Rapid urbanisation is reshaping the skylines and communities of Southeast Asia. At PropertyGuru we’re on a journey to redefine our role in the PropTech landscape.  Tasked with making sense of this shift is Remona Duquesne, Group Director of Brand & Creative, who, in partnership with the leadership team and a talented group of colleagues, is rebuilding our brand from the vision out.

The evolution of PropertyGuru’s brand is a dynamic process, with Remona and her team working to align the company’s culture, external communications, and business strategies to tackle the urban development and home ownership challenges in one of the world’s most dynamic regions.

The Essence of Brand-building

“Brand is so much more than just advertising and communications,” Remona explains. “Whatever we say needs to be perfectly aligned with what we do. When you have a strong brand, it inspires the things that we build inside and out. It inspires the way that we behave as employees, as Gurus.”

Beyond Listings: PropertyGuru’s Broader Mission

“So many people see us as just a listing site. That is completely untrue,” Remona notes. “We do so much more. We enable access to financing. We have inclusive financing opportunities. We are addressing housing affordability.”

PropertyGuru’s vision encapsulates this broader agenda: “We power communities to live, work and thrive in tomorrow’s cities.” It’s an ambitious goal, but one that Remona believes is critical in the face of rapid urbanisation and increasing inequality across Southeast Asia.

The Dream of Home Ownership in Southeast Asia

“In Asia, property, owning a home, finding a home is the physical manifestation of a person’s dreams and ambitions,” she explains. “Home is where memories are made. It is where futures are built. But sadly, this is not the reality for so many people. So many people are being left behind, they can’t afford a home, they can’t find the right financing for a home.”

Aligning an Organisation Behind a Vision

“Operationalising this has been a real challenge,” Remona admits. “We need to walk the talk, and it starts with defining, and cascading consistently an understood narrative—what our vision means— making sure people really get it and see their role in it.”

From Employees to Gurus

“Employees are the ultimate brand champions,” Remona emphasizes. “If they don’t understand what your brand is about, what your vision is about, how are they going to be able to execute it? How are they going to be able to tell that story to somebody else on the outside?”

One key initiative has been the creation of an in-house creative team, a move that Remona describes as a “game-changer.” This allows the company to tell its story with the heart and soul shining through,” ensuring that every piece of content truly reflects our values and mission.

Addressing Real Challenges in Urban Development

But this transformation is about more than internal alignment. It’s about positioning PropertyGuru to address real challenges in Southeast Asia’s property landscape. “There’s a lot happening in the region,” Remona notes. “Rapid urbanisation, rising middle class, digitalisation, climate change, and all of this stuff is impacting cities and the people in them. And some can’t afford a home anymore.”

Bridging Macro Trends and Individual Aspirations

For Remona and her team, it’s the job of the brand to bridge the gap between these macro trends and individual aspirations. “This is where the vision and our purpose is so powerful, now we really have the capabilities—products, services, intelligence, data—all of these things to make it possible for people to realise those dreams,” Remona explains.

The Power of Authentic Storytelling

As our brand journey from property listings to a comprehensive tech platform with a social mission continues, the challenge will be maintaining this sense of purpose while delivering tangible results. For Remona and her team, this means going beyond mere storytelling to create narratives that are deeply rooted in the company’s actions and impact.

“Great storytellers are creative people who can cut through the clutter of social media so that the other person that they’re trying to connect with gets it,” Remona explains. This focus on authentic, impactful storytelling is at the heart of PropertyGuru’s brand strategy.

That commitment to authenticity is what Remona believes will set PropertyGuru apart in a rapidly evolving market. “Being part of realising that really inspires me,” she says. “We have the opportunity to build something extraordinary as a brand because of what we’re doing as a business, and vice versa – the brand we build helps to inspire, guide and orient the business.”

Narrative as Blueprint for the Future

In a region where rapid urbanisation creates both opportunities and challenges, we believe that our approach ensures that we can be more than just facilitators of transactions. We can actively shape the future of urban communities. The brand stories we tell are both a promise to the public and a guide for internal action.

The true test will be our execution—turning inspiring brand narratives into real-world impact for Southeast Asia’s aspiring homeowners and urban dwellers.

As Remona puts it, “what we say and what we do need to be perfectly aligned.” In doing so, we hope to redefine what it means to be a purpose-driven brand in the PropTech space.