PHNX launches Africa’s first digital property marketing app

PHNX, a specialist property development marketing agency, has launched a Virtual and Augmented Reality property app for Harcourts Platinum. The app has created a benchmark that is set to change property marketing and is the first of its kind to be developed in Africa for the property market.

Virtual reality is a powerful tool in property, especially when selling off-plan. It depicts photo-realistic vision of a furnished property and allows prospective buyers to envisage their ideal lifestyle in a home that is still to be built, as well as creating a completely immersive experience for foreign investors.

Greg Jooste, founder and MD of PHNX Digital, says Virtual and Augmented reality offers added value to marketers.

“There will always be a need for print, but in today’s digital focused world, there needs to be a way to combine the two. And that is what AR does; it takes a motionless print advert and digitally brings it to life with a simple scan. AR has an exciting roadmap ahead, with the advancing technology and ongoing push for more interactivity from the consumer,” he says.

The app allows users to take a virtual walk through a property via their phones. It brings printed adverts to life using Augmented Reality (AR), lets users receive push notifications on new listings and allows them to make an enquiry from their phones, directly to the agent.

It makes use of location mapping, which creates a perception of the convenient lifestyle offered to prospective residents, showing the building’s proximity to the area’s main attractions. Drone photography is used to capture a crystal clear image of the area from a high vantage point. Hovering over the interactive hot spots on the map provides immediate street views, addresses and contact details. These hot spots are marked and categorized using Google Map technology.

“We are thrilled to be able to launch our Augmented and Virtual Reality marketing offering with PHNX Digital and believe it will set new standards in the realm of real estate marketing. This exciting technology will change the way buyers view real estate and ensure they enjoy the purchasing experience they deserve,” says Steve Caradoc-Davies, Principal/Director of Harcourts Platinum.

“Real estate marketing has changed little in the last decade. In some cases a purchaser can find out more information about a R1000 camera than a R5 million property. By enhancing the viewing experience buyers will be able to engage with a property even without viewing it – thus reducing time wasted on unsuitable properties and sparing both themselves and other sellers the wasted time and inconvenience,” says Caradoc-Davies.

“For development property that is typically sold off-plan, a buyer can now enjoy the visual experience of a property that doesn’t yet exist – this assisting their purchasing decision. For sellers, it will ensure their property stands out in the crowd, attracts maximum buyer enquiry, and sells for the most the market will pay,” he says.

Jooste adds that the key for AR is that it needs a platform and the app provides this platform. “You cannot scan anything if you do not have the app to do so. By getting the consumer to download the app, you are opening a channel between you and the consumer to communicate, not through the original platforms like email and SMS, but now through an app, which provides detailed analytics of their movements on the app,” he says.

PHNX Digital had been providing marketing services to Harcourts for their residential and new developments, including logo creation, website.