Which Is Better: Image or Direct Response Advertising?

It’s no secret that real estate agents rely on advertising and mailings for much of their promotions. Yet few agents have a strategy for their advertising and mailings. They simply want to get their name out there and hope and pray that someone, somewhere will respond to their promotion.

There are two basic types of advertising philosophies: image advertising and direct response advertising. The one you should pick depends on your advertising objectives and short and long term goals. Here’s a quick overview of the two.

Image Advertising - This is what large corporations use in their branding and awareness campaigns. The purpose is to reach as many people as possible and create positive awareness in their viewers’ minds. As Coke or McDonalds or Budweiser run their messages over and over again during you favorite tv shows (and anywhere else they can), you associate their commercials with their brand. If one of their commercials stands out as funny or inspiring or creative, you may be more likely to remember it when you’re hungry and driving past that corner McDonalds or picking up a 6 pack for your weekend football party.

Direct Response Advertising - With direct response advertising, the focus is on short term lead generation rather than creating positive awareness. Direct response advertising makes an offer and asks the viewer to respond by making a call, visiting a website, mailing a card, or stopping by the business location. Because the advertising is focused around a specific activity, it is 100% measurable. You can measure how many people called a phone number by using a unique 1-800 number solely for that ad. You can measure how many people visited a website by asking them for their email address or contact information in exchange for certain information. You can tell how many people walked into your business because of the ad by offering a coupon they must bring in. And so forth.

Which works better?
The answer is that “it depends.” If you are looking to establish a long term brand in your market, you will need to do some image advertising to brand yourself as the neighborhood real estate specialist of choice. The biggest drawbacks to traditional advertising are that building brand awareness takes months, if not years, to take hold and it can become quite expensive - especially when you have lots of competition.

For immediate, short term results, direct response advertising is best. In this case, you only want people to respond to your offer - brand awareness is a byproduct.

Both types of advertising require considerable research and strategic planning to break through the clutter in your market place and grab your prospects’ attention with a relevant, meaningful message.