Real estate marketing in the UAE: how to launch a property project

A property launch in the UAE is a race against the calendar. The brand, the website, the sales material and the ads all have to be ready before the first buyer hears about the project. And the buyers aren’t only in the UAE. Many are in London, Riyadh, Moscow or Shanghai.

This is what a launch needs, how to plan it, and what we have learned launching developments for Dar Global, Majid Al Futtaim, Dar Al Arkan and DAMAC.

What a property launch needs

1. A project brand. A name, a story and an identity that set the development apart from the towers around it. For a branded residence, the brand also has to meet the partner’s standard and win their approval.

2. A plan for every buyer market. Who buys, where they live, which channels they use and what they need to hear. A plan for Dubai buyers won’t reach investors in London.

3. A website that sells. Floor plans, availability and a clear next step. A website that takes deposits online lets buyers reserve without visiting a sales office.

4. Ads across every channel. Digital ads aimed at each market, email, and outdoor where the buyers are.

5. A launch moment. A launch event, a sales gallery or an activation that lets buyers see and feel the project before it is built.

6. Roadshows. Events in the buyer markets bring the project to people who won’t fly in for the launch.

7. PR. Press releases and media relations, in Arabic and English, so the project is talked about in the markets that matter.

8. A lead system. A CRM funnel that captures every lead and follows it through to sales, so no enquiry is lost.

How to plan a launch

1. Set the target: units to sell, by when, and from which markets.
2. Build the brand first. Every ad, brochure and screen follows it.
3. Map the buyers. Plan each market on its own, with its own channels and messages.
4. Get the ad permits. In Dubai, real estate ads need a permit through the Dubai Land Department’s Trakheesi system before they run. Other emirates have their own rules. Build approval time into the plan.
5. Get the website and CRM ready before the first ad runs.
6. Plan the launch event and the roadshows around the sales calendar.
7. Launch, measure and adjust by channel and by market.

Showing a project that isn’t built yet

Off-plan buyers are asked to buy something they can’t walk through. Screens, interactive content, VR and AR let them explore the community and picture themselves living there. A show apartment or a sales gallery does the same in person.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Running ads before the website and lead system are ready.
• One message for every market.
• Measuring leads, not qualified leads.
• Leaving permits until the campaign is designed.
• A launch event with no follow-up plan for the people who came.

Launches we’ve delivered

Dar Global: I Love Florence. Dar Global’s first tower in the UAE, in DIFC, was designed with Roberto Cavalli, so the brand had to meet Cavalli’s standard and win Cavalli’s approval. We planned how to reach buyers in each market, built the brand and took it through approval. Then we took the tower to market:

• digital ads, email and outdoor;
• a website where buyers could browse Dar Global’s developments and pay their deposits online;
• roadshow events in London, Moscow, Shanghai and other buyer markets;
• a CRM funnel to capture every lead and follow it through;
• PR, and the launch event, with Roberto Cavalli’s CEO as a guest.

50% of the tower was sold by launch day. Read the Dar Global case study.

Majid Al Futtaim: Tilal Al Ghaf. For one of the first launches of this new community, at Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, we took charge of every digital screen in the activation, so buyers could explore Tilal Al Ghaf before a single home was ready. More than 200 high-net-worth buyers walked through it. Read the Majid Al Futtaim case study.

Dar Al Arkan: websites and ecommerce. We built websites for Saudi Arabia and Dubai, with an ecommerce platform where buyers pay their deposit online. Leads rose by 18%, and deals closed faster. Read the Dar Al Arkan case study.

DAMAC: group platform. We built a platform that presents every DAMAC investment as one portfolio, with live listings and a direct connection to DAMAC’s Salesforce CRM, so every enquiry goes straight to sales. Read the DAMAC case study.

How we launch property projects at Talk The Walk

Strategy, brand, website, ads, events and PR come from one team, in Arabic and English, so the project tells one story from the first ad to the deposit. See our marketing services.