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Thursday Buzz: ‘Modern Family’ Gets an Association Friend

Phil Dunphy of Modern Family becomes one association's ideal pitchman. Plus: Google makes it easier for event attendees to talk with speakers.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Phil Dunphy have created the real estate dream team.

Ty Burrell’s character on the hit ABC show is a passionate Realtor, as evidenced in last night’s episode in which Dunphy explains the difference between a Realtor and a real estate agent in a dramatic and humorous scene. (A Realtor has to be a member of NAR.)

The association has partnered with Modern Family to showcase the value of Realtors.

Modern Family has done brand and product placement before, but Jessica Popper, ABC’s director of integrated marketing for primetime, says this is the first time the show has done integration work with a trade association.

“We have done only a handful of integrations because they tend to be intrusive and frankly make the show look like it’s selling out,” Christopher Lloyd, the co-executive producer of the show, explained to Adweek. “This was actually one of the easier ones we’ve done, since it lent itself to a joke. Phil is bemoaning his career choice as a Realtor, and it’s his Realtor skills that ultimately save the day.”

“Phil’s-osophy” is another part of the deal between Modern Family and NAR, in which Dunphy will do quick segments on real estate. Even though the deal involves an “integration” fee, it’s a good match.

“The thinking was, here’s this character Phil Dunphy, he represents the profession very well. He’s involved in his community, he’s a good supporter, a good family member and husband, and most importantly he helps his clients succeed in real estate,” NAR Senior Vice President of Communications Stephanie Singer said to The Wall Street Journal.

Hey Speaker!

Always trying to catch the speaker of a great session? Or do you you lack the confidence to ask publicly? Google has your back with Google Slides.

A new Q&A feature added to the tool will streamline audience participation by letting audience members submit questions via the platform. Users can also vote for questions they want answered. Google Slides works for both in-person and web presentations. Read about it at PCWorld.

Other Links of Note

Meetings should be inclusive. And that can be tough. Harvard Business Review’s Renee Cullinan shares ways to make meetings fair for three groups of people: introverts, women, and remote workers.

Windows users, did you get Windows 10 Home yet? If you want to try it or download it for free, you better get on that. It’ll be $119 starting this July 29th.

Innovation is great, but it can be risky. Andrew Pope writes about risk for those who want to innovate on CMSWire.

(ABC)

Patrick deHahn

By Patrick deHahn

Patrick deHahn is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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