Nook Increased User Clicks in Newsletters By 28% Through Automated ‘Best Photo’ Selection Using AI in Real Estate
Nook Real Estate is a digital brokerage specializing in select neighborhoods across the country. Their revolutionary Search With Style© engine enables users to browse listings by their preferred home style, such as an A-Frame or a Mid-Century Modern. In an increasingly competitive industry, they believe it is more important than ever to provide their agents tools and marketing material to stand out.
Problem
One area Nook was recently looking to improve was their automated new listing alert emails. At the time, their emails featured a short description of the property alongside the default photo of the listing, but they hoped to add more context to increase the value these emails provided. They recognized that a prospective home buyer’s time was valuable, and they only had a few seconds to grab their attention.
Nook had already experimented with adding more photos, but this had proved more challenging than expected. Without manual intervention, there was no way of knowing the contents of each image. The results were inconsistent and failed to meet their strict expectations for luxury marketing.
Solution
Looking for a way to add more structure to their photos, Nook came across Restb.ai. Could their computer vision solutions be the answer?
After hearing the details of Nook’s problem, Restb.ai recommended the use of their room type model to help Nook understand the contents of each photo. With all of their images categorized, Nook could then determine the optimal way to layout each email.
Nook ultimately decided to place an enlarged photo of the front of the house at the top and two supplementary images beneath the property description. The additional photos highlighted outdoor spaces like pools and terraces, as well as important indoor areas like kitchens and living rooms. They used specialized business logic to optimize the photos in each email based on each user’s personalized needs.
Impact
In the wise words of Mad Men’s Don Draper, “Make it simple, but significant.” That was Nook’s approach when they rolled out their updated new listing alert eBlasts earlier this year. The new emails are generated intelligently and automatically, without requiring any effort or thought by their agents.
The result – A 28% increase in user clicks! More importantly, Nook’s agents are providing more relevant information to their clients and improving the overall efficiency of the home buying process.
Empowered by their recent success, Nook has already started exploring other areas to integrate computer vision and AI. They realize adding intelligence and personalization into their products is essential to staying ahead in the quickly changing world of real estate.