When you are listing a home at 109 Dolly St. on National Dolly Day, you do not casually sprinkle in a Dolly Parton reference and move on. You go all in.
Sept. 25 is celebrated as Dolly Day, a very fitting nod to her hit song “9 to 5.” Since Christian and I were already preparing to launch our home on Dolly Street, the timing was almost too perfect. Almost.
We created a professional Dolly-inspired video, threw on some boots, dusted off the hot pink guitar, wrote the listing description from Dolly’s point of view and carried the theme through the little sparkly details. There were Dolly Easter eggs everywhere, from her portrait to butterflies, a mini Imagination Library and even a mini Taylor guitar.
But here is the thing: The glitter is not the strategy.
The strategy is recognizing the one thing that could make someone stop, remember the house and want to know more. Then you build a marketing campaign around it without letting the theme become bigger than the property.
That is something Christian and I have done repeatedly, and the idea does not always begin with a fun street name. Sometimes it starts with a perceived disadvantage (yes, really!). Sometimes it is a question buyers keep asking. Other times it comes from listening to a seller talk about what made the home special to their family.
The best marketing ideas are usually already sitting right in front of us. We just have to pay attention.
Campaign conclusion: Dolly Street is just making her grand debut, so her results are still being written, but honey, she has never been one to make a quiet entrance.
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Turn the objection into the idea
We once took over a listing with solar panels that had previously expired after receiving very few showings.
Solar was not a small footnote. It was one of the biggest questions surrounding the home, and avoiding it would not make buyers suddenly forget it was there.
Instead, we leaned into it.
The home had a modern, almost futuristic feel, so we created a Tron-inspired video that positioned the solar panels as part of a smart, energy-conscious lifestyle. We took the feature buyers might have viewed as a negative and made it central to the marketing — even adding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Tesla and all.
The campaign did not eliminate our responsibility to explain the solar clearly. Creative marketing should open the conversation, not replace important information. We still had to be transparent about the panels and help buyers understand the details.
But instead of apologizing for the feature, we gave people a new and positive way to see it.
Campaign conclusion: After its previous run on the market, the Tron listing secured a tenant in 55 days.
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Show people what they are actually paying for
We faced a similar challenge with a condo in Emerald Pointe.
The HOA dues looked high when viewed as a number on a listing sheet. We could have buried the amount beneath pretty photos and hoped buyers focused on something else.
Instead, we dusted off the Lilly Pulitzer pickleball paddles, turned up the Beach Boys and created a video showing all the amazing amenities as well as the active and waterfront lifestyles those dues helped provide.
The question changed from “Why are the fees so high?” to “Wow, I receive all this for that money?”
That distinction matters.
If buyers are going to raise an objection anyway, good marketing can help answer it and give the buyer “Good Vibrations” before it becomes the only thing they remember about the property. That does not mean spinning the truth. It means giving the complete picture instead of allowing one number or feature to tell the entire story.
Campaign conclusion: Emerald Pointe is still active and ready for the right buyer to fall in love with the lifestyle.
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Let the sellers join the fun
Then there was Donatello.
From the moment we walked into the home for the first time at the listing appointment, the street name immediately made me think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and we pitched the idea of a “Turtle Lair” inspired marketing launch. Thankfully, the sellers (and our kids) were willing to have fun with us, costumes, six boxes of pizza and all.
The video was playful, memorable and still showed every aspect of the home. The listing received multiple offers in a challenging sellers’ market in Florida, and two buyers came directly from that video — cowabunga, dudes!
It worked because the sellers were genuinely all in on our crazy idea, and it did not feel like we had pasted a random trend onto their house. The street name gave us the idea, their personalities gave us permission to run with it, and the property remained the reason people wanted to take the next step to call Donatello “home” for their clan.
That authenticity is important. If your video promises one experience and the home delivers something completely different, you have created a bait-and-switch, not a marketing strategy.
Campaign conclusion: The home received multiple offers and went under contract at full price in only two days, with two interested buyers seeing the listing video.
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Not every story needs costumes
Another home we marketed was fairly standard for an area with a lot of competing inventory. There was not an obvious gimmick, dramatic architectural feature or movie reference waiting for us.
So we listened to the stories from the family of 40-plus years — we really listened.
The differentiator was not what the house looked like. It was what had happened inside it. We leaned into the memories, relationships and emotional story of the home.
That campaign pulled on the heartstrings because that was the honest story the property gave us. Bonus: I used to live across the road and brought two babies home to that house, so it made the emotional connection of that video so much sweeter.
Creative marketing does not always need to be loud. It just needs to make someone feel or remember something they would not get from another slow pan across an empty kitchen.
Campaign conclusion: The property received multiple offers and sold for cash after just five days on the market, with one of the two competing agents discovering it through the listing video.
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How to find the hook in your next listing
Before planning the next generic “just listed” post, genuinely spend time looking for what only that property can give you.
Talk to the sellers. Ask what guests always notice, what they will miss and which feature(s) usually need more explanation. Pay attention to the street name, architecture, history, upgrades, neighborhood, what’s nearby, objections and lifestyle.
Then ask yourself:
- What will make someone stop scrolling?
- What should they remember about this particular home?
- Does the idea help them understand the property or distract from it?
- Can we carry the concept through the video, copy and launch without forcing it?
- After we earn their attention, is there a clear path to the listing and a showing?
And please remember, creative marketing cannot rescue poor pricing.
A memorable campaign can earn attention, start conversations and bring more eyeballs to a property, but it cannot make buyers ignore the market. The home still has to be positioned properly and priced well.
People may initially stop because they see Dolly, Tron or a Ninja Turtle. Our job is to use that moment of attention to help them see the house differently.
You do not need a home on Dolly Street to create memorable marketing. You just need to stop treating every listing like it is the same.
Find the details that make it super special. Listen to the story. Address the elephant in the room. Then double down and make your marketing memorable — give people something worth remembering.
Christian and Ashley Harris are broker associates and team leaders in Florida a Seattle with Real Broker. Connect with them on Instagram or Facebook.
