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ATHENS- March 2019 – Last month, Coldwell Banker Upchurch Realty agents and staff traveled to Las Vegas to attend the annual Gen Blue conference hosted by Coldwell Banker. The conference welcomes Coldwell Banker affiliates from all over the country to network, participate in business, marketing, and real estate courses, enjoy live entertainment, and get a glimpse into what is coming down the pipeline from corporate. It’s a chance to experience the Coldwell Banker culture and reignite business goals for the following year.

Gen Blue technically incorporates several conferences into one, all going on simultaneously with separate course work for Residential, Relocation, Commercial, and Global Luxury divisions. The day prior to the conference, agents could enroll in the Global Luxury certification course, which gives them expertise in the luxury market and access to all Global Luxury marketing resources once they meet the required sales criteria. Other subject matter included lead generation, how to increase production & scale up your business, creating a brand story, Women in Leadership panels, in-depth training on CB provided programs…the list goes on. Staff and management from CBUR’s Residential and Commercial departments had the opportunity to attend these breakout education sessions and take advantage of valuable information they can apply in practice at the Athens office. Speakers for the Coldwell Banker side of the conference included Nick Vujicic, international motivational speaker who overcame the challenges of being born without limbs, and Colin Jost, comedian and writer for SNL. Realogy, Coldwell Banker’s parent company, hosted RGX, or the Realogy Global Exchange, where for the first time, all the brand conferences were combined under one roof, and heard from speakers such as Mindy Kaling, comedian, writer, and producer, and HGTV’s Property Brothers on what it takes to acquire success.

In addition to rolling out several new programs for social media advertising, digital client resources, and agent productivity tools using AI technology, one of the most notable occurrences to come out of the conference was the introduction of the newly rebranded Coldwell Banker logo, which features a simple “CB” and a star, to signify the North Star. The idea behind it being, Coldwell Banker is one of the first and most innovative real estate companies out there, acting as industry leaders, as the guiding force that brings people home, and inspiring people to leave their mark on the world of real estate. Some of their firsts include the first company to establish a code of ethics, the first to have a real estate website, the first to design ‘smart home’, and the first to develop an international app for iphone and android. While it sparked some controversy for the 113 year old company, it started the conversation around the changing world of real estate, and how businesses are adapting to new, competitive business models, cloud-based virtual brokers, big data, and developing technologies. Coldwell Banker will be field testing the logo over the next couple of years before they officially incorporate it into the brand.