and the sponsor is.....

I am a rare breed of REALTOR.  Who isn't one might ask.  It takes a rare individual to not only consider getting into the real estate business, but even more so be excel at it!  So now that I have established that we are all rare, I will get to my reasons for referring to myself as a rare breed of REALTOR.  I am a REALTOR who has an education and experience in graphic arts, marketing and advertising.  In fact my degree concentrations were graphic design and copywriting and I do professional photography on the side...wink wink...make sure to catch my second photographic exhibit next month in New Braunfels, Texas!  I know, I know...I am a shameless marketer...but it's just the way this rare breed REALTOR is wired.  So I am the one that those telemarketers selling SEO, websites, etc, etc, hate to get on the phone...because I generally know more than they do about what they are attempting to sell me.  It's kind of a fun cat and mouse game really, but now that I have my own office and get to play the glamorous role of Broker and Chief floor mopper and toilet cleaner, I don't have much time to banter on telemarketing calls.  As a rare breed REALTOR with ties to the marketing trade, I am always looking for the unique, new, cutting edge and community minded ways I can market my firm and make a difference at the same time.  Enter, my "tween" son Jordan who is playing his fifth season in the Spurs Youth Basketball League at Canyon Lake.  It actually started back some seven years ago when he started playing youth soccer, little league and then we added basketball to the mix.  Funny thing is, soccer and baseball have gone to the wayside and the greatest of these is basketball!  So what does every one of these kiddos running the bases, kicking a goal or dunking at the hoop have in common?  Besides an addiction to Gatorade(R) I mean?  Yes, yes, yes, they all wear jerseys!!!  Team shirts that are bright and have big numbers on them and are in plain sight of everyone in attendance and then everyone at the pizza joint after the game.  Question number two...what is on the back of these shirts...that's right, a sponsor's name!  So where is the name of my brokerage firm prominantly displayed?  You got it, right there on the backs of my son and his 8 teammates every Saturday night for three months and of course the shelf life of these jerseys is like 4 years, because you will see the kids wearing them all over the place for years after the actual season has ended.  We have done this team sponsorship gig for several years and one might ask..."why?"  Several reasons...first of all we live in a small rural community and have built a reputation for being community minded, so it is a natural fit for our marketing plan to include sports team sponsorships.  Second, it's my adorable son's team...how can I say no?  Third, it's that my firm's name is plastered on the backs of 8-10 high energy boys running around all over the place week after week promoting my business name all over the communities I serve.  Fourth, my firm's name is prominantly displayed on a huge banner at the local rec center where hundreds of potential clients attend and participate in activities daily and the really fun part...at the beginning of each game they make the parents come down onto the court and stand with their boy during the National Anthem (I love that part) and while they announce the sponsor of each team where they tell the teams to out-cheer the other team when their sponsor's name is announced over the PA system!  I am sure there are other compelling reasons to participate in this kind of advertising, but these are some of the more obvious to this rare breed of REALTOR.  If you have wondered about team sponsoring, I can tell you that it is worth it and money well spent and if you are already doing it, well good for you and keep it up!  As REALTORS we must be community minded and it just doesn't hurt to get some marketing out of the deal as well.  I must wrap this blog up now, my son's game starts in 30 minutes...gotta go to the rec center and stand with my boy for the Star Spangled Banner and hear my firm's name announced over the PA system!  I love this sport!