A Melbourne real estate agent is being slammed after a social media stunt saw him garner nationwide attention.
Real estate agent Brent Day launched a public manhunt for “Jessica Thompson”, accusing her of stealing from an open home inspection.
“Jessica Thompson, you stole from our open home. You’ve left us with no other option,” the post claimed.
She was accused of raiding the living room, bathroom and even the nursery during the inspection.
The entire thing was a fake marketing ploy. Jessica Thompson doesn’t even exist, but the post racked up more than half a million views.
Upon finding out the story about the thief was fake, many slammed Mr Day’s post.
“This is not good marketing,” one person wrote. “It’s quite disturbing and disgusting to be honest.”
However, many of his followers praised his marketing move, saying it was “executed perfectly”.
Mr Day said he was aware the ploy was divisive but said it’s about getting maximum exposure for clients.
“We’ve had over half a million people look at it. That’s what we need for our clients, especially in this economy,” he told 7News.
“When we get a house for sale, we need to market it to its full potential.”
Mr Day is not the first person to use the tactic as it’s part of a new marketing trend sweeping social media.
Real estate agents and small business owners have been posting similar ads, pretending people have stolen from their premises.
Stephanie Tonkin from the Consumer Action Law Centre told 7News while the conduct may not be illegal, it could attract regulatory attention.
“It really leaves us in a position of what do you trust anymore on the internet? And it feels very scam adjacent,” she said.
However, Mr Day remained unapologetic.
“We’ve got a lot of hate on this one. It’s creating a story and, you know, the end of that story is saying, you know, we’re just taking the piss, really,” he said.
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