PropertyGuru repositions brand, unveils B2B arm

PropertyGuru Group has refreshed its brand positioning and made a slight change to its logo. The new brand position – "Where every step of your journey will be guided by Guru" – reflects PropertyGuru’s vision to be a trusted advisor. It echoes the group’s mission to help property seekers, sellers and owners make confident property decisions, beyond property search – as it journeys towards becoming Southeast Asia’s property "Trust Platform".

The concept of trust is also shown in its new logo (pictured on top in the image below). PropertyGuru has covered up the gaps for its new logo and said it is akin to a Trustmark – a symbol of trust in the property sector. At the same time, it is also using a new font named Greycliff for its Trustmark. Meanwhile, the company is also using new fonts on its platform and marketing communications – Poppins for headers and Roboto for body copy. Superunion was involved in the visual and verbal identity.

Remona Duquesne, director of brand at PropertyGuru Group, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the rationale for those new fonts is three-fold:

1. Functional perspective: To enhance readability without compromising on performance both on-and-off platform;
2. Conceptual, semiotic perspective: To show its strength and maturity as a business whilst still being human and approachable;
3. Design perspective: To complement the shape and rounded edges of its Trustmark.

Duquesne explained that the brand positioning reflects a strategic pivot into the group's new phase of growth outlining the value proposition that the group offers, beyond search.

She added that the brand repositioning sees a new narrative that better reflects its evolution. PropertyGuru group will also enhance the experiences created across all forms, from its offline presence to its website, apps, and social platforms.

According to Duquesne, the group's new brand positioning around "guidance" brings together all its business units. The brand tagline "We will see you home" reflects different meanings of home for stakeholders, from a seeker and owner to an agent, developer, bank and valuer.

"We want to be right there at every step of the property journey, providing guidance in a market that is filled with complexity, mistrust, and anxiety. PropertyGuru will offer more data-led products, services, experiences, and marketing initiatives under this brand positioning to guide consumers and partners throughout their property journeys," she added.

Duquesne told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the inspiration for the brand repositioning came directly from consumers. "We discovered through consumer, user and brand performance research an unmet need for guidance – this wasn’t a surprise given the high-stakes nature of property and the complexity, anxiety, and mistrust that can exist within the sector," she explained.

The brand repositioning journey started last July with a comprehensive internal and external audit which formed the basis of its focus on "guidance" and the new positioning. The development of the new visual identity was completed in mid-2022 and since then, the company has been refreshing its assets, beginning with its on-platform experience.

"As our product is our brand, it is where our focus has been and will continue to be. However, building a brand never stops, especially for platform brands such as PropertyGuru, so we will always be in a state of continuous improvement. Since we also provide mortgage advisory (PropertyGuru Finance) and Marketing as a Service (MaaS) that are key touchpoints for our customers, we will convert their respective assets in parallel to reflect our promise of guidance," she added.

PropertyGuru's biggest integrated regional brand campaign.

At the same time, PropertyGuru also launched a brand campaign that spans paid, earned, and owned channels, both above and below the line, targeting property seekers, sellers, agents, and enterprise clients. According to the company, this is its biggest integrated regional brand campaign and MullenLowe was involved in it.

PropertyGuru refreshed its branding in 2018, which included revamped websites, mobile apps, a new logo and the slogan "Look Forward to Home". The move was previously in line with its strategy to become a high-growth tech company. The 2018 brand refresh saw the brandmark being made up of two distinct and interconnected roofs, illustrated by interlocking red lines. While the red line is a representation of people's life journeys, the two roofs signify the different stages people go through in a lifetime and the importance of home at each stage. The four peaks within the logo are also a subtle nod to the group's four primary markets in Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Following the brand repositioning, PropertyGuru's marketing will work towards building a brand of "guidance". Duquesne explained that the property sector is a high-stakes one yet filled with complexity. For example, property seekers may put their life savings on the line or agents look to build successful property careers and businesses.

"Each group needs guidance in making important decisions confidently. During their moments of anxiety and insecurity, we can guide them through our transparent and efficient solutions – from relevant content and actionable data-led insights to expert advisory and sophisticated software solutions," she said.

At the same time, PropertyGuru is also demonstrating the evolution of its marketing communications through a look and feel that uses "light" to depict its guidance. The new positioning has and will also lead to enhanced experiences – around "guidance" – across all platforms, including its offline presence, websites, apps and social platforms.

A new B2B brand to guide enterprise clients

At the same time, on the business front, the group rolled out a new enterprise brand, PropertyGuru for Business, unifying its B2B offerings. The new brand aims to guide enterprise clients such as property developers, agencies, banks, valuers, and policy/city planners. It includes proprietary solutions such as PropertyGuru Finance, DataSense, ValueNet, FastKey and event solutions, and will leverage data and tech to help enterprise clients tap into new growth opportunities.

Hari V. Krishnan, CEO and MD, said the group is introducing data solutions that bring transparency, use its innovations in tech to deliver efficiency and digitise property buying and selling, as it guides its stakeholders on their property journey. "As we move beyond ‘property search’ and offer more end-to-end solutions, we will continue to deepen our investments in home finance, data, operating systems, and more – enabling every stakeholder with the right information and tools to make high-stakes decisions confidently," he added.

PropertyGuru currently has over 1,600 employees across various functions including customer experience, technology, product, data, sales, strategy, finance, marketing, human resources, and operations. Among the list of roles available on the PR/marketing front now include – marketing manager for PropertyGuru Marketplaces; digital content and communications manager and regional organic growth executive. It also has positions open for designers, videographers and editors.

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