About Tim Russ Estate Agents
Established over 30 years ago, Tim Russ is a well-known name across Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, with a strong reputation in the region. In June 2024, the business was acquired by Vince Courtney and Ben Steer, who set out to revitalise and modernise the brand while preserving its trusted legacy.
The agency operates across five branches and has ambitious plans for aggressive growth, modernisation, and brand repositioning with the aim of shaking up the local market and re-establishing its presence as a dominant force in the area.
The Challenge
When Ben and Vince took over, they inherited a traditional, heavily paper-based business with very little tech infrastructure. Although Spectre had been part of the setup since 2019, the platform had been underutilised with no credits in use and no active campaigns. For Ben, this was like “having a Lamborghini with no petrol in it.”.
Determined to inject new energy into the agency, the leadership team embarked on a comprehensive rebrand. That meant new boards, a new website, a ramped-up social media presence, and a bold new marketing strategy to match. What they needed was a scalable, intuitive marketing solution that could seamlessly align with their existing Street.co.uk CRM.
The Solution
Spectre became the cornerstone of Tim Russ’ revitalised marketing strategy. Not just as a tool for direct mailers, but as the engine powering their multi-channel brand rollout. In January 2025, the team launched their first major Spectre campaign under the new ownership, targeting 24,000 homes and investing into high-impact, brand-aligned marketing materials.
“People remember great mailers. We wanted ours to be super slick to match our modern rebrand. And Spectre delivered.”
Using Spectre AI’s driven targeting, the team were able to maximise efficiency and visibility. The new campaigns were bold, sleek, and unmistakably modern - matching the rebrand and leaving no room for outdated perceptions of the company. The AI capabilities in Spectre proved pivotal, refining an initial pool of 45,000+ dwellings down to the most likely to convert. As Ben described, “I don’t know what data that uses in the background… but it clearly worked.”.
For a business focused on performance and ROI, the value was clear. Spectre’s dashboard gave instant insights into campaign effectiveness, while the integration with Street.co.uk allowed for seamless lead flow - from instant valuation requests straight into branch diaries.
Even more importantly, the platform was intuitive enough to roll out across five branches with minimal friction - an essential requirement during a period of intense change and transformation.
“People are very quick to shout about the bad things… But the fact is: we’re spending heavily, and no one’s said a word to me because it’s working so successfully. What a fantastic story that is.”
The Results
The campaign delivered an impressive 1,618% return on investment—equating to 23 sales instructions and over £20 million in sales listing value. Across the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, the agency saw:
- Valuations up by 32%
- Listings up by 27%
- Net sales up by 49%
- Exchanges up by 45%
- Pipeline deals up by 62%
For Ben and the team, Spectre didn’t just support the rebrand, it amplified it.
“Spectre has been a major, major factor for that growth—especially in a flat market. We've had to work hard, and this helped drive that success.”
Today, Spectre is embedded across the business, with hundreds of credits consumed monthly across the branches and an appetite to expand into additional features like email marketing. The platform has not only helped re-establish Tim Russ in its existing markets but has also rattled the competition.
“I know for a fact we’ve annoyed a few local agents with our marketing - we’ve ruffled feathers. That tells me we’re doing something right.”
Want to discover how Spectre’s powerful all-in-one marketing suite can maximise your ROI? Speak to our team today.
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