menu on a website.
For Lindahl, the yard signs ultimately send a deeper message about thinking outside the box - or in this case, the rectangle.
"Our entire industry needs fresh thinking," says Lindahl. "The yard sign is the perfect example of something we haven't touched for decades just because 'that's the way it's always been done.' It's like mailing out branded calendars after everyone has switched to phones and laptop calendars. As an industry, we keep playing catch-up with consumers who've gotten way ahead of us. We need to lead, not follow."
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"As an industry, we keep playing catch-up with consumers who've gotten way ahead of us. We need to lead, not follow."
-Kris Lindahl
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Today, insists Lindahl, residential real estate is about having a big brand that attracts the right agents and customers, and that makes the consumer experience as convenient as possible. That extends from developing the right internal culture and operations, to executing a multimedia marketing strategy, to making yard signs do as much work for you and your customers as possible.
So are Kris Lindahl Real Estate's new signs a sign of things to come?
"Absolutely!" says Lindahl. "We're always looking for ways to disrupt the industry and make it more consumer-centric. Ultimately, that helps everybody!"
