The Council of Residential Specialists has been rebranded as the Residential Real Estate Council in an effort to distinguish itself from the Certified Residential Specialist designation—both of which were previously referred to as CRS. While the name of the organization has changed, the name of the designation will remain the same.
“There was a lot of confusion with the CRS acronym, since it was the same for the organization and designation,” explains Anthony Priore, chief marketing officer for the newly named Residential Real Estate Council (RRC). “We’ve grown significantly over the years, and we felt it was finally time to address that confusion and adjust our name. We’re changing the name of the organization by separating it out from the designation. That then leaves the door open for other opportunities for us, such as adding other designations in the future.”
The name change also makes it clear that RRC is a real estate organization, whereas the original name—Council of Residential Specialists—was more vague, Priore says. RRC, which announced the name change just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, has been communicating about the move with its more than 33,000 members. In addition to the CRS designation, RRC provides education, networking events, practitioner tools, and mentoring programs.
The logo for the CRS designation will also be overhauled to reflect a more contemporary look, says RRC CEO Lana Vukovljak. Designees will be notified about the changes and availability of its new logo over the coming weeks. They will gradually be able to apply the new branding to their business cards and other marketing materials, Priore says. The electronic version of the new logo will be available immediately to those who want to use it on their websites. RRC is also planning to roll out a new website.
The organization has undergone several changes this year, including the addition of an “education maintenance requirement.” CRS designees are now required to take an additional two hours of continuing education each calendar year on top of classroom requirements already in place to maintain their designation status.
—Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
