The Northern Virginia Assocation poses with TWWR logo
© Northern Virginia Assocation of REALTORS®

When it comes to promoting their members to the public, associations can always lean on assets from the National Association of REALTORS®’ That’s Who We R national consumer advertising campaign. “NAR’s advertising templates provide us a solid starting point,” says Northwoods Association of REALTORS® Association Executive Matt Seegert, who modified a campaign asset to create print and radio ads for his region, a popular tourist area in Wisconsin; the only costs were for the ad buys. He adds that metrics such as home prices and membership counts are both up, despite higher mortgage rates. That’s all “while still adhering to our thrifty budget.”

Other examples include:

  • Georgia REALTORS® invested $10,000 in print ads for programs at Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons games and ran 11 geofencing campaigns at $150 each to send ads to the social media accounts of attendees at select games and at home shows and other special events. Its digital advertising media spend totaled $150,000 and included social media plus ads at restaurants, bus stops, gas stations, grocery stores, gyms and salons. With a goal of reaching 17 million impressions through November, GAR had already racked up 4.5 million Facebook impressions, 3.6 million digital ad views and 70,216 geofencing views as of the end of August. “Cox Media is reporting a click-through rate of 5%. The industry standard is 0.1%,” says Brandie Miner, GAR’s chief communications officer. “They have actually asked us if it would be OK for our campaign to be used as a case study.”
  • Greater Portland Board of REALTORS® in Maine wrapped a public bus in colorful, eye-catching messaging—part of a broader three-month campaign to raise local awareness of fair housing and engage members. “Unsolicited, positive responses from the public have already been received, including from a local businessperson who had no idea that REALTORS® supported fair housing and DEI,” says Kris Dorer, AE. “A public member of the LGBTQ+ community also sighted the bus in action and proudly shared with us!”
  • Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® invested $1,500 to mount “That’s Who We R” in bold metal letters in its office as a rallying cry for its members. While the signage is a great backdrop for members for social media or meetings, Frank Doyle, RCE, CAE, chief operations officer, adds that the tagline is also used in internal and external ads, announcements and even video ads at luggage carousels in Dulles International and Reagan National airports. “Ultimately, the ‘That’s Who We R’ signage is really just a great gathering place for members to associate with each other and publicly demonstrate their commitment to the professionalism of the real estate field,” Doyle says.

New That’s Who We R assets are released periodically. Watch for the final 2023 assets in early November, prior to NAR NXT.