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JC Goldenstein: American Brokerage Firms Dominate Online Buzz at MIPIM

Business Management, International Strategy, New York City, Web/Tech No Responses »

Mar 202011

US companies and UK cities are stealing a march on their rivals in the online conversation according to CREOpoint, the leader in using online networking to foster effective communication in commercial real estate.

Following MIPIM, the recent property event in Cannes, CREOpoint produced for KPMG the first study to be published in Europe about the online buzz in real estate. CREOpoint’s proprietary CREObuzz™ algorithm uniquely mined 10,000 sources corresponding to online article posts, blogs, videos and social media mentions relating to commercial real estate to judge which themes were dominating the online conversation about MIPIM. 1,000 relevant articles from February 12 – March 12, 2011 revealed that:

Hope is back in Europe.
Jones Lang Lasalle, CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield and GE Capital Real Estate ranked as the top companies that got the most Internet buzz.
London, Manchester and Birmingham ranked also won the CREObuzz awards.
There’s interest in city renewal, with a particular emphasis on London.

This word cloud highlights the “trending” topics in the run up to and the week of MIPIM 2011. Word size corresponds to frequency of occurrences. Expected key words like investment, development, architecture, awards, MIPIM, Reed MIDEM, CREOpoint, cities, Cannes, property, real estate and market were removed to reveal more insights.

Jonathan Thompson, International Chairman, KPMG’s Building, Construction & Real Estate practice, comments: “The real estate world is changing at a fast pace and those executives whose ear is not attuned to the market will find themselves left behind! With ongoing uncertainty around debt markets and future regulatory impacts on capital fund flows the industry still has a few hurdles to face, however, it is clear to those at MIPIM that this industry is actively pulling together to find a route forward. We hope CREOpoint’s innovative way of depicting the latest trends in the market helps.”

Jonathan Thompson, International Chairman, KPMG’s Building, Construction & Real Estate practice adds: “The chatter was far more upbeat in nature as senior decision makers sought to build new alliances and partnerships (nationally and internationally) and to discuss new ways of doing business. It was clear that all were there to work. Capital and banking were some of the most buzzed words, possibly as the European real estate industry is realizing the over reliance on German banks for funding. We are surprised by the relatively low amount of online conversations about debt, liquidity, distressed, uncertainty and regulations.”

JC Goldenstein concluded: “MIPIM is no longer strictly a one-off event. We expect increasing online discussions before, during and after live property exhibitions. 2011 will be the year where organizations in our industry recognize the need to define themselves rather than leaving others to do it. Many have already started to monitor what’s being said about them online. Leaders like Jones Lang Lasalle, CB Richard Ellis, Cushman & Wakefield, GE Capital Real Estate, IPD and Barclays went beyond that and created the most MIPIM buzz. Stay tuned for upcoming CREObuzz™ insights about growing relative Internet brand equity.”

The executive summary including organisation rankings, indicators of European market sentiment and more commentary from the Global Head of KPMG Real Estate Practice are now available at http://j.mp/MIPIMBuzz or on www.CREOpoint.com

Laurent Lehmann, Board Member of CBRE France receives first CREObuzz™ award

from JC Goldenstein, CREOpoint CEO at the exclusive CREOpoint & the Wall Street Journal party

Thanks to Deborah Falcone and Robert Monaghan from our partner the Wall Street Journal for co-hosting CREOpoint pre-MIPIM party in Cannes! Guests included senior executives from BNP Paribas, CB Richard Ellis, IPD, IREM, Keops-Groupe Nexity, Korn Ferry, Le Moniteur, Marsh, NAI, NAR, Quintain, Real Capital Analytics, Remit Consulting, SIOR, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers, the Wall Street Journal and W.P. Carey.

RealTech with Peter Boritz: Clearing the Clouds

Web/Tech No Responses »

May 182010

Real Tech with Peter Boritz: Building an Online Presence for your Business

Business Management, New York City, Technology, Web/Tech No Responses »

Mar 292010

Creating an “Online Presence” for your business means more than simply having a company website. In today’s information-hungry world, your business should have multiple means to get messages to new and prospective clients, as well as industry-related news and articles to show that you are staying on top of the industry.

As the market begins to thaw, now is a great time to review your company’s online strategies and, if necessary, make improvements. Here are five tips to help get you on the way to building an online presence for your business.

(For more on how to Build Your Business Online Presence, see Peter’s video on CPE TV)

Step 1: Define goals and modify your company’s website to support your goals

Create goals that include ways to differentiate your business from your competitors and focus on capturing leads.
Keep in mind that your company website should be concise and to the point with a homepage which answers what your company does and why customers trust your business.
Create a “Contact” page which clearly explains to customers how to get in touch with your business. Remember, your website serves as the hub for your business, be sure to include all of your other web efforts, such as blogs, on your contact page.

