Advertising

Success in 2011For the past few weeks I’ve seen many campaigns offering a sneak peak to their Black Friday specials. Black Friday is traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season signaling when retail stores profits for the year are in the black. Many families make shopping on this day an annual tradition and hit the stores early – sometimes too early for my taste after a long holiday weekend. It seems like the buzz, crowds and holiday sales create a virtuous circle of holiday spending. It made me think, ‘What’s the Black Friday for Home Building?’

Someone told me it was the day after the Super Bowl when wives can drag their husbands off the couch to visit communities. But from the trends I’ve seen, I’d think Black Friday for builders would be Dec. 26th, the day after Christmas.

It’s no surprise that home sales and home shopping dip in the fall, but I don’t think most builders take full advantage of the inevitable rebound that follows. On NewHomeSource.com, year after year, we see a resounding bounce in traffic immediately following the holiday craze. It’s as if people say, ‘The Holidays are over! Now, we can shop for that home we’ve been dreaming of in 2011.’

Now is a great time for builders to get in front of these early-bird home shoppers as they jump-start their buying process. However, some builders don’t begin aggressively marketing until into the spring when traffic and interest is at its highest. To me, that’s like buying a stock after you’ve seen the rally, instead of when it’s poised for growth. The key to a great 2011? Start in 2010!

For more information about Display Marketing Strategies contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager for the BDX.

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

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.

Oftentimes, we receive request from builders wanting to advertise “above the fold” for their banner campaign only. The fold is what’s visible first when the web page loads before a user scrolls down for more information. The belief is that the banner is the first thing consumers will see and that will increase the likelihood of action. Similar to running an ad on the inside cover or back page of magazine. It’s an understandable request and natural that advertisers would want the best position.

However, instead of worrying about placement, consider the actions users take when shopping listings. They’re scrolling through potentially hundreds of homes and communities, gathering information. As a result we’ve found that the content and offer of the ad by far outweighs the placement. Unlike, traditional media which interrupts a consumer’s experience with online banners, consumers are actively searching for information about a builder’s product. We’ve found that the banners closely embedded within the content perform best. It’s one reason we believe we see so much action with banners supporting a builder’s listing. It’s also a reason I’m a strong supporter of complementary creative, using each position to advertise a different aspect of the business.

On NewHomeSource banners perform relatively the same for each position in terms of CTR. It’s the creative and offer that will set you apart.

For more information on how you can take advantage of Display Advertising, contact Thane Tennison, Ad Operations Manager for NewHomeSource at 866-651-8866 or at ttennison@builderhomesite.com. You can also follow Thane on Twitter at @t_tennison