Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s 2013 TV ad campaign intensifies the franchisor’s focus on the emotional and psychological appeal of homeownership while highlighting the important role social media plays in the firm’s branding.
As part of the "Blue Carpet" ad campaign announced last month, Coldwell Banker will run 30-second television spots during the year’s major music, movie and TV award shows on national TV networks, with a debut set for the Feb. 10 Grammy Awards on CBS.
The ad, which also airs Feb. 24 during the Oscars on ABC and Sept. 22 during the Emmys on ABC, ends not with a promoted website URL like last year’s TV ad, but with a Twitter hashtag: #CBbelieves.
Hashtags help the estimated 200 million active Twitter users follow a topic through time on the popular, but fast-moving, social media platform.
"We want the conversation to be front and center," said David Marine, Coldwell Banker’s senior director of consumer engagement. The firm has no plans to advertise directly on Twitter at the moment, he said, but will advertise on Facebook as part of the new campaign.
Coldwell Banker affiliates, who want to air the ad in their markets, will be able to brand the last five seconds of the 30-second version of the ad, Marine said.
The new ad replaces the firm’s previous TV ad, which presented the theme "The Value of a Home" and launched last year and aired Jan. 13 during the Golden Globes on NBC.
60-second version of Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s new TV ad.
Like last year’s TV spot, Coldwell Banker stuck with the emotional appeal of homeownership in the new ad. Soft-focus, brightly lit images depict family-filled moments that make a home: backyard baseball games; making a fort; baking; gardening; sleeping in a backyard hammock; grilling; dancing; "Friday-night sleepovers"; breakfast in bed; kissing a child; dinner; and lots of smiles.
With the improving market, Marine said, Coldwell Banker wanted to make this year’s message a little wider. "Last year was a tighter message," he said, with a focus on the value of a home.
This year, Coldwell Banker’s take on the value of a home is a little stronger, Marine said, epitomized by the capping voice-over segment, "We believe your home really is your castle, and that our calling in life is to find the one that’s perfect for you."
"We truly believe in the importance of home," said Michael Fischer, Coldwell Banker’s chief operating officer, in a statement. "With this new campaign, we wanted to reinforce and reignite the message of homeownership."
Rob Siltanen, the head of the national ad agency Siltanen & Partners that Coldwell Banker hired to produce the ad, wrote the copy for this year’s ad.
"We believe in home and all the magical things that come with it," and "we believe in … licking the frosting off the mixer … hanging masterpieces off the refrigerator door … that the sun recharges your soul," reads some of the ad’s copy.
The music from Phillip Phillips set the ad’s tone, Marine said. Last May, during American Idol’s season 11 finale, Siltanen sent a group text to Marine and Fischer while all three were watching Phillips perform on the program. Siltanen said he thought Phillips’ song "Home," which features the chorus, "I’m gonna make this place your home," was the song for Coldwell Banker’s next ad.
In addition to the network TV ads during the awards shows, the franchisor will have an exclusive presence on People.com’s video and social platforms before, during and after the shows, and run ads on the events-related E! Entertainment Television shows "Live from the Red Carpet," "Fashion Police" and "E! After Party."
Separate from the four red carpet events, the firm will have TV ads that will run during NBC’s "4th of July Fireworks Spectacular," "Thanksgiving Day Parade," "Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting" and "New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly."
Spots will also appear on ESPN’s "Baseball Tonight," and two shows on the NBC Universal subsidiary channel LX TV, "Open House" and "George to the Rescue."
A subsidiary of Realogy Holdings Corp., Coldwell Banker Real Estate has a network of 83,000 agents in 3,100 offices in 50 countries and territories.
Coldwell Banker’s Realogy cousin, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, aired its second Super Bowl TV ad in a row last Sunday during Super Bowl XLVII on CBS.
