Real Estate Institute of NZ

Things in the world of real estate move quickly, and no one knows that better than the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

Known as ‘the voice of real estate’, REINZ is a membership organisation representing more than 16,000+ real estate professionals nationwide – that’s about 97% of the industry.

It’s an enduring and well-established organisation that has been paving the way for the real estate industry since the early 1900s. Today, the organisation specialises in all facets of real estate, from codes of practice and ongoing education through to advocacy, statistical analysis and even hosting auctioneering championships.

As with many regulatory bodies, there’s always a long to-do list, which at times can be restricted by budget and staffing. Recently, we sat down with Kim Thompson, REINZ’s Website and Brand Product Owner, to get her take on outsourcing to the Rapt! team – and how we’re helping them help more people in real estate.
 
Innovative design, on time always
REINZ is one of our most long-standing clients – we’ve been working with them since we first opened in 2004. Kim joined the REINZ team in 2016 and is one of many people we engage with across the organisation’s marketing and communications.

“When I started, we didn’t really have an internal marketing team,” Kim explains. “It made sense for us to be outsourcing, and Rapt! were our people.”

She points to the organisation’s quarterly members’ magazine as an example of the type of work we do. We work together to come up with a layout plan, and once we have all the content, we “turn it into a masterpiece” (Kim’s words).

“Over the years, the magazine has been through many iterations, but Rapt! always comes to the table with something fresh.”
 
Short timelines? No problem.
While the intention is to brief a project well in advance, “when you’re pulling together headshots and adverts from suppliers, that often means things come through late,” Kim says.

In her experience, not everyone can deliver to such short timeframes, but for Rapt!, it has never been a problem.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time when they’ve turned around and said, ‘We can’t do that’. They’ll always go the extra mile to make sure we have what we need – they’ll even go as far as hand-delivering it to us!”

When it comes to planning for events – which REINZ does regularly – that level of service doesn’t go unnoticed.
 
Taking on projects – big and small
While the organisation has been around for more than 100 years, Kim says it has grown significantly – even in the time she’s been with the business. And as she points out, although they’ve hired more people to accommodate the increase in workload, Rapt! is always on hand to help out when needed.

“There are some things which we now do in-house, and other things like the magazine which we wouldn’t dream of taking off their hands because they do such a great job.

“They’re also always there for overrun which usually involves half-finished projects, and we know they’ll be able to fill in the gaps.

“What I appreciate the most is there’s never any salty feelings if we want to give something a crack ourselves, because they understand that sometimes we don’t have the budget to outsource.”
 
Consistency is key to brand success
As with any growing business, people move on or get promoted. Handovers are inevitable, but Rapt! makes them less stressful, Kim says. As when she recently changed positions, and someone new took over the magazine.

“Even when people leave and new people come in, we know that things will continue with the same level of quality workmanship because [Rapt!] has an intrinsic understanding of how we do things.”

That doesn’t mean they’re complacent though, Kim adds.

“They’ll also come down and catch up on where everything is with the overarching brand, so they know where we’re heading as an organisation.”

Kim says, “They’re just good people doing good things,” and it’s that approach that will likely see them working with us for the next 16 years and beyond, she laughs.
 
The REINZ design goodness from Rapt! (formerly MacWork)

• 16 years’ experience: intrinsic understanding of REINZ
• Capacity to take on projects big and small – no retainers needed
• Collaborative working relationship across multiple teams
• Fast turnarounds for last-minute jobs