We need to cooperate with our selves , As Individuals and secret associations we will go no where .
WE Could be the loosers
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/851415–realtors-launch-ad-campaign-to-buff-up-their-image
Back to Realtors launch ad campaign to buff up their image
Realtors launch ad campaign to buff up their image
August 23, 2010
Tony Wong
Under the gun from the federal Competition Bureau and from consumers who say they are overpaying for commissions, Canadian realtors are pushing back with a fall advertising campaign touting the merits of professional real estate agents.
“When I was selling my place, my realtor helped with all the paperwork. You would think I had a paper allergy or something,” begins the 30-second spot that started airing on national television Monday.
The face of the woman then morphs into a man who says, “I’m not a real people person either, so my realtor helped with my negotiations, too.”
The commercial, shot in high definition, uses morphing technology to show a seamless transition of different faces, ages and races.
“All that back and forth…yuck. And when it came to finding qualified buyers or a house with a park next door, my realtor had all the answers,” says the spot.
Georges Pahud, president of the Canadian Real Estate Association which represents almost 100,000 brokers and agents across the country, says the fall campaign will cost about $2 million and will be “widely disseminated.”
With a looming Competition Bureau court case scheduled for next April, the advertising may be seen as crucial – at least in the court of public opinion.
The federal watchdog is taking CREA to the Ottawa-based Competition Tribunal, which will determine whether organized real estate is being anti-competitive by shutting out companies that would make the business of selling homes cheaper for consumers. The two sides have been locked in an acrimonious battle.
Pahud said the commercial was not created because of the court battle, but as an ongoing dialogue with consumers to inform them of the benefits of realtors.
“It gets the message across that realtors offer good value for their services,” said Pahud. “Essentially that a variety of realtors offer a variety of services to many different types of consumers.”
Key to the Competition Bureau argument is that CREA does not allow the “unbundling” of different services to consumers, which creates high prices. CREA has maintained that there is already plenty of competition in the market and realtors offer good value.
Pahud says the advertising budget for the spot is slightly higher than in the past. CREA has had an advertising campaign since 2006.
“We have increased the budget gradually,” said Pahud.
So far the spot has met with approval from some marketing experts.
Shyon Baumann, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto who specializes in advertising, said the ad is “smart” and addresses the context of the image problem.
“Realtors at the moment have a legitimacy problem insofar as there are some people who feel the way they conduct business is anti-competitive and not in the best interests of their clients,” said Baumann. “This advertisement makes the case that the particular expertise that realtors bring to home buying and selling is valuable and specialized and implies that their expertise is worth paying for.”
Baumann said the use of morphing to create different demographics is effective.
“The advertisement also emphasizes that realtors are everyday people who connect with people of all ethnicities and ages and both genders and implies that they are just like all of us,” said Baumann.
The commercial was created by Toronto firm CP+B Canada, which CREA said uses “production and editing techniques developed specifically for the project and never used in Canadian television advertising.”
The association’s national ad campaign runs twice a year in the spring and fall.
The ad can be seen at at www.howrealtorshelp.ca
)