16 October How is Maryland REALTORS® Sharing the AWESOMENESS that is MarylandHomeownership.com? by Jacky Mueck Consumers 0 0 Comment 153 Dan Patrell Strategic Communications Senior Director for Maryland REALTORS® We’re glad you asked! Maryland REALTORS®, at the direction of its Leadership Team, has launched a massive consumer campaign designed to generate awareness of MarylandHomeownership.com, the educational resources available, and REALTOR® Value and Worth. This article reviews what has happened, what is happening, and what you can expect coming from this campaign. August: Open Letter Newspaper Campaign Maryland REALTORS® started its outreach by placing full-page ads in 29 Maryland newspapers, from Garrett County to the lower Eastern Shore, partnering with every local board and association in the state, for which Maryland REALTORS® is greatly appreciative. Supported by an advocacy grant from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), these ads and the digital advertising supporting them were an effort to “set the record straight” about the settlement, given poor reporting in the media, along with unsubstantiated and unreliable advice found easily in social media and the Internet. These ads also discussed the importance of transparency, the benefits of working with a REALTOR®, and the value that a REALTOR® provides. A portion of the ad that appeared in the Baltimore Sun is pictured above. September-November: Unbox Your Next Home Journey The next part of this campaign is happening…now! Working with an amazing video crew and professional talent, Maryland REALTORS® created a set of video ads. Using the theme of “unboxing,” a trend on social media, we created ads that “unboxed” all the good things consumers can find at MarylandHomeownership.com. From the master video we created 10-, 15-, and 30-second videos that would be delivered in a variety of ways, which we’ll delve into next. In addition to the videos, we’ve created audio commercials for podcasts and radio, and digital ads. Click here to watch the complete video. Delivering the Ads Open Houses. Maryland REALTORS® has the ability to deliver ads to people entering any open house event in Maryland. The people who go into the open house—potential buyers, REALTORS®, anyone else–will be delivered ads, using the geolocation capabilities found in most smart-phones. Ads will be delivered to smartphones, desktop devices, tablets, and streaming television. Look-Alike Audiences. People who whose activities resemble the activities of homebuyers and sellers will be delivered ads, as well, through all devices and streaming television. Google Search. We will deliver ads to real estate agents, home buyers, and home sellers wherever they travel on the Internet. Total Traffic Weather and News (TTWN). MarylandHomeownership.com will sponsor TTWN broadcasts in the Baltimore and Washington, DC, markets. In Baltimore, it’s audio and video. In Washington, DC, audio only (video was “sold out” at the time of our media order). IHeart Media Podcasts. A 30-second audio commercial will be featured in a variety of podcasts in I Heart Media’s podcast portfolio. Amazon. Video and digital ads will be delivered to people whose purchase habits resemble those of people looking to buy or sell a home. Zillow & Realtor.com. Yes, we’re placing ads here, as well, to Maryland audiences. Why? Because Marylanders visit these sites when looking to buy a home. Let’s reach them where they travel. MarylandHomeownership.com. Our consumer site enjoys significant traffic. We will deliver ads to visitors to this site, to wherever they travel on the Internet. November–December: Evaluation Maryland REALTORS® is tracking every element of this campaign. We want to see what works well, what doesn’t work so well. We want to observe and report on the effectiveness of this campaign: how well it moved consumers to our site, how people are using the site. Information gathered will help with creative, as we launch this campaign, again. February–March 2025 We will re-launch this campaign again in February-March 2025, ahead of the Spring buying season. What Can REALTORS® Do We encourage our members to use this site, letting it be an extension of the services you provide your members. As we all recognize, education is paramount in explaining REALTOR® value. This site provides a library of blogs, videos, and other resources that can help your clients become more knowledgeable about buying a home, selling a home, and why a REALTOR® is worth having—essential, even—when it comes to residential real estate. Ads, Consumer, Maryland Homeownership.com, ON24 Share Comments are closed.