It wasn’t until he was in the middle of acquiring another agency, and looking at his own brand from the “outside in”, that Cameron Nicholls realised it was time for a change.
“I was like, ‘This is not really who we are anymore’,” the Director and Principal of Nicholls & Co told Elite Agent.
“The marketing that we were pushing out was going in a lot of different directions.”
He said that as the independent agency had grown since being founded in 2015, its marketing had failed to keep up.
“There was no synchronicity across the office marketing and the sales marketing and the property management, there were all sorts of different directions and different fields,” he explained.
“We decided that we had to throw everything in the bin and basically start from scratch.”
Mr Nicholls described his agency’s new look – chosen in consultation with Identity Marketing – as a more mature and refined one.
He said it reflects the company’s journey from a one-man operation based in his spare bedroom to a seven-person team working from their Abbotsford HQ.
“I remember we always laugh about the first day of Nicholls & Co way back in 2016: I got suited up and went for a walk around the block only to walk back into the apartment and go to work in the second bedroom,” he said, laughing.
“When you look at those small sort of beginnings to now where we are… that’s why we we needed a facelift, because of where we are now and where we’re going.
“I couldn’t continue with the same look and feel and brand and message we started with – it just wouldn’t be an accurate depiction of who we are.”
Along with an increased head count, the Nicholls & Co growth story has included the acquisition of John Ward Prestige Realty
Mr Nicholls said he had big plans for the next few years.
“We’re going to make a strong push into the Northern Suburbs region, Hunters Hill through to Ryde,” he said.
“In 2024 and 2025 there will be further growth in acquisitions and partnering with agents that want to join the Nicholls & Co brand and open up their own office and have investment in the company.”
Those expansion plans were another key reason for the rebrand, he added.
“I felt like if I was a young agent, there was nothing that would entice me to join Nicholls & Co under the old marketing, but now it’s real snappy,” he said.
“There’s a lot of depth through what we do with our mission, and then the marketing collateral and all the assets that we have and how we talk as well.
“So that was another reason, to attract people who want to be involved in the brand.”
