MAC's infamous 'Chris Lee' appears to resurface on another MAC Marketing project

You all recall the infamous MAC-gate story, don't you?

That's the scandal where condo marketers MAC Marketing Solutions was forced to admit that two of it's employees had posed as prospective homebuyers in televised news segments on a supposed spike in sales around the Lunar New Year.

MAC Marketing Solutions president Cameron McNeill confirmed to media outlets that the two young women – presented as house-hunting sisters, whose parents would be in town from China for the New Year to help them purchase a condo – are in fact an administrative assistant and a sales assistant with MAC Marketing Solutions.

That sales assistant in question gained a certain amount of notoriety with her performance under the fake name, 'Chris Lee':

So how damaging do you think it would be to have a sales associate - who would go on television and deceive potential buyers - continue to sell condos for you? As a prospective buyer, would you trust her or her company?

We ask this in light of the fact a sharp eyed contributor to VCI has noted that 'Chris Lee' has apparently resurfaced on another MAC project: the MThree development in Coquitlam.

(hat tip BWilson - comment #116)

Profiled on MAC's facebook page, the development is showcased with several pictures:

One of those pictures (bottom right) presents the MAC marketing sales team and the caption says that this is "the MThree sales team ready to help you! Feel free to get in touch with your questions: phone 604.472.9555 or email info@liveatMThree.com" 

But look at who's front and centre in the photo.  Is that not the infamous 'Chris Lee', the MAC sales associate who so brazenly lied to us on the evening TV news in the MAC-gate affair? (click on image to enlarge). Someone on Facebook has apparently already posed that question to the MAC Marketing Facebook staff:

If that's the same individual, this presumably means Cameron McNeill's investigation into the MAC-gate affair is complete.  At the time he said:

When asked if the ploy may lead to terminations at the company, Mr. McNeill said it would depend on the depth of responsibility. “If it was blatant and on the hands of one person, then I think there might be some severe repercussions, but it’s hard for me to answer that without knowing all the details surrounding it.”

So what were the results of that investigation?

Based on what you saw on TV two months ago, would you have faith in buying a condo from this team if 'Chris Lee' is back to work without any accounting or explanation for what she did?

We're sure potential customers at MThree would want to have any concerns assuaged before engaging in any business deals with a sales associate who appears to be the one who so willing lied to the public last February.

How can potential customers not ponder, "if she lied to me on TV to sell condos, how do I know she won't lie to me now to close a sale?"

And what of the investigation by the Real Estate Council of BC? What assurances do we have they have looked into her role fully and have absolved her of responsibility for her actions? How is it she could so blatantly lie and misrepresent herself on TV and there not be any sanctions?

And our local media... do they not have an obligation to inform the public about what was really behind her performance on that evening newscast two month ago, especially if she is back selling condos again?

'Chris Lee's' apparent re-emergence to sell condos demands these questions be answered in the public interest.

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Wed Post #2: Covering your tracks?

Is there a mad scramble on right now to remove some of the evidence about MAC Marketing Solution's Administrative Assistant Amanda Lee?

Yesterday we showed you Amanda's Facebook page which shows that there is an Amanda Lee who works at MAC Marketing Solutions. She bears a striking resemblance to the Amanda Lee who was profiled in numerous TV news pieces on the weekend. In those stories we were told she was  a young Asian buyer of real estate at a development promoted by MAC Marketing Solutions.

No mention was made in the newscasts that she actually worked for the company.

As several faithful readers have pointed out, it seems that her Facebook profile has undergone a 'cleansing'.  

Gone is the reference to her current employer MAC Marketing Solutions (replaced by her former workplace). She has also removed her profile picture as well as public access to her photo albums.

Amanda's LinkedIn profile still shows up, a profile linking her to both MAC Marketing Solutions and to the very Maddox condo development where she was portrayed as an overseas buyer...

It will be interesting to see how long before that is changed as well.

Does it serve as confirmation that the Facebook Amanda Lee (employee of MAC Marketing Solutions) is the same Amanda Lee presented to the media as an eager Asian customer for their condo development?

On another interesting note, the google search link to this LinkedIn profile doesn't lead to a profile anymore:

I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

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Tues Post #1: Media Manipulation? You decide.

Took a break for the long weekend, but let's pick up where we left off.

On Thursday we talked about all the hype in the real estate world with the upcoming Chinese New Year.

We told you about an article in the Vancouver Sun:  Realtors prep for Lunar New Year upswing in sales - In previous years, industry gets a bump during holiday time in China.

 “It’s hard to say what’s going to happen this year, but I expect we will see a bump in sales activity during the month of February,” said Cameron McNeil, president of project-marketing firm MAC Marketing Solutions.

