A good-looking brand identity supported with a brand story that does not ring true is not a guaranty for successfully marketing luxury real estate or any other real estate niche. A brand story needs to be congruent with the product, the marketplace, and the psychographics of the buyers and sellers.  Taking control of how you want to be perceived as a real estate marketing professional is known as SPIN in marketing.  Otherwise, it is what we would refer to as Swiss Cheese Marketing! You can see smell it and see through it!


SPIN is an acronym for the following words: Sstands for situation (collect facts: noisy street, freeway nearby), P,stands for problem (identifying the problem-old home, desire for smaller home),I, stands for implication (higher costs of maintenance in an old home), and N,stands for need payoff/buying motive (value, importance or usefulness).  These are considered the 4 top sales/marketing questions that need to be answered to entice a prospect into buying a home.  These answers differ in each marketplace and solely depends on the psychographics of that marketplace—the attitude, aspirations and interests of those who live there. 

SPIN has a negative association also.  It is often used as a cover up for mistakes made by public figures and celebrities. An unflattering synonym for SPIN is propaganda, or what some would call a creative or deceptive use of facts in order to reflect favorably in a new venture or on a negative situation.  It can also imply that the person doing the spinning has not done their research in order to contain the effect.  

In a recent discussion (re: California problems) one of the attorneys in the group blamed the agricultural states for the problems we are having today.  It was obvious that this person (although a California native) did not know that California is largest producers of food in the United States, and the 5thlargest producer in the world.  It is also the number one dairy state, the first largest producer of wine in the US, and the fourth largest wine producer in the world.

Pictured above is wine brand, which we both liked in terms of color and graphics.  We thought that it was very creative in its choice of color and presentation. Our wine expert friend called it a mistake! He cautioned us not to buy it, and not even to use as a marinade.  And that explains the bargain price from $14.99 to $2.99.  

In 2015, Motto Wine launched its brand of wine.   They hired winemaker, Reid Klei, who was the winemaker for Ste Michelle Wines Estates in Washington State for 10 years.  Here is his spin:

"We wanted to put a Washington spin on California wines, so we implemented the same approach we use for our Washington wines, but with California grapes," said Motto winemaker Reid Klei.  Our Story:  Our winemakers didn’t set out to push boundaries.  But they did.  They didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers.  But they did. So, they decided to embrace it and make it their motto, learn the rules so you can break them with style.  The result? Rich dark wine like none you have had before.”

Here is their introductory video that reinforces their brand story! 

Make sure that you are presenting yourself with a genuine SPIN, and not one that someone can smell or can see through, like a piece of Swiss cheese.!