Realtor.com, a leading provider of online real estate services
operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc., today launched
a national advertising campaign and new graphic identity that emphatically position
the brand as the best – and truest – provider of real estate information and
services for buyers, sellers and renters of properties in the U.S.
This
collaboration with Pereira & O’Dell New York represents the biggest and
boldest marketing initiative in realtor.com’s nearly 20-year
history and unfolds against the backdrop of a marketplace that has been
seismically altered by the recent acquisition of Move by News Corp. and the
merger of competitors Zillow and Trulia.
At stake are online home listings and homes-for-sale ads exceeding $9
billion annually, according to a recent research report by Goldman, Sachs &
Co. The campaign also coincides with the continued surge of realtor.com’s
business, which has seen record growth in web and mobile visitors and the
brand’s recent ascension to the industry’s #2 position.
Empowering consumers to become better home-searchers is at the heart of realtor.com’s new advertising, which revolves around a series of 15- and 30-second TV spots and longer-form web videos featuring Elizabeth Banks, the Emmy-nominated actress, producer and director who is among Hollywood’s most sought after and versatile performers. Ms. Banks portrays a real estate-obsessed version of herself and delivers the message with humor, intelligence, glamour and sass.
“Since launching our first consumer campaign with Pereira & O’Dell nearly two years ago, we’ve seen the tremendous impact that humor has made on helping consumers navigate the home-buying process, one of life’s biggest challenges,” said Strickman. “As we worked through the brief and creative process for 2015, we honed in on the idea of a spokesperson for the brand; a funny, real-estate obsessed spokesperson. Elizabeth could not have been a better choice, and we are thrilled to be working with her.”
The new campaign – unified by the
tagline “real estate in real time” – was created by Pereira & O’Dell New
York, the company’s advertising agency, under the direction of Andrew
Strickman, Move’s head of brand and chief creative. Both the TV and a substantial
digital effort are intended to appeal to a wide consumer target – from
Millennials looking for small, low priced homes for themselves and their pets
to young couples looking for more space on tight budgets to families looking
for bigger, longer-term homes.
In the campaign’s first spot, called
“Jim,” Ms. Banks observes the title character using the realtor.com app
to find his dream home. “You’re a
real-time real estate renegade, Jim,” she says.
“An arbiter of accuracy. A phenom
of fresh listings. A master of mortgage
rates. A prodigy of pre-qualification. A
ruler of refinancing. An emperor of escrow. I want to live in that house with you, Jim.”
The TV ads debut May 18 and will run
across major broadcast networks and cable channels, including CBS, HGTV, Bravo,
TBS, Comedy Central and Spike, among others.
The web videos featuring Ms. Banks will break later.
“One of the underlying goals of this
campaign is to help people relate to the realtor.com brand and view
it as a helpful service that everyone can use,” said Dave Arnold, executive
creative director at Pereira & O'Dell. “Leveraging Elizabeth, who is
well-known for her humor and girl-next-door approachability, as our
spokesperson gives people a more personal connection to realtor.com and makes our campaign even more memorable.”
When asked what was most appealing
about the role in this campaign, Ms. Banks said: “I’m a little house-obsessed and looking for
a new home right now, which made the opportunity to work with realtor.com a
great fit. I love the accessibility of
realtor.com. My husband and I email
each other photos of houses to look at and the other person can pull them right
up – no matter where they are. The realtor.com app literally allows you to
take the home buying experience with you everywhere in your daily life.”
The TV spots and web videos were directed by Fred Savage, the
Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor, director and producer best known for his role as
Kevin Arnold in the American TV series The
Wonder Years.
Mr. Savage’s directorial credits include episodes of the popular TV
series Modern Family and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and
the critically acclaimed kids’ shows Phil
of the Future, Wizards of Waverly
Place and Zeke and Luther. He has
also directed commercials for a number of leading consumer businesses,
including Farmers Insurance, the California Milk Board and Fitbit. The campaign
was produced by Über Content, which reps Savage’s commercial work.
The
brand’s new graphic identity calls out the “real” in realtor.com in
bright red letters while the rest of the name is presented in black. It is
intended to communicate that unlike its competitors, realtor.com stands for what
is real in real estate by delivering fresh and accurate listings and connecting
people with the data, tools and professional expertise they need to discover
their perfect home.