How to Create an Effective Ad

Advertising is about distinguishing yourself to the marketplace by telling your story, are you effectively telling your story visually? At The Home News their visual message to the market is simple, a woman receiving her mail from her local Canada Post mailman. It tells the market (mainly Realtors) what makes them different - Their real estate magazine is delivered into the hands of homeowners by Canada Post. That is their differentiating story. To see pic: http://www.thehomenews.ca/


Presently, I am reading "Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind Re/Max." The goal of the founders was to build a better Real Estate Agency with top agents and what better way to show that then a hot air balloon sailing above the world and the slogan Above the Crowd. It wasn't as simple as that, they still had to use television ads to get their message out because although, at the time, they were the number one used agency, the marketplace perceived them as the eighth. Even with a great brand, logo, or slogan you still need to get the message out everywhere and Re/max did just that.

By enabling Re/max Realtors to be in control of their own advertising, the Re/Max balloon was able to be everywhere and quickly became a household name. No individual realtor can afford to be everywhere in the world, the country, the province, or the region but they can afford to be everywhere in their neighbourhoods.

I found this quote from the re/max story interesting, "That's what real estate was all about - kids; neighborhoods; families; and your friendly, helpful, always-there-when-you-need-him professional real estate representative." It got me thinking about what an ad for a Realtor needs to say.

What does Real Estate mean to you? How are you different then other Realtors? Does your advertising visually tell that story?

Are you about community? Are you active in the community? Tell that story in your advertising and get the message out on a regular basis to more people then you can personally contact in your day to day community activities. Let's say you volunteer as a coach for a local minor sports team, add a team pic to your ad showing that you support local kids. Maybe you raise money for a charity, add their logo and offer to donate proceeds of the homeowners sale to the cause. Perhaps you are part of a clean the beach initative, advertise a date and time for others to come out and help.

What does this have to do with houses? Nothing. Houses are a dime a dozen, each one has their own unique differentiator, what you need to do is tell the story of YOU. By telling your community story, you will attract other community minded people to you. It will become a springboard for conversations that lead to what community to live in and how you are the specialist for that community. Think about what you give your clients, what you really sell them. Is it security? happiness? prestige? or simplicity? Whatever it is that you sell create an ad that visually shows it. Have some ideas? Share them here in the comments section.