The artful branding of real estate agent Michael Druckman

Michael Druckman had paid his dues in the corporate world. After a glittering career in publishing, working for The New Yorker, USA Today and Playboy, Michael was ready to put his feet up.

But his wife had other ideas.

“She wasn’t going to let me sit around and watch ‘Judge Judy’ all day,” he laughed. “She said I should go into real estate with her — and carry her bags.” So Michael joined his wife, Phyllis Mack, a 30 year veteran of the real estate industry, and together they launched Mack/Druckman Real Estate.

Talk about learning from a leader. And Michael soon did more than carry her bags.

We had a chance to chat with Michael to learn more about his unique approach to real estate, marketing and building his personal brand.

“I’m not in the real estate business,” he said. “I’m in the marketing business. As soon as I get a client, then I become an agent.”

This philosophy, coupled with his fulfilling pre-real estate career, has helped Michael establish himself as an expert in his part of Manhattan. After getting his license, he continued his education in real estate, building his business and becoming a certified real estate instructor in New York State.

And in building that business, Michael has learned a great deal about what matters to his clients, allowing him to be specific in his messaging. That inspired his clever headline for one of his digital ad campaigns: Does your artwork need new walls?

The campaign was effective. And those digital ads had something of a domino effect on his other marketing, too. After being pleased with the performance of his ads, Michael took a long, hard look at his landing page experience.

“I recognized that the little Adwerx ad was doing its work, but I wasn’t do my work,” he said. “When they clicked to the web site, it wasn’t at the level I wanted to be at to reach a wealthy, educated buyer. It was a template and didn’t portray who I really am.”

That led to a major redesign and launch of the new Mack/Druckman web site, which focuses on the lifestyle on the Upper East Side, West Side and Sutton Place in Manhattan, and maps closer to Michael’s core demographic.

Through the retargeting technology of his Adwerx campaign, he is successfully expanding and diversifying his client base internationally. “I market to a highly segmented international audience. Once they open my website and the Adwerx pixel drops, I stay in front of these prospects by building my brand awareness as they browse the web.”

This kind of focused, purposeful approach is one Michael brings to all his efforts for his real estate business. He subscribes to 25 global newspapers, as he’s become a foreign buyer expert with clients from Armenia, Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Kenya. He is also an active publisher of content on Facebook and LinkedIn, with unique content strategies for both. He sends specially drafted emails to segmented lists of contacts.

And he uses Adwerx for digital advertising in his target ZIP codes. “Adwerx puts my ad in front of clients without them having to come to me. The ads are highly targeted.”

With all his endeavors, Michael strives to remain authentic. “My goal is not to hawk property. I am an expert and a valuable resource for real estate, and I want to share that expertise with my clients. You need to touch people a lot of times before they trust you.”