Case Studies

International Auction Campaign-Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

SUMMARY:

The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is one of the most admired and highly sought after addresses for global business leaders. The owner of an entire corporate floor recently took a bold and historic step by putting the property up for sale on FRE.com in Dubai’s first ever online auction.

CHALLENGE:

Despite the fact that the iconic building is one of the most appealing pieces of real estate in the world, successfully marketing and managing an auction for this office space was still a very tall order. One of the biggest challenges leading up to the auction was Dubai’s economy and an oversaturation of available office space in the region. The property had already been on the market for more than two years and was competing against several other vacant floors within the Burj Khalifa, not to mention countless other buildings with vacant offices throughout the city. Another obstacle was trying to gain the attention of global real estate buyers who literally had an entire world of inventory from which to choose.

IMPLEMENTATION:

LFC’s in-house advertising agency, LFC Communications, Inc., stepped up to the challenge by developing and executing a multi-faceted international campaign that targeted businesses and brokers throughout the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. The 60-day campaign involved a broad range of advertising, public relations, direct mail and online marketing to raise awareness about the property while positioning it as a must-have location for a very elite group of target corporations.

Regional and international advertisements about the property ran in high-profile media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and key in-flight magazines. Custom emails were sent to a broad range of investors and to the brokerage community. Direct mail was sent to members of the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA). A press release was issued to all appropriate reporters throughout the region. A formal reception was also held for more than 100 attendees from around the world that included brokers, heads of financial institutions, high-profile business people and potential buyers.

RESULTS:

Altogether, the campaign generated over 25,000 hits to the event page and more than 160 registered prospects from 15 different countries. The highly successful marketing campaign created a foundation for online auctions as an alternative and viable solution for property owners and enabled a new generation of online real estate auctions to be conducted in the region.