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A library is where you go to read someone else’s story, but at a special pop-up called the “Enchanted Library” at NAR NXT in Boston, members of the National Association of REALTORS® had a chance to share their own tales.
Thousands of attendees at NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience, took a quiet moment in the Enchanted Library, an interactive booth designed by NAR’s consumer advertising campaign, to reflect and take pride in the journeys they take with their clients.
The library symbolized the importance of sharing the REALTOR® story with consumers and offered an apt backdrop for the exchange and collection of stories.
Library visitors were prompted to write down how they’d helped create a “happily ever after” for a client and to add their tiny tale to a giant R-shaped pegboard.
“The board was a visual reminder of the critical value and role NAR members serve in people’s lives, and how their stories are central to NAR’s consumer ad campaign,” says Karen Bebart, director of consumer strategy and brand advertising for NAR.
Talking with library visitors, a theme emerged: Real estate professionals are driven in their quest to help people navigate some of life’s biggest transitions.
“One of my greatest joys was to be able to help a widow find a house,” Denyse Wilson, an agent from Temecula, Calif., recalled. Wilson’s client lived in rental housing. Not only had her husband passed away suddenly, but her landlord was selling the property, giving her about a month to vacate.
“She had four high-school-aged young ladies and nowhere to go. Someone from my church says, ‘Denyse would be able to help you. She knows everybody,’” Wilson said. Wilson used her trusted network to help her client find a lender and within 30 days they were in escrow. To help the family celebrate, she gave each of the four daughters a personalized gift.
“They’re thriving in their home,” she said, grinning. They’re always saying, “‘Miss Denyse, you need to come over and say hi to us.’”
For some, buying a house represents a new chapter. For others, it’s picking up an old book on the page where you left off.
That was the case for clients of Kim Arscott, a principal broker from Eugene, Ore. and Eugene REALTORS® president.
She recalls once showing a house to a woman who looked in one of the attic spaces and said, ‘Oh, the children's handwriting is still on the wall.’”
It turned out the woman and her husband had built the house and raised a family there. At some point, they sold the house and divorced. Eventually the couple reconnected and remarried.
Arscott helped the couple repurchase their old home despite the house being withdrawn from the market after years of it not selling, she said.
She helped the couple negotiate the best price while working with inspections for the home, well and septic system and feels “blessed” to be part of their fairy tale.
These are just some of the 200 stories that filled the pegboard.
“Helped a veteran achieve the American Dream!” read one card.
“Helped a mom get out of her abusive situation,” read another.
And while some stories were extraordinary, most of the happily ever afters captured the magic in everyday encounters—from helping first-time buyers find their dream home to learning new skills.
“The best thing that I could have done for my clients is educate myself,” Sergio Adame, a broker-owner in Edinburg, Texas, said. “I actually got my Certified Commercial Investment Member designation in 2011 and I really haven't looked back since.”
Adame, who has been in the business for about two decades, hasn’t stopped learning and recently graduated from the Texas REALTORS ® Leadership Program. He says educating his clients has “made all the difference.”
“I've recently had a meeting where a very high-profile doctor/investor in the area said, ‘It looks like you're the chairman of the board of this meeting, Sergio.’”
After three days of meeting members and exchanging stories in the peaceful surroundings of the Enchanted Library, the lamps went dark, but not before reigniting a spark—a glow one feels when you share a good story.
Those stories will continue to inspire NAR’s consumer advertising campaign and could be featured in upcoming social media posts or in content partnerships with media publishers or platforms.
NAR’s consumer advertising campaign differentiates the REALTOR® brand and reinforces the value of working with a REALTOR®, a member of NAR. See and hear the current ads in market nationally at ThatsWhoWeR.realtor, and look for the next campaign to launch in February 2025, including resources and assets you can leverage in your own marketing.
