March 19, 2024

Doyle & DeVoe have fun and get creative

Business often have to find new and creative ways to promote their work. That is exactly what Doyle & DeVoe Iowa Realty has been doing for more than 10 years.

Starting in 2005, the team began focusing on billboard advertising. To catch the eye of potential customers, the business did more than put up a smiling picture with some words.

“We have done Wizard of Oz, Santa Claus, Duck Dynasty, Adams Family, Snow White, Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island, Star Wars,” agent Toni Peska said. “We have also done some more local themes, from sledding in the park, to an NHS Football theme, complete with players, cheerleaders and band members.”

Peska said she isn’t sure who came up with the initial idea for the themed advertising but that it has since turned into a group endeavor.

“The agents make suggestions when they have an idea, some come from staff and even our family members,” Peska said. “One billboard featured the Iowa Speedway. Another was to point out the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.”

Once a theme is selected, work begins to make it happen. The team has to find a location that fits the theme and gather props to make the picture come alive.

“We have borrowed props from our local Newton Community Theatre, which we very much appreciate,” Peska said. “Other times we find things we have at home, but on occasion we have to rent costumes from the Theatrical Shop in Valley Junction. That was the case with the Star Wars theme. Not many of us have Chewbacca, Darth Vader or Imperial Soldier costumes in our closets.”

Peska said the goal of the themed billboards and advertising is to entertain as well as show off the team and company. Doyle & DeVoe has several billboards in the Newton and Grinnell area with the newest going up on Highway 6 near Grinnell.

“People comment about the billboards and ask what the next one is going to feature. That makes us all happy — the notion that people enjoy the various theme(s),” Peska said.

As far as a favorite theme, Peska said if you ask five different people, you would probably get five different answers. Her favorite though, was the elaborate Star Wars theme.

Doyle & DeVoe, located at 736 N. Third Ave. E., is a real estate agency which works to go above and beyond service for both buyers and sellers with in-house closing agents allowing them to handle all aspects of the real estate process.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at
641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or
jpierson@newtondailynews.com