Take note of that company, MAC Marketing Solutions. We'll be coming back to that shortly.

For now, back to the Sun article

McNeil said Asian buyers have been more active in the Metro Vancouver market in recent weeks than they were through the middle of 2012.

Asian buyer have been more active in the Metro Vancouver market in recent weeks?

We laughed at that on Thursday.  Smacks of media created hype to us, another lame attempt to generate phantom demand as a lever to encourage buyers to "buy now before the Asian surge prices you out of the market".

McNeil said his salespeople are seeing an increase in activity, including from Chinese buyers.

“To me, (Chinese buyers) are a leading indicator,” McNeil said. “What I mean is, when Chinese buyers are active, it is a little bit of a bellwether (for the overall market), and the Chinese are active.”

Buyers are taking their time, McNeil said, but for developments in good locations with “fair values, prices aren’t coming off and are selling very well.”

He added that locations with established neighbourhoods, good schools and proximity to rapid transit are popular

As frequent poster, Bo Xilai, noted:

Yeah, I can see wealthy Mainland Chinese buyers consider proximity to rapid transit as being SUPER important to their buying decision.

Why take the Bentley when you can ride the Canada Line?

Maybe Mr. MacNeil is trying to get his real audience – brokeass first time home buyers – off the fence.

That is exactly what we think the entire 'media campaign is all about, manipulating local first time home  buyers off their collective butts to get into the market.

All weekend long, articles appeared promoting this thread.

Perhaps the best was this one over on CTV. The title of the news piece: "Year of the Snake nets condo sales: developers"


CTV takes us to the Maddox condo development in downtown Vancouver. Maddox is being marketed by MAC Marketing Solutions... yes, the same MAC Marketing Solutions from the Vancouver Sun article on Thursday.

In the Maddox display suite, CTV introduces us to two potential Asian buyers.

Chris Lee, who moved to Vancouver from China two years ago, said she and her sister are looking to buy a hip downtown condo, and now that their parents are in town for two weeks celebrating Chinese New Year, they have financial help. 

“If we like this place we have to tell them and they make the decision,” Lee said. “Usually Chinese people like to buy during this time.” 

Condo developers embraced the influx of offshore buyers, with some companies bringing in additional Chinese-speaking staff to help sell units.

Chris does all the talking, but the two sisters are identified in the story. They Amanda Lee and Chris Lee.

So let's summarize here for a moment.  

The market is in a deep slump, but we get a big media blitz for Chinese New Year telling everyone the market is suddenly "alive in recent weeks with Asian buyers." Asian buyers who are looking for the same sort things in real estate that local buyers are looking for.

At the heart of the media blitz is MAC Marketing Systems. They conveniently back up their media campaign with two classic children of wealthy Asian parents, parents who are coming to town to buy them a condo for CNY.

See?  The market is alive and well... the overseas Asians are buying again, are you going to be left out?

Hmmm.

Not so fast though. These 'overseas wealthy Asians' might not be as 'overseas' as we have been lead to believe.

I know when I first saw this clip, the spidey senses were a-tingling. Didn't we see something like this last year when one of Cam Good's salespersons posed as a groupon condo buyer for Global TV? 

Other skeptics were having their doubts too. Over on VCI, Saint Patrick dug up an interesting profile on linkedin (click on image to enlarge):

Yep... you read that right.  

Coincidence of coincidences, MAC Marketing Solutions has an Administrative Assistant named Amanda Lee who not only works for MAC Marketing Solutions - but her current background says she's attached to the Maddox Downtown condo development. 

You don't say?  No ethic issues here, move along... I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

The weekend was topped off by an interesting email in my in-basket which I have only gotten around to reading early this morning.  It is from Matthew Black, a reporter from CBC-TV:

Hello, 

My name is Matthew Black and I'm a reporter with CBC Vancouver TV. 

I 'm looking to a 'myth busting' style piece on the supposed spike in real estate sales during Chinese New Year. I was quite interested by your blog posts on this subject. 

Would you be available to chat sometime today? I can be reached at 604.XXX.XXX or on my cell at 778.XXX.XXX 

-Matthew Black CBC News Vancouver

Appreciate the email, Matthew.  But the reality is that an anonymous blogger may not be the best interview for a TV reporter (kinda defeats the whole 'anonymous' thing).

But if you're up for it, I'd be willing to bet Amanda Lee would make a great focus for a 'myth busting style news piece.'

If the CTV Amanda and the MAC Marketing Solutions Amanda are both one and the same, why is the media standing by while the public is blatantly manipulated by the real estate industry in this fashion?

See if you can get her parents too. I understand they're in town this week.

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