In some ways, Colleen Bracci is like most New York real estate agents.
She puts up for-sale signs and sold signs. The difference is that Bracci adds humorous sayings to hers to drum up clients across Rochester. With phrases like "Sold, no longer an option like your ex" and "Gone like socks in the dryer," Bracci's strategy for marketing her services centers on quirky quips.
"I was at a bar the other night, and someone who knows I sell real estate said: 'I saw your 'Gone like socks in the dryer.' That was funny'," Bracci told Homes.com.
Bracci and members of her ReMax team began using the signs about three years ago, and they have amassed two dozen of them. Bracci said her inspiration came from seeing a yard sign years ago.
"I saw a sign that said 'Too late' on someone's home that sold, and it got me thinking we could play on that and have some fun with it and maybe people will get a chuckle out of it if they have a good sense of humor,'" Bracci said.
To be sure, Bracci isn't the nation's only agent who tries to stand out this way. In Georgia, ReMax agent Chad Polazzo uses 'Brilliant' and 'Sweet' on his signs, while Gary Thomson of Century 21 Thomson & Co. in New Jersey has a sign that says 'Not Haunted.'
Bracci wrote the phrases for her first four signs but has used social media to crowdsource lines for her other ones. Bracci said she continues to use the signs because they help her brokerage gain new clients.
"It's a conversation starter for me, especially with social media," she said. "I’ll put it on Insta or Snapchat and, if someone’s talking about it, it's working. Other agents have complimented me on the sign ideas as well."
Agents need to find a way to stand out
Bracci's former clients told Homes.com that the phrases are hilarious, and one real estate branding expert called them "really smart marketing."
"Colleen is doing what all real estate agents have to do, which is stand out," said Stacey Cohen, a real estate marketing expert who teaches the subject at Fordham University. "In marketing, the goal is to get eyeballs, and her signage does it. It's hard to ignore."
The sign strategy works because it sends a subliminal message to clients about how Bracci can get homes sold, Cohen said. "If she can make herself stand out, I know she’s going to make my house stand out from the clutter."
'I see people smile and even take pictures with their phones'
Patrick Gallagher, who owns a property management company in Rochester, is one of Bracci's clients.
Gallagher said he sees her signs all over the city. "The signs are funny in nature and, quite often, when I’m at the properties, I see cars slow down and stop to read what Colleen posted on them," he said. "I see people smile and even take pictures with their phones."
Home flipper John Spencer of Rochester said he had seen Bracci's signs across town recently and became curious about her services.
"The signs initially seemed a little goofy, but I saw three or four more with all different sayings," Spencer said. "I'm an old man, but I smiled every time I saw one."
