Looking to attract super-wealthy visitors wanting to buy a slice of the province

Like the vineyard properties she hopes to sell, Christa Frosch's real estatesales pitches at Whistler during the Olympics will have to mature before they bear fruit.

The Olympics give Frosch and her colleagues at Sotheby's International Realty an enviable entrée into the elite strata of buyers able to contemplate laying down millions for acres of vineyard in the Okanagan, and then spending millions more on building a luxury residence.

An entrée, yes. A signed deal in hand - well, not likely during the Games themselves. Frosch said it can take up to a year to consummate a high-end real estate deal, meaning the Winter Games will be long over before she and the other realtors at Sotheby's will be able to determine whether their Olympic marketing effort has been a success or just an exquisitely designed waste of time.

The marketing ambitions of Sotheby's in Whistler are extensive, taking direct aim at the well-heeled clients who will be visiting the mountain resort town during the Games and who might be interested in buying up a bit of B.C. wine country.

Up for sale are private residences costing up to $9-million, mountain and waterfront properties, and vineyards, including one listed for $3-million - tasting room included.

One big advantage that Sotheby's has is location, an asset never to be underestimated in real estate. The company's offices in Whistler are in the retail space of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, the host mountain resort for the Olympic Games - and the temporary home of potential customers who match the wealthy profile of a buyer of high-end real estate. So Sotheby's can comfortably engage in tightly targeted and cost-effective marketing - in other words, leaving promotional packages in all of the rooms of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler.

To woo that clientele, Sotheby's is putting on a luxury-laden party every afternoon, with invitations sent out to a number of Whistler hotels, but focused on the Fairmont. Wines from the Okanagan will be featured, as will the culinary stylings of a roster of B.C. chefs. To drive home that lifestyle appeal, Sotheby's is planning to team up with two other high-end brands: Birks, which will have a jewellery display, and BMW, which will promote three of its new vehicles. "It'll be a nice combination of wine, cars, jewellery and real estate," says Frosch.

But there will be room for Canadian-themed fun, too. Nicholas Soldan Harriss, based in the Whistler office, said he will be using the lure of the Feb. 21 Canada-U.S. hockey game to bring potential clients in to view properties in the town. After an hour's presentation, they can watch the hotly anticipated game on widescreen TVs while being treated to a most Canadian menu: oysters, salmon, poutine, beaver's tail pastries - and that ultimate Canuck winter treat, maple syrup poured on snow.

It's all aimed at leaving potential customers with fun, and lasting, memories that could eventually turn into purchases. "You've got this captive audience. You've really got to make the most of it."

The budget for that one night alone will run into the thousands, but Harriss said the expense is more than justified - and there are some economies to be had, he joked. "The snow is free."

PATRICK BRETHOUR (Jan. 28, 2010). Christa Frosch and Nicholas Soldan Harriss. The Globe & Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/christa-frosch-and-nicholas-soldan-harriss/article1447019/

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