Agent Speaks December 2011
What a year 2011 has been for Douglas & Gordon. Our web virals were a massive success – beyond my wildest dreams – still talked about today, suitably controversial and let’s be honest, quite funny. I can’t lie – for a time, I was concerned this might be my “Ratner” moment but luckily, the Great British public got the joke and left egg on the faces of those so called industry experts who were so critical at the time.
This year’s corporate campaign, “Extraordinary People”, was many months in planning and has been one of our most successful to date. Not sure entirely why December’s Barbie image went down so badly with some people – I thought it was genius but then you can’t please all the people all the time. We were voted the second best estate agent in the United Kingdom by our industry peers and most important of all, had a pretty successful year for our clients, selling and letting more property than ever before and remaining London’s largest independent agent. Thank you all for your support.
However, it is December 1st 2011 that I will remember most fondly - D&G Kids Co Day 2. After the success of our first Kids Co day last year, I was worried that maybe the company would not be as enthusiastic this time round and with the economic climate as it is, would the public be so generous. Silly me, of course they were. As last year, we closed all of our offices for the day so a big thank you to our understanding and tolerant clients and yet again, we hit the streets. Let me tell you, it is a VERY long day. You have no idea the work that goes into collecting just one can of beans for a Kids Company Christmas hamper. It is quite possible to knock on twenty doors before you even find someone who is in and then you may come across au pairs, housekeepers or friends who are unable to donate without the owner’s permission. Then, just as you begin to despair as to how you are ever going to fill one hamper, let alone thousands, a kind soul will invite you into their kitchen and you will leave ten minutes later armed with carrier bags full of all sorts of goodies. By the end of the day, we had filled nearly four hundred removal boxes (kindly donated by the removal firm Like Clockwork) with food weighing nearly eight tonnes. We also raised £8,300 in cash and were given over 1,300 brand new toys. The food alone will be enough to fill 1,500 children’s hampers this Christmas and I am incredibly proud of every single member of Douglas & Gordon for their hard work and hugely grateful to everyone who donated. Luckily, we have a few months to recharge our batteries before Kids Co Day 3 next year.
Ivor Dickinson - Managing Director, Douglas & Gordon