Stroock & Stroock & Lavan

In 2021 amidst the pandemic, the real estate practice at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan sought to create an immersive, experiential digital space to mitigate the void created by the absence of in-person networking. The goal was to bring people together during a time of isolation, especially those in the real estate industry whose lives and livelihoods had historically been so deeply entwined with the physical spaces of the city. 

The concept evolved into a unique metaverse-type experience, pushing the boundaries of conventional client relations and legal marketing with a one-of-a-kind digital adventure.

But how to create that desired experience? Several creative agencies struggled with the project before the firm found LISI, which brought the concept to life. Still the creative process was hardly straightforward. The initial idea was something along the lines of an interactive map with a “pick-your-own-ending” approach to the journey. After many exploratory meetings, the teams settled on an immersive New York City street scene that transported visitors via first-hand perspective through a pedestrian walking experience in a fictitious section of the city. 

Collaborating with Stroock’s marketing group, real estate practice leaders, an animator, next-generation web developer, a legal marketing vet, and a multi-industry experienced creative director, the team came up with the idea of using parallax scrolling – moving at different speeds – to create a 3D effect while incorporating various streetscape aspects of design peculiar to NYC.

The first iteration of Real Estate Fast Forward explored the streets of New York and launched in September 2021. Over the next three months, Real Estate Fast Forward reached over 200,000 impressions. Industry publications LexBlog and Law.com’s Legal Tech News and other legal sector outlets covered its innovative concept, design, and execution and cited it as a differentiator in a crowded market. 

A second iteration of Real Estate Fast Forward set in a Los Angeles museum launched in January 2022. In this award-winning version, users are delivered to an all-access, private museum tour in a fictitious art museum. This installment offers a truly 3D experience by leveraging an interactive map that propels visitors through four galleries, a lobby, and a gift shop, each of which offers clickable elements. By moving throughout, and interacting with the site, visitors can explore podcasts, social media posts, videos, and other content from the Stroock Real Estate Group. 

These cutting-edge creations are truly an innovation in both digital design and legal marketing. While they are whimsical and entertaining, visually engaging and substantively interactive, these augmented reality experiences are also harbingers of the future in how lawyers will interact with their communities in what is a forever-changed, post-COVID landscape that incorporates much more hybrid professional engagement.