Step 2: Create a company blog

Maintaining a company blog shows new and existing clients you are an expert in the industry and as such you are current on topics and issues which may arise.
Use your blog to provide opinions about the market, be a voice of the company and stay in contact with new and existing clients. Blogging serves as a great way to get repeat visitors to your website and can create a sense of trust in your business making new clients more likely to utilize your services.
Check out some of the free blog sites such as Blogger, WordPress or TypePad to start your blog and be sure to provide a link it to your website and let your clients know about your blogging efforts.

Step 3: Email marketing

Email marketing techniques are a simple and fast way to build leads from your website visitors. Provide an email signup on your website to allow visitors to join your company email list.
Create email marketing initiatives such as newsletters, client announcements and upcoming company events which can be sent to those on your list.

Step 4: Use Social Media

Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are perfect resources for connecting with your clients and other professionals in your industry. With an effective website and blog in place, the addition of a Facebook Fan Page and Twitter campaign will help turn one-time visitors into connected consumers who are able to receive updates, links and other information about your company.
Utilize social networking to improve your company’s SEO.

Step 5: Online Video
Online videos give you the ability to demonstrate your products or services to prospective and existing customers rather than tell them about it. Some things to keep in mind:
•   Keep your video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long
•   Be sure voiceovers are understandable
•   If you place music in the video, make sure it isn’t overpowering
•   Always remember to keep your message simple and to the point
•   Embed your video on your company website and add a “share this” button for others to easily send to their social networks

RealTech with Peter Boritz: Get More Website Traffic

Business Management, Technology, Web/Tech No Responses »

Oct 192009

Your website speed can be a key indicator of how many visitors go to your website and spend time learning about your organization. In addition, potential and current clients who wait too long for web pages to load may be reluctant to return to your site. It has been proven that as little as a five percent increase in your website speed can increase page views by as much as twenty-five percent. Below are some tips to increase the speed of your website.

When it comes to your homepage, use facts and keep the page clean and simple. Avoid using Flash videos or animations/graphics that take too much time and bandwidth to load. In the amount of time it takes one of these large files to load, you may have already lost a potential client.
place video links on your homepage. Links from video sites such as YouTube not only take time to load, but often make a web page look cluttered and distracts from the information you want visitors to see.
If you need to place video on your site, make certain that the host of the video is within a close proximity. The longer distance the information has to travel, the longer it will take for the page to load.
Measure the speed of your site to identify the areas which need improvement. There are various websites, both free and paid, that can check your site for browser compatibility, optimizes images and JavaScript and more.

Some useful sites are:

In today’s market, having an informative and well-performing website is key for your business to succeed. Don’t lose opportunities and new customers because your website is too slow.

Postcard from Oxford – TEDGlobal

Global Green Design, International Strategy, Sustainability, Technology, Web/Tech No Responses »

Jul 292009

Attending the TED conference is always inspiring, entertaining, and energizing , and given the wide range of presenters, it is a great forum to gather ideas from leading edge researchers, writers and experts in the latest developments in science, technology, entertainment and design. The TED organization is committed to bringing these talks to the world, as they continue to be posted on the TED website.

This past week at Oxford was a particularly diverse range of speakers as well as attendees. With 50 talks over 3 ½ days, it seems the best way to try to absorb all the learning is to seek common threads and themes, along with considering highlights.

Oxford Museum of Natural History - TEDGlobal Conference

From the first day, with the surprise

talk by Prime Minister Gordon Brown on shared global ethics – and the over-riding theme of environmental and social pressures on the planet, the possibilities for great human achievement presented across all disciplines were powerful.

Globalization of culture and communication, climate change, technology integration, bio-mimicry, medical and science breakthroughs, and the financial market pressures have created an unprecedented time for innovation in all market sectors. Of the 700 attendees, I met industry leaders from India, Japan, Cairo, Brazil, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, Europe, and the US, among others – all seeking new ways of leading their businesses into the future.

For me, a few highlights were Bertrand Piccard, unveiling his new solar only powered aircraft slated to fly around the globe next summer (including through the night); Cameron Sinclair from Architecture for Humanity on construction sites around the world; Daniel Pink on the science of motivation (due out with his new book), and of course the session on city-building. We are now working with new sustainable design practices, new tools and technologies that allow us to create better cities – both in the developing world, as well as improving the cities we live in.

While caution and potential risks were debated, prevailing optimism and hope for humanity and the planet was the ultimate take away from TEDGlobal. I’m thinking about all of this today as we develop the design of a residential and commercial center for 30,000 people in China. We have unprecedented opportunity and powerful responsibility to enhance the lives of the people and their community.