Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

OVATION Awards Winning Entry
Communication Skills
Multimedia or Digital Content
AWARD OF MERIT
Entrant’s Name: Jo Langham, ABC
Organization’s Name: Thornley Fallis Communications
Client Organization: Ontario Real Estate Association
Division/Category: Division 2, Communication Skills; Category 16: Multimedia or Digital Content
Title of Entry: Enhancing the Image of Realtors with Video
Time period of project: August– December 2011
Brief description: When the Ontario Real Estate Association needed to enhance the image of Realtors, Thornley
Fallis Communications produced two videos that complemented its broader communications program by
creatively offering important information that expanded Ontarians’ knowledge about home buying and the
expertise Realtors bring to the process.
BUSINESS NEED/OPPORTUNITY
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) represents 50,000 brokers and salespeople who are
members of the 42 real estate boards throughout the province. OREA serves its Realtor members
through a wide variety of professional publications, educational programs, advocacy and special
initiatives. The association also provides all real estate licensing courses in Ontario. OREA is in turn a
member of CREA, the Canadian Real Estate Association, which sets the business standards and
obligations for Realtors under its code.
In March 2010 and after a challenge from the Competition Bureau, CREA had approved changes to the
rules governing the use of its Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the database housing details of all homes
for sale and sold in Canada. In the past people who wanted their homes listed on the MLS system, of
which elements were now available online for review, had to employ a Realtor through the entire sales
process. The new rules enabled consumers to ask a Realtor to list their house on the MLS only for a flat
fee and required agents to pass along a seller’s home phone number, if the seller chose, directly to an
interested buyer if asked.
Despite agreement about the need for the rule changes, concerns grew among OREA members that this
would in turn result in exponential growth in the “For Sale by Owner” market and thus have a negative
impact on the livelihood of Realtors. In the fall of 2010, OREA engaged Thornley Fallis Communications
(TFC) to conduct an audit of OREA’s external communications efforts and research properties to see how
Ontarians currently viewed Realtors and create a strategic communications plan to address any
concerns.
The audit, conducted in late 2010 into early 2011, included a review of focus group/survey results
previously commissioned by OREA and CREA, stakeholder interviews and an assessment of current
communication vehicles in use by OREA. From this TFC identified that Realtors were perceived as pushy,
focussed on commissions (a driving factor on perceptions) and poor listeners. While the vast majority of
Ontarians continued to use Realtors, they believed that Realtors didn’t provide enough value to justify
their commission, worked for themselves instead of for their clients, needed to do a better job providing
information, show their commitment to clients and provide better after‐sale service.