October 2024 - Nuggets - A Fresh New Look

RE/MAX entered the real estate scene in 1973. Over 5 decades ago! At the time, it was a radical new approach to the typical real estate company model. Up until then there were basically two company structures. There was the conventional real estate office, where the Broker of Record was pretty much in control. He/she charted the course of the company. He/she controlled all the marketing and advertising. And he/she paid the costs. But in return, he/she retained half the commission. It was what we called a full service conventional real estate model.
 
Then on the other end of the spectrum was the rent-a-desk model. Here the salesperson controlled the advertising and marketing. They chartered their own course. They paid their own freight. They paid a modest fee monthly for deal processing, but in exchange they got to keep pretty much all the commission. There were none of the services provided by the full-service model. They were on their own.
 
Then along came RE/MAX! The philosophy was pretty simple. Combining the best of the full service and the best of the rent-a-desk. The agents still controlled their own marketing. They paid the related costs. And they paid a little more in the way of monthly fees while still keeping virtually all the commission. The statement was “You are in business for yourself but not by yourself.” And the name RE/MAX was made up of two parts RE MAX separated by a slash. Stood for real estate maximums. The maximum benefit of the rent-a-desk and the benefit of the full service. And the name became the logo RE/MAX.
 
Along with the stylized word RE/MAX came the reality that the best in the business were attracted to the concept. After all, they were previously giving up half of their commission with no ceiling. So, the top producers gravitated to RE/MAX. In recognition of this fact, the registered slogan was ‘Above the Crowd’, and this was illustrated by a hot air balloon. A second RE/MAX logo. 

Well, these symbols lasted for almost 5 decades. Until the corporate directors decided it was time for a change. Both the name logo and the balloon logo, they felt, could use a face lift. Much like a lot of other very familiar brands had revised their look over time. So, became and the balloon became the balloon .
 
The challenge of course, even with a relatively minor change, is that its impact is huge. Yard signs, business cards, letterhead, marketing material, and of course company exterior signage all needed to be changed.
 
That process got underway in a real way here at RE/MAX Garden City Realty during the month of September/October. And it involved exterior signage changes in our offices in St. Catharines, Grimsby and Fonthill. All offices had linear signage flush with the front of the buildings. In the case of St. Catharines and Grimsby, the change in look was relatively small. Just an update in the logo. In Fonthill however, we used the exercise to change the message as well. And while the pilon sign had previously been changed in Fonthill, it hadn’t and was long overdue in St. Catharines. And both St. Catharines and Grimsby had some unique and somewhat challenging signage as well. In Grimsby there was a very large four-sided pillar in front of the building. It had previously on all four sides been tri-colour with only the word RE/MAX in each segment. We decided to change the look totally and incorporate different business messages of success on each side.
 
On the second floor exterior wall of our St. Catharines office, we had proudly displayed the word RE/MAX in channel lettering 3 feet tall. That sign has announced our location ever since we located to the Lake and Carlton space back in 1986. The look has remained the same over the years but the sign has been changed in the past when we went from neon to led. No easy task with the power coming through the walls and the letters up high. But an amazing announcement of our presence and a bold new look in keeping with the times was important to do. At the time of this writing that sign was just being completed. Watch for it next time you are driving in the area.