Hobbs/Herder E-news • May 2004 • Feature Story
Making the Leap to Cable Television
Advertising on TV is powerful, extremely impressive to prospective clients, and surprisingly affordable. We reveal when and how to capitalize on the incredible opportunity of cable TV advertising.
rWhen JoAnn Outland sees all the agents who advertise in her local homes magazine, she almost chuckles to herself. JoAnn, a real estate veteran of 25 years in California’s Central Coast region, feels like she has a secret weapon that costs no more per month than each of those full-page ads in the homes magazine. And she’s positive that her secret weapon is a lot more effective than those generic-looking ads.
“For the bang you get for your buck, I think TV advertising is one of the best investments you can make,” JoAnn says. “I see countless dollars thrown away on house ads. People are spending $800 a month for that, and then there they are next to every other agent. Why would I do that? If I’m going to spend $800 a month, I’m going to be a TV star.”
Becoming a Celebrity Agent
And that’s exactly what JoAnn has become. Nearly everywhere she goes, people recognize her from the two different TV commercials she has been running over the last few years. Whether she’s at lunch, at the gym, or walking into a listing presentation, JoAnn says her TV presence has a big influence on everyone she comes in contact with.
“I went to introduce myself to someone the other day and they said, ‘I know you. You’re JoAnn Outland.’ These people feel like they already know me. When we do get face-to-face, people feel comfortable because they feel like they know me,” JoAnn says.
Making Business Easier
Imagine the impact such a phenomenon could have on your listing presentations. Do you think it would be easier to convince someone to work with you if they already feel like they know you and they are excited for you to come meet with them? That’s the power of cable TV advertising. When combined with an existing direct mail campaign that includes your personal brochure, Powerkard and house flier master, a TV commercial greatly enhances your visibility in your market and can make a huge impact on the overall effectiveness of your campaign.
Let’s break down the effects of a high-quality, emotionally based TV commercial. The typical homeowner in your direct mail farm and has been receiving your brochure twice a year and your Powerkard on a regular basis, right? Then, one day they are sitting in front of their TV watching CNN or ESPN or any other cable network. The show goes to break, and your commercial – bearing the same theme and look from your print materials – comes on their screen. Suddenly, this homeowner’s opinion of you surges skyward. Why? Because television is an extremely powerful medium. The average person’s perception is that television advertising is very expensive, which leads them to believe that if you are on TV, you must be very successful.
Perception is Reality
Here’s the best part – advertising on cable TV is extremely affordable. Because cable companies are able to break down their viewership into small segments, you are able to reach the select communities you desire without having to pay to reach the entire region as a whole. That’s why JoAnn Outland’s $800 a month is much better spent than other agents who are spending that much to run house ads in a throwaway magazine. Think of the perceived difference in quality between an agent who advertises alongside everyone else and an agent on TV in prime time.
Considering the facts regarding TV advertising, perhaps it comes as no surprise that once JoAnn started advertising on TV, several other agents in her area followed suit. But JoAnn still differentiated herself from the competition through the warm, emotional appeal she used in her commercials. Where others chose to create standard, sales-oriented commercials, JoAnn has contracted with Hobbs/Herder to write her TV commercial scripts. She then took the script to her cable company and they helped her coordinate the production of the commercial as well as create an on-air schedule designed to reach her desired demographics.
“Shooting the commercials was very easy,” JoAnn says. “I have a lot of fun with it, and the cable company loves it because I come to them with my script. It’s just awesome.”
Television’s Real Value
We know what some of you may be thinking. “If TV is so great, why don’t I scrap my direct mail campaign and just do commercials?” Good question. Here’s a good answer.
“Cable TV advertising works best when you already have solid name recognition in your marketplace,” Greg Herder says. “When a prospect sees you on TV and then sees an ad in the newspaper or picks up a piece of direct mail that you have sent out, your print materials produce a much greater response rate than without TV. So when you start your cable campaign, you cannot stop your other forms of marketing.”
JoAnn Outland agrees. She credits the combination of her print ad campaign with her TV spots for her success in marketing. She says that her TV commercials really boosted her perceived credibility and professionalism. After establishing her image through her direct mail campaign, JoAnn – an annual attendee at Hobbs/Herder’s year-end Gateway Las Vegas – saw TV as the next logical step in the personal marketing process. It was at the Gateway that she learned about the opportunity of TV advertising and began her journey to celebrity agent. “I think everyone who has been using a direct mail plan for a couple years should get on board and do a commercial,” she says.
A Curious Twist
For her $800 per month, JoAnn’s commercial is rotated in and out of the schedule on an every-other-week basis. Why? Again, because perception is reality. Studies show that TV commercials do not have to reach a consumer every day to be effective. In fact, as long as the ads show up continually over an extended time period, people will actually perceive that the ads runs much more than they actually do. At one point before starting to use her second TV commercial, JoAnn had stopped running the first commercial she created, but she said people still recognized her and told her that they saw her ad all the time.
Don’t Miss Your Window of Opportunity
At first mention, TV advertising can be intimidating, it sounds expensive and frankly, most agents probably do not even consider it a viable option in their marketing repertoire. However, at closer inspection, cable TV advertising is one of the best marketing opportunities available to you, especially now when others are hesitant to step up to the plate. Once everyone realizes the incredible opportunity, it’ll be too late. Now is the time.
To help you get started, we’ve created a simple checklist that will help you capitalize on this opportunity. Good luck, and please email us with your comments or questions!
Seven Simple Steps to Becoming a Celebrity Agent
1. Call your local cable company and ask for a rate sheet to see just how affordable TV advertising really is.
2. Hire professionals to create your TV commercial script. Remember, it costs the same to run a good ad as it does to run a bad ad. Your commercial should reflect your personality in a dynamic, emotional fashion. Do not create a sales-oriented ad if your desire is to increase visibility of your image. Whatever you do, do NOT try to write your commercial yourself. (You Gateway graduates have seen examples of the disastrous results this approach can create.) Of course, Hobbs/Herder would love to create your commercial script and storyboard for you. If you are interested, please contact Kim Cagle at 800/999-6090, ext. 645.
3. Meet with your cable company to plan production of the commercial.
4. Shoot the commercial and let the production team edit it for you.
5. Decide upon your TV budget based on costs of reaching your desired audience in your market.
6. Air your TV spots
7. Get ready to be recognized everywhere you go.
