by Fred Seely, Editor
The best-known icon in real estate?
Many votes would go to the Re/Max balloon, and it visited Jacksonville last month as part of the Re/Max Watermarke office’s grand opening. If you were on Atlantic Boulevard that day, you couldn’t miss it.
The seven-story balloon was there to take visitors on “tethered” rides — that is, it never was in real flight. But agency owners Tami and John Glover made sure that everyone got at least a good lift off the ground. There were also refreshments and plenty to do for the kids.
“The balloon needed 200 feet of open space and we didn’t have that at our office, so we got a field behind the LA Fitness nearby,” said Shelly Rolfe of the Watermarke staff, who coordinated the event.
It wasn’t THE Re/Max balloon — actually, according to the company’s Colorado headquarters, there are about 120 of them around the world.
“This one is based in Orlando,” said Rolfe. “Captain Richard Davenport handles requests from the East Coast.
”The balloon doesn’t soar from one place to another like its distant cousin, the blimp. Davenport and the other captains pack it up in a large van, haul it to the site and inflate it there with hot air.
The concept came back in 1978 when two Re/Max regional directors in New Mexico heard about a man whose balloon could be used for advertising. They used it in their marketing with an “Above the Crowd” tagline and it caught on.
They brought a home movie of the balloon to a national meeting and suggested that it be used as the company’s logo, replacing the red, white and blue “SOLD” sign.
“We looked at that and said, “Balloons have nothing to do with real estate,” said CEO Dave Liniger. “We took a vote and turned it down.”
The next year, Liniger proudly announced that Re/Max was No. 1 in the Denver area. But a survey showed that the company was the 8th best known in the area.
“The consultant said, ‘What about the balloon?’,” says Liniger in a website spot. “Why isn’t that the logo?”
They tried it. A survey the following year showed that they had gone from No. 8 to No. 1. And it’s been the logo ever since.
There are several based in Florida and they’re available for any event. Fees start in the $300 range.