Vampires, Trolls and More Find New Homes in Huge's Realtor.com Spots
During a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has created a seismic shift in the real estate industry, prompted a swirl of economic uncertainty, and pushed home buyers to the edge, Realtor.com® unveiled its “Homes for Every Homebuyer” campaign and tagline “to each their home.” Centered on empowering consumers with the options and expertise to make confident decisions, the campaign demonstrates the uniqueness of every home journey and how Realtor.com® can help buyers find a home based on what’s most important to them.
Today’s home buyers are in the middle of the most competitive buying season of all time. There are 50% fewer homes on the market year over year, and home prices, at a national median of $375,000, have surpassed all-time highs and are selling in 43 days. On top of all this, the transaction of buying a home has never been harder. Consumer research reveals first time home buyers are overwhelmed. They are worried about missing out on the perfect home and making mistakes.
“At Realtor.com®, we believe buyers and sellers need a helping hand to get them through the process. They crave choices and partners who can help them get exactly what they need on their terms,” said Mickey Neuberger, chief marketing officer for Realtor.com®. “That’s why we offer an open real estate marketplace that helps them understand their options, connects them with vetted partners, and brings them experiences for all stages in the home journey. At the end of the day, we help them feel confident every step of the way.”
Developed by Huge, Inc., Homes for Every Homebuyer humorously highlights the very specific needs of three different sets of home buyers -- a family of cacti, a troll couple and a vampire -- and how they used Realtor.com® features to help them find exactly what they are looking for. Although the characters are fictional, they have very relatable must-haves and their situations are reflective of first time home buyers -- couples (married or living together), families with children, and singles.
“What we want in a home is deeply personal, filled with the quirks and idiosyncrasies that make us who we are. This campaign embraces individuality and drives home a clear message -- it doesn’t matter what you are looking for, Realtor.com® can help,”for,” added Neuberger.
In the first spot, a family of cacti demonstrate how they used the draw on map feature and flood zone filter to find the perfect home in a hot dry climate, as their neighbors invite them to a pool party over and over again, despite the fact that they can’t go in water. “Marco polo, anyone?” Second, a troll couple is having their new neighbor for dinner as they show how they found a larger home using the square footage filter and price alerts. In the last spot, a vampire shows how he used the draw on map feature to relocate from Transylvania to Penn...syl...vania (in dracula voice) and then turns into a bat. Each spot ends with Realtor.com’s new tagline 'to each their home'.
Fede Garcia, global executive creative director at Huge Brooklyn, “Each home search process is different, because as people, we are all different. For Realtor.com®, it’s about personalization and finding the one house that is perfect for every one of us. We are all very unique in our needs and we decided to illustrate that fact by showing the home search process of a set of very unique individuals, as well as their ultimate success in finding a place they love. And, as the tagline says, ‘to each their home’.”
There’s no one size fits all when it comes to buying or selling a home. According to a recent survey of first time home buyers, 5% of first timers are looking for a 1-bedroom home, 28% a 2-bedroom, 50% a 3-bedroom, and 17% 4-bedrooms or more. When asked where they are planning to move, 40% revealed they are planning to stay within their current city; 27% are moving to a nearby city; 15% are moving to a city further away, but in the same state; and 17% are moving out of their state.
