The edge – Brok Milligan

The Edge

Real estate agents today cannot afford to be ‘average’. In the business of helping sellers sell homes and buyers buy homes, an agent’s future is in delivering exceptional services. People’s experiences and the relationships you build with them… that’s the ‘think bigger’ in RE/MAX. And in a network of exceptional agents, these are those whose initiatives are extraordinary – giving them ‘the edge’. Introducing…

Brok Milligan’s 25 Days of Giveaways

“Hey guys, Brok Milligan from RE/MAX Go For Sold and welcome to my 25 Days of Giveaways where you could win a prize, simply by joining me LIVE at 7pm each day from December 1st to December 25th. So congratulations, you’re all now one step closer to winning today’s prize!”

And so it begins as each evening in the lead up to Christmas Day, the Palmerston North, NZ, agent invites the Facebook audience to play his game. Each evening he opens a box on his giant Advent calendar and plays a video. The audience tags people for a chance to win a place in the semi-finals – the more people they tag the more chances they have. Brok chooses three and assigns a red, white or blue token. We then watch the three pucks plink, bump and bounce their way down the game. First token to the bottom of the plinko board is the winner. Brok looks into the box to find out what prize has been won. Last year it all began with eight passes to Daytona Indoor Raceway, Palmerston North.

VIEW asked Brok a few questions:

Do you have 25 different sponsors?

I actually reserve five boxes for myself, and I personally sponsor those boxes. The other boxes are sponsored by local businesses. I have a gym, a few restaurants, few leisure activities, carpet cleaners, movie tickets, the list goes on.

Is this the second year you’ve done this?

Yes. It is now an annual event, and I’m anticipating being ‘That calendar guy’. The first year, it was as simple as fill the calendar, make a video, post it! It was a very basic concept. Before I decided to do it again in 2018, I needed to recreate the concept. Then it hit me, Facebook LIVE! But that wasn’t big enough. I wanted more winners, more excitement, and more exposure. That’s when a semifinalists race came about. At first it was a winner’s wheel. I even created it, but I didn’t love it. If I don’t love it, how can I expect anyone else to? That’s when I made the plinko board. That was the winning recipe for last

year’s concept. But what about the sponsors, I know, a video! But how will I add it into a live feed… See how it’s just getting bigger and better, A bit of a snowball effect. Logistically it’s an absolute nightmare!

What do you do for sponsors?

I had my property videographer come on board and film a small video to help showcase the sponsor during the live feed. As a thank you gift, all the professional footage is gifted to the business, which they can then use for their own social media marketing. It’s also good for my videographer’s business, and mine. Everybody wins!

Is the final box opened on Christmas night?

The first year, you had to submit your email to enter, but I took the original concept and made it much more interactive. Yes, the final box was opened on December 25th at 7pm.

When you tell your audience to ‘tag people for chances’ (to get the red, white or blue token), what do you mean?

I ask them to tag everyone and anyone they know. The more individual comments they make, the higher their chances are of being selected. I select the semi-finalists using software, which I run three times, allocating a token to each semi-finalist. Then it’s a race to the finish, winner takes all. The audience gets bigger and bigger as each day happens because of all the tagging.

How did you come up with the idea?

I can’t recall exactly. The 12 days of Christmas is more common but I’m naturally a ‘go hard or go home’ kind of guy! I just think of things, I think some more ideas, do research, expand and boom! I am ALWAYS coming up with ideas that are absolutely ridiculous but doable if you have the funds and “go get it” attitude.

Who constructed the fabulous Advent Calendar? How big is it?

My brother-in-law and I constructed the calendar back in 2017. It is 1.8m high and 1.8m wide. It has most certainly earned its title as being a GIANT ADVENT CALENDAR. This year, I constructed the plinko board for the Christmas Race, and together they make a mighty fine concept.

Any changes planned for this year?

I’ll have the plinko board and calendar in place as is because I think the current concept is great; however prizes will be even bigger and better. At some point in the future of my ‘25 Days of Giveaways’, I’m going to give away an overseas trip or a car or something just absolutely ridiculous! I just know it! That’s my goal here: to be known as the real estate agent who gets things done but has some fun along the way.

Find Brok Milligan on Facebook

RE/MAX Go For Sold sales associate, Brok Milligan, describes himself as an ‘aim for the stars’ person. For his customers, that translates to an agent who aims to exceed expectations.

Plinko debuted on the popular American game show, The Price is Right, on January 3, 1983. It is similar to the game, pachinko, from Japan, where pachinko machines were popular as far back as the 1920s.