The Los Angeles event for the upcoming listing at 535 Ocean Ave. in Santa Monica seemed to lack the fanfare that is typically associated with a $15 million+ penthouse in a competitive market. Unless you were invited, you would of never guessed anything extravagant was happening upstairs at the expansive beachside building in Southern California.
No spotlight, no step-and-repeat and no valet parking. Just a simple check-in with the host, before heading into an unassuming elevator. Once those metal doors open to the top floor, you will enjoy a wonderful experience meant to market the penthouse in an extraordinary way. As soon as you exit the lift, a women dressed in 1960s garb, offered attendees a spiked Hot Dog on a Stick lemonade, while another host gave options, such as “head left to the kitchen and living room for more food and drinks; to the right, use the hashtag and get a gift bag.”
We want you to feel like you’re a part of something,” says Society Group founder and CEO Alexander Ali, whose firm was responsible for many of the party details. The team lined the home’s right corridor with 1,100 perfectly spaced yellow pinwheels, hoping to break the Guinness World Record for most pinwheels in one block.
According to Robb Report, the backdrop initially presented was the first of many photo opportunities that were purposely set up as a “choose your own adventure” tour of the renovated 8,000-square-foot residence. Social media savants made sure to check out the dressing room and the guest bath, in which they scored a Jo Malone travel kit and a Murad skincare gift bag.
Though the event attracted a mix of VIPs from across the LA social scene, it’s obvious Insta-House was designed for its namesake: Instagram influencers seeking the perfect photo to send out to their content-hungry followers.
Aside from the gifting rooms, there was a large bedroom filled with blown up beach balls playfully tossed on the bed and across the floor—another photo opportunity that is not to be missed. Listing agent Rochelle Maize of Nourmand & Associates, Ali, and home staging company Vesta Home conceived the overall design and concept.
“It’s gotten a really good spin from people hearing about it,” Maize says, noting that several showings were scheduled just from word-of-mouth that formed from the event’s general buzz. Majority of the hyped came directly from all those influencers, who generated more than 668,000 Instagram impressions with a total social reach of 1.378 million.
