Confused.com launches Facebook app that 'burgles' houses

Confused.com has launched a Facebook video app called 'House of Horrors' in order to raise awareness of the importance of home insurance, coinciding with the launch of Confused.com's Nectar campaign, where customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points with every home, pet, van, bike and car insurance policy bought through Confused.com. Customers who buy life insurance will receive 3,000 Nectar points.

The app clearly shows why people need home insurance and customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points by simply buying this product through Confused.com.

The app, which was created by A Social Media Agency, forms part of the on-going digital content marketing strategy of Confused.com and reinforces the importance of having a home insurance policy in place to make sure your possessions are covered against theft.

Once plugged into the video app, Facebook users are presented with a video of a burglar breaking into a home which they quickly realise is in fact their house shown through a Google Maps image of their street that is displayed in the clip. This is made possible as users are required to enter their postcode at the beginning.

The video app takes information from users' profiles, such as photos, and places this around the house in which the burglar appears to be, to make them feel as though it is their own.

In order to demonstrate the need for home insurance, the app includes eerie music and a threatening 'burglar' character that is seen to be handling photos of the app user around the house. A shot of the thief stealing a laptop that displays the users' Facebook profile and one last shot of the character holding a photo frame containing an image of the user completes the video, with the message ‘cover your possessions at Confused.com’.

Speaking about the video app, Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: "We're looking to spark conversation with this video app and make people understand the importance of having home insurance. With the current challenging financial times, people may stop insuring their possessions just to save a few pounds, but this is false economy."

Sharon Flaherty, Head of Content at Confused.com continued: "The integration of information from users’ profiles, especially their photos, is bound to make people feel uneasy as though their home really has been broken into. However, this is a situation which is very much a reality given that the British Crime Survey reported a 5% rise in burglary in the 12 months to September 2011."

Laura Edwards, Account Manager at A Social Media Agency, added: "We wanted to make the experience of users having their home broken into as real as possible. Building Google Maps into the start to show their street was a big part of this, immediately putting you on edge."

Known for their success at combining PR, social media and digital marketing, Confused.com continue to launch original ideas, such as their first video-only newsletter sent earlier this month and the recent Happy Birthday Video App. Social media has become a focus for the company in 2012, with exciting plans to focus on growing their audience in coming months.

The 'House of Horrors' app can be found at https://www.facebook.com/confused

Property Hunting Goes Social With Launch of First Facebook Property App

No one ‘likes’ Estate Agents!

Property Hunting Goes Social With Launch of First Facebook Property App

• Launch of world’s first ever Facebook app for selling / buying / renting property
• Sell your property with Property Place via Facebook for one off cost of £75 and save over £4000 in agent fees*
• Find and chat to potential roommates on Facebook – for just £35

This week sees the launch of Property Place, the world’s first ever property app on Facebook. Previously in beta, the full version of Property Place officially launched on Friday, complete with over 400,000 properties.

Property Place lets you sell or rent out your property, or find someone to fill your spare room, using the social networking power of Facebook. Cutting out expensive estate and letting agents, Property Place is the cost-effective way to take control of what can be one of the most stressful events in your life.

With almost half the population of the UK now on Facebook (29.9 million), you can reach a huge audience, in minutes. And best of all, it will only cost you £75 to sell, and £35 to let, your home with the added benefit of being able to share the listing with your social network and beyond.

Being on Facebook, the app allows you to arrange viewings through Facebook’s private messaging or check out profiles of potential roommates. You can also create property wish lists to share with friends.

If arranging viewings yourself sounds like too much work, Property Place has partnered with Emoov, the online estate agency, who can handle the logistics and ongoing management for a fee of £295. At a fraction of the cost of an agent, you still save thousands of pounds.

Landlord Jack Eddowes, 25 from Leeds, uses Property Place to let out his Sheffield student properties via Facebook, saving himself the cost of a letting agent. He says, “Typically students spend more time on Facebook than any other website so it makes sense to market my properties with Property Place on Facebook. It’s far more convenient for me and prospective tenants to communicate.”

Chrissie Lightfoot, from Leeds, cashed in on her two bedroom flat in Leeds city centre a few months ago when her job took her further afield. She turned to Property Place, making the ideal flexible arrangement on Facebook to make some extra money by renting out her flat whilst she was away on business.

Sohail Rashid, founder of Property Place, says: “We’re all feeling the pinch and looking at ways to save money – Property Place is the perfect tool for people looking to sell or rent their property without the hefty estate agent fees, saving the average user £4,150.

“You can upload details of your property in minutes and manage the whole process in one place. With nearly 30 million of us using Facebook in the UK it’s the future of buying and renting property!”

To try Property Place for yourself, go to http://apps.facebook.com/propertyplace/. Property Place is also available to non-users of Facebook at www.property-place.net.