“I was hoping to do something like this,” Sinath Thi, a broker associate at Coldwell Banker in northern California, says. “It’s free and it’s here and I’m so glad I’m here today.”
Thi just created a GIF at the consumer ad campaign’s popular experience at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings. A GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a digital image file that can store both static pictures and short, looping animations.
“I do Facebook a lot, but more fun, family stuff,” she says. “I need to do more real estate, and this is perfect. I needed this so much.”
NAR’s consumer advertising campaign differentiates the REALTOR® brand and reinforces the value of working with a REALTOR®, a member of NAR.
Steve Parsons, an associate broker in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia at Coldwell Banker Realty, is very active on social media and is always looking for inspiration.
“I think this was a great way to get me to loosen up a bit and meet some people as I’m standing in line,” Parsons said.
Parsons is no stranger to the camera and green screen—which he uses to film listing videos.
“Instead of going to the house, I can use the picture of the house in the background and put [myself] anywhere I want,” he says. “[There’s] not a lot of times I can get back to a house that's too far away since I serve three states.”
Although Parsons hadn’t heard about NAR’s consumer ad campaign, he was able to extend its messaging.
This year’s campaign, titled “More Than Opening Doors,” flips the script on the misconception that REALTORS® just open doors by showcasing how their expertise and professionalism, often behind the scenes, guides and protects their clients.
Created in partnership with NAR’s creative agency Uncommon Creative Studio, conference-goers stepped in front of the green screen, selected virtual backdrops and real props and let their personalities shine.
“So, the idea was how could we recreate this experience in person so that members could actually put themselves in front of the camera, put themselves into the ad campaign, and at the end, get this tangible asset that shows them doing more than opening doors,” says Karen Bebart, NAR director of consumer strategy and brand advertising.
Nick Giorgi, an agent with Real Brokerage in Las Vegas, enjoyed the interactive experience. About a quarter of his residential business is generated from social media, a metric he tracks with a survey.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to get a little bit of exposure, and for people that are a little camera shy, it gives them an opportunity to just come on in, free flow and enjoy themselves,” the NAR Young Professional Advisory Board member says.
