About
Whyborder is a borderless property marketing web-based platform, built to facilitate more cross-border real estate business opportunities for developers, agents, sellers and buyers. It was launched by the cofounder of OrangeTee, Dave Loo, in 2020.
Project Summary
The Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 had a severe impact on Thailand’s real estate market, with restrictions on travel and a weakened Thai baht leading to a decrease in foreign buyers and investors.
In response Whyborder, a web-based property marketing platform, was launched to facilitate cross-border real estate business opportunities for developers, agents, sellers and buyers.
The platform is designed to provide a hassle-free experience for overseas buyers, with features such as a reverse bidding system and chat system providing free expert advice.
Whyborder reassessed the situation and found that there was an opportunity that they could make use of. There was a growing demand for low-rise condominiums outside of the CBD, which offered bigger living areas and more outdoor space, as a result of the change in lifestyle due to the pandemic. This, coupled with a weakened Thai baht, opened a new opportunity for savvy international buyers to enter the market before a post-pandemic boom kicked off. Hence, Whyborder was created to be the conduit between these motivated overseas buyers and developers keen to sell their properties, and to overcome the barriers that they faced as a result of the pandemic.
Whyborder is a completely web-based service that streamlined the entire buying process, from viewing and comparing properties and researching districts, right down to providing local lawyers for immediate and free expert advice via the chat system. Its goal was to provide overseas buyers with a fuss-free experience, where they could also feel confident in their purchase decision. It also featured a reverse bidding system known as Whybid, going down to lower buying prices, not higher. The winning bid would get the featured condo, while all other bidders would be offered other recommended condos in the same property.
Whyborder engaged Flame Communications’ consultancy services to develop marketing strategy for overseas buyers who might be interested in Thailand property.
The team was tasked to raise awareness about this new property marketing platform and its unique Whybid feature. The team did a marketing campaign, introducing Whyborder’s position to the media as well as cultivating target buyers and property developers’ perception of the platform as a fuss-free platform that would allow them to confidently continue purchasing property in Thailand from the comfort of their homes overseas.
Press interviews were conducted with mainstream Thai media, and the Flame team helped Whyborder to continue garnering media attention across print, online websites and social media. Through the marketing efforts, Whyborder was able to achieve a media value of $360,210 (9,313,004 THB).
“We are glad to engage Flame Communications’ team to support us on Whyborder’s first foray into Thailand, which is a strategic market for us. Flame’s team has a good knowledge of marketing overseas using digital marketing and PR channels and helped us to map out our go-to-market plans for launch.
We look forward to expanding into more markets in the coming months,” said Dave Loo, cofounder of whyborder.com.
The campaign was a success, and WhyBorder was able to establish itself in the international real estate market. It proved to be a viable option for buyers looking to purchase property in Thailand, despite the restrictions of the pandemic, and for developers to sell their units.