Stacey E. Gray, Communications Supervisor for the Calgary Real Estate Board, explained in a phone inteview what is being done to promote their members. “A Task Force was established in 2004 by the Calgary Real Estate Board of Directors to research ways to enhance and promote the value of using a REALTOR® and the services they can provide.
Two over-riding ambitions or goals governed the actions of the Task Force. The first ambition was to highlight and promote to the public the fact that REALTORS® are licensed professionals who have the education and training to assist in all aspects of real estate transactions. The second ambition was to respond to the challenges facing the organized real estate industry today with the increasing reach and influence of the Internet.”
Gray continues, “We are now in year five, and the Task Force has been turned into a permanent committee with a permanent budget, with its mandate being to help design and craft a yearly advertising campaign that promotes the value of using a REALTOR® to the public, and to help raise the profile of CREB’s member-REALTORS® and their professional services to the public. The mediums we have been using and finding success with include television, radio, print, transit and billboards.”
Promoting Through Volunteerism
The Edmonton Real Estate Board takes two directions in promoting their members. They provide advertising on eight radio stations, local TV and selected magazines. A national ad campaign provides additional TV coverage. They also promote Realtors through volunteering. Jon Hall, Manager of Marketing and Communications for EREB, explained in a phone interview, “In a community where less than 40% of people volunteer, we find that over 70% of our members volunteer as sports coaches, board members and community leaders. So giving back to the community and supporting volunteers are important to our members.”
Hall recounts the feedback EREB has received on their campaign, “Many of our ads featured chats between our president and the radio announcer. We received many positive comments about the yearlong series from business contacts and the public. We did not do a formal evaluation last year (we do them every three years) so the response is anecdotal. There is nothing negative (which is always the first thing you hear) and because it is an image campaign we cannot measure results from sales or other direct indicators. Our marketing committee and Board of Directors are very pleased and we get good feedback from our members. Certainly if they thought it was a waste of time, they would not be shy to tell us.”
Using a Slogan for Realtor Promotion
Lynda Kitchen, the Executive Officer with the Niagara Association of REALTORS, shares her Board’s promotion in a phone interview, “We worked very closely with our local newspapers to develop a slogan. We had 30,000 pamphlets printed up which were distributed to our members for their use. We are in the midst of arranging for an additional 50,000 to be printed also. Our members use them at open houses, whenever they get a new client, etc. We also paid for radio ads that were aired for a period of three months. The radio ads were in conjunction with the radio ads that CREA developed and we just had our slogan stated at the end of the ad. We also conducted a three-month ad campaign with the local newspapers.”
Brenda Piech, the current President of the Niagara Association of REALTORS and a Sales Representative with Century 21 Today Realty Ltd. in St. Catharines, Ontario, helped develop the Realtor promotion campaign. She explained the campaign in an email interview, “Overall, our campaign has been a success. The public received a little more info on the real estate agents who work and volunteer in their community through our cards and ads. Members are still requesting the cards to hand out and we're investigating the cost of getting more printed up! Any association willing to undertake the extra time and money to run an ad campaign like the one we've done will take a lot back to their members through exposure and good will. Our committee worked very hard last year and their efforts were truly a success!”
Hire a Promotion Expert to Improve the Image of Realtors
The Vancouver Island Real Estate Board took a different route with their Realtor promotion. They hired a Communications and Government Relations person as an investment in promoting REALTORS®. Since hiring Drew Harris in January 2006, VIREB has received a substantial increase in media presence and awareness.
Drew Harris explained in a phone interview, “This was a new position for VIREB. I have an extensive media background as a TV, radio and print reporter. As such, I saw one of my priorities being to promote and enhance the REALTOR® image by increasing the regularity of communicating with the regional media.”
One of Harris’s greatest challenges has been the geographic size of the VIREB area (all of Vancouver Island except Victoria). “Sometimes it takes a fair bit of coordinating, when network TV cameras are up island and our President was down island. However we did get a system worked out and we have received a ton of favourable reporting.” Harris gets the Board President and the rest of the Directors in front of the media whenever possible.
Downsides to a Realtor Promotion Campaign?
Are there any downsides to a Realtor promotion campaign at the local level? Gray (CREB) points out that in the five years they have been running their Realtor promotion campaign, the feedback they have received from their members and the general public has been positive. Likewise, the Niagara Association of REALTORS has received great feedback from their pamphlet campaign. According to Kitchen, “Our members think the brochures are excellent and are always asking for more. They have also mentioned that when the pamphlet is given out, those that receive it are impressed by the quality of the brochure.”
Jon Hall sums it up, “The process of deciding to use a Realtor and making a selection is complicated and dependent on many factors of which the advertising is but one. As an image campaign we cannot measure direct response. Surveys tell us that 78% of people have a positive image of a Realtor and the vast majority would use a Realtor for their next purchase. The number of sales increased 19% last year over the year previous. As a result of our campaign? Perhaps.”
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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