Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services Launches Industry’s First Research and Development Laboratory; Introduces New Tools for Affiliate Network

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) company, one of the largest networks of real estate brokers in the U.S., announced at its annual convention today the launch of the real estate industry’s first research and development laboratory exclusively focused on building a new generation of tools for real estate professionals.

The Prudential Real Estate Collaborative Innovation Partnership (PRECIP) will bring together the real-world knowledge and expertise of Prudential Real Estate Network brokers, owners and sales professionals with leaders in immersive world technologies, web 2.0 applications, mobile computing and communications to achieve its goals.

As part of the announcement, the company also introduced several online tools and resources to further extend the reach and influence of Network companies and their sales professionals.

"We have taken significant steps to strengthen our support for 1,700 Prudential Real Estate Network offices across the country and their 60,000 sales professionals, including enhancing our technology platform for high-definition video, photo and mobile applications,” said James Mallozzi, chairman and chief executive officer for Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS). "Underscoring our commitment to helping differentiate our offerings, we are pleased to launch the Prudential Real Estate Collaborative Innovation Partnership to leverage new technologies and enhance the real estate buyers’ experience.”

As an initial step, PRERS has signed a letter of intent with Immersive Design Studio, a Montreal-based virtual world developer, which will work with the company to further define PRECIP's research agenda and on the development of next-generation virtual home tours that are as satisfying and emotionally compelling as the real thing. The founders of Immersive Design Studio (IDS), Belgium artist Thomas Soetens and architect Kora Van den Bulcke, have been on the forefront of extending video-game technology beyond its traditional use as a game platform.

"The formation of PRECIP is a perfect example of us looking to leverage the power of the partnership we have with our affiliates,” said Mallozzi. "By establishing a collaborative framework that brings together their experience with leading technology innovators we expect to deliver applications and tools that will benefit and create competitive advantage for all members of our affiliate Network.”

Tools and resources announced today to the Prudential Real Estate Network include:

• Prudential Real Estate Media Center – a centralized, online repository for presentations, videos, photos, graphics and more enabling sales professionals to customize or create listing presentations in minutes by clicking, dragging and dropping components. Sales professionals can then send those presentations to any combination of clients via the Prudential Real Estate Network’s robust eCard platform.
• Rent-to-Own Calculator – a handy website tool enabling consumers to see how much home their rent payments would buy. Consumers simply key in their rent payments and zip codes for the areas in which they are interested. The calculator displays Prudential listings in those areas whose estimated mortgage payments match their payments.
• Upgrades to the company’s proprietary Online Seller Advantage^SM customer-contact platform, including direct interface with more than 200 social media sites – enabling Network professionals to instantly share and display listings with customers, friends, family and followers – and the ability to upload and manage video files for display on listings pages.
• The company’s brand-new mobile solution provides Prudential Real Estate listings to consumers on the go via PruRE.com, a website customized for today’s smartphones such as iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.

"We will continue leveraging technology and innovation to help our affiliate companies and sales professionals maximize their service and stature in the marketplace,” said Earl Lee, president of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services.

PRERS has appointed Steve Van Anden, a long-time advisor and consultant to the firm, as PRECIP’s interim director. Van Anden is a 13-year veteran of IBM who, before starting his own firm, served as Chief Marketing Officer for electronic trading platform, BondBook. Previously, he was director of Strategic Market Development at Merrill Lynch. Van Anden will be responsible for defining and implementing PRECIP’s research and development agenda, including oversight of component research initiatives and the recruitment of additional participating technology partners.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate’s Online Seller Advantage^SM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke; and Online Buyer Advantage^SM, which enables consumers to easily search for property in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with nearly 1,700 franchise offices and approximately 60,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of Dec. 31, 2009.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $667 billion of assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2009, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In the U.S., the company’s Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

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