A new app designed by a London tech start-up has officially launched today, aiming to offer an innovative way to market properties using augmented reality technology.
The Virtual View App brings together digital and printed marketing (brochures, magazines, newspapers) to view properties for sale or rent digitally. It provides agents with a differentiator against competitors, whilst at the same time providing an entirely new medium for engaging with prospective buyers and tenants, allowing them to access digital marketing material from the comfort of their own homes.
Available on smartphones and tablets, the App gives users access to rich digital content such as 3D property models, 3D floor-plans, photo galleries and videos, by scanning an image. It also incorporates interactive buttons that can be directed social media channels, websites, or any other relevant digital content.
A technological success so far, several UK estate agency groups are currently using Virtual View App, including Fine & Country, Campsie, Orchard & Shipman, Newman, Jackson Stops and Harrods. The app has also already attracted international interest, and is currently being trialed by a number of overseas agents.
Furthermore, the Virtual View App enables traceable marketing; agents can easily track the results of a campaign, discovering where and when their marketing material has been scanned, subsequently using these insights to increase the success of future marketing campaigns aiming to get a vendor or landlord's property sold or let as quickly and effectively as possible.
An innovative tool that breaks tradition, the Virtual View App uses advanced 3D modelling to easily replicate the inside and outside of virtually any property. The process is entirely scalable and takes just a matter of days to complete.
When it comes to marketing new builds, these 3D models are also much more effective than the traditional artist’s impression and significantly more cost-effective than commissioning conventional CGI models. They not only help buyers visualise how finished properties might look, but also give investors (including those based overseas) a better idea of how commercial spaces could be best configured, before a financial commitment is made.
After trialling the app, Fine & Country's Executive Director, Mike Bidwell, said: “We are constantly seeking new and innovative tools for our licensees to match our market leading brand. The reaction of our agents when we introduced this new technology has been amazing, and we look forward to working with Virtual View.”
Lizzie Leigh, Head of Marketing at Jackson Stops & Staff, added: "At Jackson-Stops and Staff we are always looking to employ the latest technologies to market our full range of properties to their best potential; we have decided to trial the Virtual View app on pages throughout the next issue of our dedicated London property magazine homepage; we look forward to sharing this exciting development with our readers and showing them how augmented reality can really help bring properties to life."
Virtual View App was co-founded in 2013 by Domenic Versace and has successfully completed its first round of funding, raising $500K. An estate agent for over 20 years working for himself and some of the biggest estate agencies in Australia, Domenic now dedicates his time to tech innovation and gaps in the market within the property sector.
He commented: "The Virtual View App is a true differentiator and we’re confident it will have a huge impact for the property sector. In a world driven increasingly by technology, Virtual View App will enable agents to win more instructions and help buyers to reengage with printed advertising. After working as an estate agent for over 20 years, I felt there was a gap in the market for a technological tool that helped bring together digital and printed marketing materials.”
“The marketing approach taken by estate agents is often very traditional, especially when it comes to print. Virtual View App brings printed property adverts to life and can really assist with the selling and letting of properties.”
“With the competition between estate agencies now greater than ever, property marketing has become increasingly important, and we believe that the Virtual View App is the property marketing solution of the future. Interest from the industry has so far been very positive. So much so that we have already started discussions around the next stage of fundraising in order to further develop the business,” he added.
For more information, visit: www.virtualviewapp.com or view: http://youtu.be/XlbhX0qstDc.
To download from the Apple Store, visit: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/virtual-view/id642793143?mt=8.
Alternatively, to download from the Android store, visit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vmob.virtualviewapp.
See how the app works using the picture below. Simply download the VirtualViewApp, point your smartphone or tablet at the image and watch it come to life. Or print the pictures using the link: http://www.virtualviewapp.com/content/try-it-now.
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