How agile paid ads drive high-end property leads

ANGLE doing all the right things

In the competitive world of luxury property marketing, the right digital approach can make all the difference between a campaign that simply exists and one that truly resonates with qualified buyers. Recently, we sat down with Ariani Adam’s from the Sod team to discuss her work on Fernhurst, created by award-winning developer ANGLE.

The Allure of Quality Projects

Fernhurst stands out as a project that excites marketers and potential buyers alike, building on ANGLE’s reputation for excellence established with their previous award-winning developments. Fernhurst is their 7th Edition, and boy, is it truly remarkable.

“What excites me is the interior of it. Looking at the renders and how it’s been designed… it has a really earthy, welcoming vibe. To be a part of a project that is promoting that feeling, I think it’s quite special.” – Ariani Adam

This foundation of quality gives the digital team solid assets to work with, but the real challenge lies in connecting these beautiful spaces with the right audience.

Targeting High Net Worth Individuals: A Data-Responsive Approach

When marketing luxury properties, reaching qualified buyers requires a deliberately different approach than campaigns targeting first-home buyers.

“It’s obvious but worth pointing out that the pool of people for luxury homes vs FHB is much smaller, so the approach needs to be more calculated rather than a scatter gun approach.” – Ariani Adam

Rather than implementing a set-and-forget strategy, the Sod team employs an agile, data-driven approach that evolves with real-time insights:

1. Transparent Messaging with Continuous Refinement

One crucial element is prominently displaying the price point in ads. Rather than hiding costs to attract more leads, being upfront helps filter out unqualified inquiries. The team constantly monitors engagement metrics to refine messaging for optimal qualification.

“Projects that sit over $2M price point, we want to attract qualified buyers. We do that through our messaging and making sure the price is prominent. That filters through anyone who sees the starting price and will immediately scroll past, knowing it’s not in their price range.” – Ariani Adam

It’s worth noting that there is no foolproof way of removing unwanted leads, but the team remains vigilant, adjusting qualification questions and messaging in real-time based on lead quality data.

2. Adaptive Channel Strategy

Not all digital platforms are equal when targeting affluent buyers. The Sod team remains platform-agnostic, regularly shifting resources based on performance data rather than sticking to a predetermined channel mix.

“Google has more intentional users where we can target specific keywords. LinkedIn seems to be an appropriate channel because we can target job titles. If we want qualified buyers, that’s an important piece of the puzzle.” – Ariani Adam

3. Responsive Testing Framework

The most effective campaigns rely on systematic testing with rapid adaptation based on results. For Fernhurst, the team implements various tests and pivots quickly when data reveals new opportunities:

Content variations (price vs. no price) or (brand vs. tactical)
Ad formats (static vs. video) (feed vs. story)
Audience targeting (broad vs. narrow)
Channel (Meta vs Google vs. LinkedIn)
Geographic targeting for investor markets

“We don’t wait until the end of a campaign to analyse what worked. We’re constantly monitoring results, often making adjustments within days or even hours when we spot trends in the data. This responsiveness means we can capitalise on what’s working and quickly move away from what isn’t.” – Ariani Adam

Creative That Converts: Responsive Optimisation

While beautiful renders and sophisticated design are hallmarks of luxury developments, the Sod team remains agile in their creative approach, ready to pivot when data suggests new opportunities.

For Fernhurst, while the façade image consistently delivered strong results initially, the team continued testing alternatives throughout the campaign.

“In most cases—nine times out of ten—for property, static ads will always drive more leads. But we never rest on assumptions. We’re constantly testing new creative approaches, and when we see even a small improvement in performance metrics, we’re ready to scale that approach immediately.” – Simon Blangiardo

The team found that when they did incorporate video elements, performance improved by maintaining the familiar static ad framework but replacing the render with motion content. This insight came from ongoing testing rather than following a predetermined plan.

“When we put the frame of what the static ad is and replaced the static render with a video instead, that’s been resonating well with the audience. We identified this through our real-time monitoring and were able to quickly implement this change across all platforms, leading to an immediate uptick in qualified leads.” – Ariani Adam

Budget Allocation: Real-Time Reallocation

One of the most powerful aspects of the Sod approach to driving quality property leads is their readiness to reallocate budget in real-time based on performance data, rather than committing to fixed channel allocations.

For Fernhurst, this data-responsive approach led to strategic pivoting when Google campaigns began outperforming Meta.

“We don’t believe in setting a campaign budget and letting it run its course. With Fernhurst, we were able to see which channel was driving leads and how those specific leads (per channel) were performing. Working with Jellis Craig’s team, Stephen Bowtell and Georgia Portelli, we were able to identify the channels driving quality leads. As soon as we noticed Google campaigns generating quality leads at a lower price point while Meta was generating fewer leads at a much higher cost, we immediately recommended to the client that we shift more budget to Google. We didn’t wait for the next campaign cycle – we made this change mid-campaign, resulting in higher lead volume and quality almost immediately.” – Ariani Adam

Beyond Single Channel Thinking: Adaptive Journey Mapping

Looking forward, effective luxury property marketing requires thinking about the customer journey across multiple touchpoints and being ready to reconfigure this journey as customer behavior evolves.

“If we’ve seen higher quality from Google, a strategy we would look to employ would be to use Meta for TOF (top of funnel) with a goal of traffic and not leads. Meta has a cheaper cost per click than Google, so we’re nurturing and adding that customer touch point before they go on to Google, search ‘luxury homes’ or search for ‘insert project name’ and are ready to strongly consider purchasing. But crucially, we’re constantly monitoring this funnel, ready to restructure it if we see shifts in behaviour or platform performance.” – Ariani Adam

Challenging Static Campaign Management

One persistent misconception in property marketing is that campaigns should follow a predetermined path. The data consistently shows otherwise:

“The common misconception is that once you set up a campaign, you should let it run its course. Our data shows that the most successful campaigns are those where we actively manage every aspect – from audience targeting to creative to channel mix – adjusting in real-time based on performance data. This responsive approach ensures we’re always optimising for qualified leads rather than simply executing a plan.” – Simon Blangiardo

The Path Forward

As the property market continues to evolve, digital strategies must adapt with it.
The most successful campaigns:

Provide transparency around pricing and features
Target qualified buyers through appropriate channels
Test methodically and pivot quickly based on results
Remain adaptable across the full customer journey
Leverage high-quality creative assets in formats that resonate, with readiness to shift approaches

By applying these principles and maintaining an agile, data-responsive approach, the Sod team continues to deliver campaigns that not only generate leads but connect luxury developments like Fernhurst with the right buyers at the right time – often exceeding initial performance projections through their refusal to “set and forget.”

About Ariani

Digital Producer / Red Panda

Inside digital strategy: how agile paid ads drive high-end property leads