BOOSTING OKC’S A-PEEL
A pair of flamboyant Realtors are getting local housing market on TV once again
Denise Schroder has really gone bananas this time — with baseball’s Savannah Bananas — in her ongoing quest to promote Oklahoma City and its housing market on national TV.
First, she and her husband, Troy, leveraged their work as Keller Williams real estate agents and appeared on HGTV’s “House Hunters” four times between 2014 and 2022, with a detour to the Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America” in 2019.
Along the way, Denise wrote a book, “Out of the Box: My Response to Everyone Who Said I Could Never Sell Real Estate,” available from Amazon.
Now, they’re headed to “The American Dream TV” show, which highlights lifestyle, culture and real estate in different cities. The 30-minute episode, “The American Dream: Selling Oklahoma City,” will be on at 10:30 a.m. Sunday on KOCB CW34, a CBS-affiliate, OKC Cox Channel 711.
The show is nationally syndicated on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, the Travel Channel and other cable networks. After Sunday, the Oklahoma City episode will stream on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Roku and social media.
The Savannah Bananas are a wonderfully oddball independent professional exhibition baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia, with millions of TikTok and Instagram followers. They aim to change the game. Their motto: “We make Baseball fun. Fans First. Entertain Always.”
How did the Savannah Bananas connect with this OKC Realtor?
The Savannah Bananas play Banana Ball — the fastest and most entertaining game of baseball, their website purports. Players perform choreographed dances every game — Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Toby Keith — and sometimes include costumes.
Denise Schroder read one of team coowner Jesse Cole’s books awhile back: “Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience.” She contacted Cole through LinkedIn, and wound up on the Savannah Bananas podcast.
Then, when she and Troy found out the Savannah Bananas’ Banana Ball World Tour was coming to OKC, she featured them on the Schroeders’ segment of “The American Dream TV.”
“We were able to spend time with the team, go behind the scenes, watch rehearsal, learn choreography, and I was able to give Jesse Cole a copy of my own book I was motivated to write after reading his,” Denise said. “It was nothing short of magical. We got to see first-hand his ‘Fans First’ approach and how wildly the fans respond.”
She went on, explaining the connection she felt with Cole and his approach to baseball and life.
“Jesse has not only changed the game of baseball, he creates a pure escape of sheer continuous celebrations and gleeful joy and laughter in packed-out stadiums all around the country,” she said.
“And with all the stress in this world, boy oh boy, do we need it!
OKC Realtor found inspiration in Savannah Bananas founder’s book
“The first book of his I read was ‘Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out’. The meaning of the book to me is living and walking in your genuine authenticity and not being afraid to do the opposite of normal.
“When he signed my book, I thought he only signed the cover. I flipped through the front pages to see that he wrote a personal message, ‘I’m so glad you FOUND your yellow tux! Keep dreaming, keep experiencing, keep having fun and always go Bananas! — Jesse Cole.’ “
What fun stuff! But it’s all meant to boost OKC and its homes market on national television programming. “The American Dream TV” and its production team have been nominated for an Emmy Award, and it has become “recognized as a real show sharing the real stories of our neighborhoods,” Denise said.
Experts like the Schroders are critical. Led by executive producer Craig Sewing, an Inman News nominee for “Most Influential in Real Estate,” each episode “highlights a cast of elite Realtors in each market chosen for their expertise in real estate, reputation, and recognition from their peers and consumers,” the show said in a news release.
It’s not as bananas as it sounds. “The American Dream TV” picked a pair of winners in Denise and Troy Schroder, who are well known for standing out. Oklahoma City wins again, too, with more positive national attention and coverage. As Denise said, “Boy oh boy, do we need it.”
Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999. Contact him at rmize@ oklahoman.com. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Real Estate with Richard Mize.
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