More consumers than ever prefer working with REALTORS, rather than non-REALTORS, and the public's perception of REALTORS continues to improve as the result of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS' Public Awareness Campaign, according to surveys of housing consumers and REALTORS released today.

The research found that 65 percent of consumers are more likely to select a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS and 61 percent believe there are benefits to working with a REALTOR, as opposed to a real estate salesperson who isn't a REALTOR.

Today's consumers are more likely to believe that using a REALTOR makes selling a home easier than selling a home without one, and also that REALTORS can tailor their services to meet consumers' needs, according to the survey of 900 consumers who bought or sold property in the past year.

The survey of more than 500 REALTORS found that more REALTORS than ever are aware of the campaign and that 95 percent of all REALTORS would like to see even more advertising to support the REALTOR brand. Both surveys were conducted in September by Riter Research.

"There's no question that the Public Awareness Campaign is delivering tremendous value to our members by generating heightened consumer awareness of the benefits of using a REALTOR. The campaign has become one of the most important services NAR is delivering to our members," said NAR President Martin Edwards Jr., a partner in Colliers Wilkinson & Snowden Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.

This year the Public Awareness Campaign introduced six new television spots and six new radio spots as well as an updated theme, "Work with someone who'll work with you. We're REALTORS. Real Estate is our Life." The theme is designed to appeal to the growing desire among consumers to work in partnership with real estate professionals. Three of the six new television spots and three of the radio spots highlighted REALTORS as community builders.

This year's $20 million program is funded primarily by a $20-per-member special dues assessment, up from $15 the previous three years. For the first time, the spots were seen this year on prime time programs such as "The West Wing," "JAG," "Dateline," "20/20," "CSI," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?," "Law & Order," and "Third Watch."

The television commercials ran on morning and evening news programs, as well as on late night shows, including "Late Night with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Nightline." Additionally, the spots aired on cable television channels such as The Learning Channel, Lifetime, A&E, The Discovery Channel, Food Network, and Animal Planet.

For radio coverage, the spots ran on such networks as Westwood One, Premiere, ABC, and National Public Radio. This year's media buy also included time on XM Satellite Radio Network. The new radio spots targeted at the commercial real estate market appeared in business programming such as "CBS MarketWatch," "Lou Dobbs Financial Report," and the "Wall Street Journal Radio Network."

In total, more than 4,200 television and radio spots ran this year, up from 4,100 last year. All were placed to hit the campaign's target audience of 25-54 year olds with household incomes of $50,000 or greater. The radio ads began Feb. 11 and will run through Nov. 9. The television ads aired from March 11 to Sept. 14.

Published: October 23, 2002

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