Are traditional publishers finally getting the web?

 In opinion

I was amused to see in the classified motoring section of my local newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald an advertisement that offered a “New” service – allowing you to link the classified ad to the online version at drive.com.au . This is not NEW!

In 2001, when I was running propertylook.com.au, we launched our look-up key where you could go from a press ad, brochure or signboard straight to the property listing – by typing in a URL like www.propertylook.com.au/12345 where 12345 is the unique property ID key.

Indeed, this became very successful – with an increasing number of success stories being reported as a result of this initiative.

McGrath’s Real Estate are now publishing their property ID key in magazines and in newspapers etc. It makes perfect sense to direct the classified/property seeker to more detail (pictures, plans, tours etc) on the web. Publishers were nervous about PropertyLook back in 2001 when we launched – they figured there would be massive revenue leakage from print to web. The truth is the two CAN co-exist and provide additional revenue opportunities.

I wonder if the other real estate companies and publishers will catch onto the fact that today, the buyer DEMANDS more information BEFORE they purchase.

About 

Based in London, The Actionable Futurist and former Global Managing Partner at IBM, Andrew Grill is a popular and sought-after presenter and comementator on issues around digital disruption, workplace of the future and new technologies such as blockchain. Andrew is a multiple TEDx and International Keynote Speaker.