Bringing credibility and trust to a volatile market with a legacy brand name

Coming out of the mortgage crisis and amidst the great recession, a recent market study suggest 64% of Americans still had a favorable or somewhat favorable view of the housing market, 69% agreed that real estate was a good investment despite the market volatility of the previous years, 78% believed owning a home was a very important personal and financial goal for Americans, and 74% believed working with a good realtor was more important than ever.

There was however distrust with many of the previous market institutional businesses who had helped to create the mortgage crisis. And therein lied the opportunity for a new player to enter the field. One who had been unscathed from the market turmoil and whose midwestern values were idolized.

In 2012, HomeServices of America, Inc. (a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate) and Brookfield Asset Management announced a partnership involving the purchase of Prudential Real Estate. The acquisition agreement limited the duration of Prudential Real Estate brand usage to five years, necessitating the creation of a new franchise brand called Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS). The organization would be the first consumer-facing brand entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name.

To maintain the equity of the acquired Prudential assets, more than 400 existing Prudential Real Estate franchisees needed to buy into the new brand by signing new franchise agreements. After an immersion into the business and marketplace geographies, including extensive interviews with key executives, franchisees and agents from around the world, we zeroed in on a new brand idea, positioning, name update, and visual identity. By leveraging the Berkshire Hathaway name, we developed a new brand for the consumer real estate market which brought much-needed credibility, legacy and trust to a market recovering from years of scandal and volatility.

By 2014, in less than 2 years, the new franchise network would grow to 502 offices and 19,000 agents in 24 states.