Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

It was determined that given other elements of the media relations plan, the communications objective
would be further met by the delivery of fun, contemporary and informative videos that would be widely
viewed in the province of Ontario by home buyers and sellers. Through our phase one research, we
knew that our home buying/selling audience was already cynical about Realtors intentions. By creating
solutions that were informational in nature in a humorous and unique way we felt we could overcome
potential objections from our target audience to reviewing Realtor information.
After internal and external research, a review of the OREA publication “How to Buy a House” and OREA
president and Realtor Barb Sukkau’s personal materials on home buying, two video topics were selected
as the first to be produced in the series. With the broader topic “What does a Realtor do for me?”
focusing on why people should sign a Buyer Representation Agreement — a document that also
establishes the commission rate and indicates it is negotiable — we would be addressing a major
concern of those who had previously used a Realtor and identifying all of the things a Realtor does over
and above MLS listings. The more specific topic “How much house can I afford?” was aimed more at the
first‐time home buyer to show them that Realtors could help them figure this out and again point to
more than the provision of MLS.
Given that the ins and outs of home buying and selling can be a dry topic, and the inherent
opportunities provided by the video format to present important information about home buying in a
memorable way, the proposed treatments included the use of stop motion action. In stop motion,
objects or people are filmed frame by frame in small increments of movement that are then edited
together to create the illusion of movement once frames are played together. This also gives a more
contemporary feel to the videos.
The total budget for fees and expenses for the videos including pre‐production, production and post
production and paid promotion was $77,800, with $48,000 allocated to fees. Despite challenges to the
program that carried with them budget implications (see below), ultimately the project was delivered
$8,000 under budget with savings coming from less paid video promotion than was originally planned
given that measurement goals were met and exceeded early.
The key messages for the overall campaign were written to be tailored to a spokesperson’s expertise.
Specifically for the videos the following key messages were touched upon through the video topics
chosen:
Why should I use a realtor? (expertise, knowledge, regulated, education)
• Realtors can offer you a range of services, from simply listing your property on the MLS to the fullservice
treatment. Agree on these services and negotiate your commission rate in the Buyer
Representation Agreement.
• Realtors know the homes and communities that you’re interested in. They are in a great position to
advise on local issues from nearby schools to market value
• A Realtor has the expertise and knowledge to help you decide how you can afford to spend on a house
purchase.
IMPLEMENTATION AND CHALLENGES
Approval for the Image Campaign came in May 2011 and as previously stated OREA wished to evaluate
all elements of the campaign at the end of 2011 prior to planning for 2012. It was important therefore