Gorilla at work: Gimmick draws attention to vacant commercial property

By Gertha Coffee

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The gorilla is back in business, hawking real estate.

No, it’s not the same attention-getting inflatable primate used two decades ago during the last real estate meltdown in metro Atlanta. But this 25-foot-tall gorilla has the same job -- draw attention to vacant commercial properties.

This time around Atlanta-based Ackerman & Co.  is using it as a marketing tool. The nameless gorilla is as  tall as a two-story building and hard to miss. Arms upraised, mouth opened as if in a shout, he wears a big sign across his chest.

The gorilla is “kind of a spoof and a fun way to make light of a difficult market," said Kris Miller, Ackerman & Co. president. “He will only be at properties a short time and we will do it very quickly.”

Ackerman, a full-service commercial real estate firm, manages more than 4 million square feet of property, including Phoenix Office Park, Powers Pointe, 9000 Central Park and Premier Plaza.

The gorilla made his initial appearance in March at Powers Pointe on New Northside Drive in Sandy Springs -- next door to the property dubbed the Gorilla Building in the 1990s by metro Atlanta’s real estate community. Property owners at the time used a big inflatable gorilla to help draw attention to empty office space.

“It’s a way to reach out to tenants and say space is at all-time low prices. The gorilla can go anywhere, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial property,” Miller said.

Other industry experts also see the value of promotions with edge.

For example,  on April 9 the developers of Castleberry Point will host Project Pushpin, a bimonthly event that invites photographers to post and sell photos. Half the proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, planners said. The event will take place in two  spaces around the Castleberry Point courtyard:  ZuCot Gallery and Castleberry Point’s raw retail area.

"It's a really compelling and engaging way to showcase what we have to offer," said spokeswoman Liz Lapidus.

But are such efforts effective?

At Powers Pointe, Miller said, the gorilla generated more than 35 to 40 broker calls in one week before rolling on to the Centrum at Glenridge, Phoenix Office Park  and now Perimeter Town Center.