Using banner advertising in conjunction with your BDX Listings is proven to increase the number of leads you receive by up to 40%. But not all ads are created equal. These companies have implemented strategies designed to draw in the consumer and encourage action. Choosing just 10 banner ads to highlight wasn’t easy — there are a lot of good examples to choose from. But these companies really caught our eye for their innovative uses. Here is the BDX Top 10 Banner Ad Creative List

At BDX, we are constantly monitoring traffic across our entire network. This month we wanted to share some interesting information with you about the traffic on NewHomeSource and Move New Homes — the top 2 new home websites. Which BDX markets saw the largest gains in traffic this month?

Take a look at our Top 10 list below… some of the cities on the list might surprise you.

Top 10 BDX Markets Gaining Traffic From September to October 2010:

1.       Milwaukee, WI

2.       Pittsburgh, PA

3.       San Francisco, CA

4.       Naples, FL

5.       Colorado Springs, CO

6.       Allentown-Bethlehem, PA

7.       Dallas, TX

8.       New York, NY

9.       Detroit, MI

10.     San Jose, CA

If you have any questions about this list or are interested in finding out more about listing your homes with BDX, please email info@thebdx.com for details.

BDX now gives builders access to 9 of the top 10 general real estate websites

Austin, TX – September 2, 2010 – Builders Digital Experience (BDX), leading provider of digital marketing resources for builders, announced today a recently signed distribution agreement with HotPads.com, a map-based housing search engine and listing service. As a result of this agreement, builders who list their communities with BDX will now have their homes included on HotPads.com at no additional charge and expanded distribution to the site’s two-million monthly visitors[1].

“We are excited to partner with HotPads.com as their preferred provider of new home listings for their dynamic site,” said Tim Costello. “It is our deep relationships with companies like HotPads that allow us to deliver greater online marketing value to our builders and give them the confidence in knowing that when they list their homes with BDX, they have the Internet covered.”

HotPads.com joins the extensive BDX network of leading websites – a network that reaches over 40 million potential new home buyers2 each month. With just a single listing with BDX, builders are not only gaining exposure on NewHomeSource and Move New Homes, the #1 and #2 new home listing sites in the nation, but also hundreds of other leading real estate, new home, general news, newspaper and social network websites.

“HotPads constantly strives to provide our housing shoppers access to high quality housing listing information,” says Douglas Pope, co-founder of HotPads.com.  “Partnering with BDX allows HotPads to bring our housing shoppers together with new home developers giving them more housing options and a better search experience.”

The award-winning HotPads.com is known across the industry for its innovative mapping technologies. The site features over 3.5 million homes for sale and empowers visitors to search for their next home by location.

For more information about listing new home communities across the Internet with BDX, builders can visit www.thebdx.com or email info@thebdx.com.

[1]SOURCE: Hotpads.com

Pardee Homes recently launched a new display campaign that caught my eye. The creative invites viewers to click on the banner to see what owners of Pardee Homes are saying about their homes. I like these banners because it’s a clever integration of traffic acquisition and social media. For years, we’ve been espousing how online media is different than traditional formats. The direct response model of online should pull in customers actively seeking new homes and give them a reason to click.

Social Media is also a different tool. Unlike online or traditional media, social media is a forum for advocacy. Consumers already familiar with a brand will praise, critique and share their experience with friends and family. People have been doing this off-line for years–and capturing ‘Word of Mouth’ has always been a marketer’s Holy Grail. That’s why I like Pardee’s new campaign. The placement and CTA drive traffic, but also allow potential home buyers to view comments from current Pardee Home owners. The home owners who participated in the videos are now advocates and serve as a third-party referrals for the brand. As I watch the videos, I know these are real home shoppers — and while they’re obviously speaking on behalf of Pardee, you can hear the sincerity in their voice. That speaks volumes.

This campaign also opens the door for even more interaction. For example, builders could ask recent homebuyers to respond to new customers interested in that builder’s communities. In my view, a forum moderated by a builder’s current home owners would have a much stronger impact than speaking with an on-site sales rep. As the influence of social media continues to grow, more consumers will rely on these types of referrals as compared to more-typical corporate positioning in other forms of media. I’m excited to see Pardee take the first step and invite existing and new customers to join in the conversation.

For more information about Display Marketing Strategies contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager for the BDX, or contact your local sales rep for Realtor.com pricing and availability in your market.

As part of BDX, builders have access to display ads on Realtor.com, the largest real estate website online today. This represents a great opportunity for homebuilders to reach consumers shopping for homes in their market but who may not be considering a new home.

Realtor.com sells display ads on a 10% Share of Voice (SOV) in highly defined MSAs. Builders can purchase a Leader board, Skyscraper or Companion positioning (Leader board & Skyscraper) for 3, 6 and 12month terms. The banners show on search result pages within the MSA on a 1-10 basis. Considering the average consumer spends more than 9 minutes on Realtor.com, display ads are a great way to increase brand exposure and drive traffic to your website.

When considering Display Ads on Realtor.com home builders can take advantage of a few strategies to increase their value and drive more traffic back to their website.

1. Creative is still the most important factor for success.

Similar to banners on NewHomeSource & MoveNewHomes, the ad should draw consumers in and help them refine their search. Promoting a range of communities, locations and price is the most effective formula for driving clicks.

2. Don’t Box Yourself into one MSA.

Realtor.com subdivides many traditional markets into highly segmented ‘MSAs’. In Austin, TX the market is divided into 3 unique MSA, in larger cities like Chicago you could target up to 8 different MSA’s. This is a great strategy for Realtors, who typically focus their expertise to one area of a city. However, builder’s with multiple communities across a market should evaluate each MSA to determine which area best meets their needs. Pricing and impressions can vary by MSA and it can behoove a builder to advertise in a neighboring more affordable market while directing consumers back to their communities.A banner promoting a range of communities still provides the consumer with choices.

3.Maximize Your Share of Voice

A typical buy is for 10% SOV however, homebuilder’s are NOT limited to one position in a market. On RDC advertisers can buy up 30% SOV for each position. Another strategy to consider is purchasing a leader board and skyscraper banner outside of the companion placement. Both positions would run in random rotation creating an effective 20% SOV in a market and greater exposure to your consumers.

4. Run multiple ads to create a brand story.

Advertisers can run up to 3 different ads per position on Realtor.com. Multiple ads allow for multiple messages. This is a far more effective strategy than trying to convey all of your selling points in one ad. Similar to the BDX advertisers will soon find which ads are driving the best action while appealing to a variety of consumers with different triggers.

5. Buy 2 get 1 FREE

When an advertiser purchases a companion placement they receive the ‘Sky2’ placement free. The Sky2 is the second skyscraper position at the bottom of the search result page. Many advertisers would consider this a less desirable position however; the banner is located near the pagination control which consumers use as they click thru pages of listings. It’s a great added value for those advertisers who want to ‘own the page’.

When available I’d always recommend advertising on NewHomeSource or MoveNewHomes first. The sites are the most contextually relevant for NewHome Shoppers and performance is second to none. However, it’s difficult to compete with the size and breadth of consumers who visit Realtor.com and it’s a great opportunity to convert home shoppers into NewHome buyers.

For more information about Display Marketing Strategies contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager for the BDX, or contact your local sales rep for Realtor.com pricing and availability in your market.