Backing the Right Horse: Four Years of Partnership Success in Property Marketing

When it comes to marketing off-the-plan developments, there truly is no silver bullet. What separates the winners from the rest is partnering with specialists who live and breathe property campaigns every single day. Over the past four-plus years, and more than 40 campaigns under our belts, Stephen Bowtell at Jellis Craig Projects and Sod have forged a partnership built on shared learning, real-time agility and relentless focus on lead quality. Here’s how we do it, why it works, and where we’re headed next.

From our very first campaign, it was clear that no other agency in Australia has the breadth of exposure we’ve achieved across market cycles, product types and buyer demographics. Every A/B test, every creative tweak and every retargeting iteration has fed into a growing playbook of proven best practices, and the trust we’ve developed along the way is our biggest differentiator.

Lead Volume & Cost

• We generate over 1,000 leads per month for Jellis Craig Projects
• With an average CPL of $60.

Quality, Not Just Quantity
Buyers consistently tell us (anecdotally) that they feel informed, engaged and ready to act, a direct result of refining our messaging to cut straight to what matters most.

Contrary to assumptions that social-led enquiries skew 20–30 year olds, our data shows the 55+ cohort consistently outperforms on both enquiries and sales. That insight means:

• All ad designs follow inclusive-design principles (clear typography, relatable imagery).
• Copy speaks directly to the downsizer mindset, ease, community and lifestyle.

Getting a new project off the ground? Our 2–4 week process is virtually automatic:

1. Internal Kick-off
   Assign paid-ads team, map strategy, timelines and hand over from sales.
2. Client × Agency Meet & Greet
   Introduce your specialists, align on goals, KPIs, reporting cadence and channel access.
3. Ad-Channel Audit
   Review existing accounts (if any) to spot quick wins and inform setup.
4. Ad Campaign Design & Copy
   Craft eye-catching creative and best-practice copy, ready for your feedback.
5. Ad Campaign Setup
   Load assets, audiences, budgets and tracking into Meta & Google.
6. Launch & BAU Handoff
   Green-light go-live, then move into day-to-day optimisation based on our kick-off insights.

Our work in Stonnington with Angle’s Fenwick development was a true slam-dunk. An incredible project matched with Jellis Craig Projects’ sales expertise and Sod’s campaign know-how. While we can’t share exact figures, suffice to say it sold out swiftly, outperforming all pre-launch expectations.

Weekly strategy huddles keep both teams on their toes. We’ve moved beyond “name + email = lead,” introducing three qualification questions to instantly bucket prospects by:

• Buyer Type (researching vs. investor vs. ready-to-buy)
• Finance Status (approved vs. not yet approved)
• Product Interest (specific amenity and price range)

That rigour means sales teams spend time only on the hottest opportunities.

We’re just getting started. Next up:

• AI-Driven Video Renders to bring static architecture to life in the feed.
• AI Sales Qualifier to automate initial lead scoring and hand-offs, supercharging our funnel and empowering Jellis Craig Projects to close faster.

“Simo and his team at Sod are no doubt the best in the game when it comes to social media and Google Ads for property. Their attention to detail and respectful challenging means they get the most out of each campaign. Simo’s superpower is explaining what’s really happening in ways anyone can understand. Truly a great agency doing great things in this space. It’s why we always recommend Sod and why they’ll always be our go-to digital agency.”

— Stephen Bowtell, Director, Project Sales, Jellis Craig Projects