Who: Tech-enabled real estate brokerage Properly, with Juniper Park\TBWA for strategy and creative, Bolt Content for production (directed by Jordan Dashner) and Initiative for media.
What: “Let’s Do Real Estate Properly,” a new campaign promoting the stress-free experience that Canadians can expect when using Properly to buy and sell a home. It features Drew and Jonathan Scott, best known as hosts of the long-running TV program The Property Brothers (they are also among a group of investors who have put more than $160 million into the start-up since its 2018 launch).
When & Where: The campaign debuted on Monday, running through May across TV, online, social and out-of-home in Ontario. It’s timed to coincide with peak home-buying season, said Properly’s vice-president of marketing, Jessica van Rooyen.
Why: It’s an awareness campaign that positions Properly as an innovator in the real estate category thanks to its Sale Assurance service offering—which enables customers to unlock equity in their existing home to purchase a new property before their old home is sold.
According to van Rooyen, the goal is to show how Properly can eliminate the feelings of confusion, uncertainty and stress associated with the home buying experience. “Buying a new home is a really meaningful transaction both financially and emotionally, but we know from talking to our customers that people feel really stressed out about the process and what it involves,” she said.
It is the agency’s first work for Properly since winning the business last summer. The company had previously handled its marketing in-house.
How: The campaign is anchored by two 30-second “Properly Moments,” both of which show the Scott brothers flanking a contented Properly customer. They are relaxed and happy in their new home, relieved to know that Properly is handling key aspects of selling their previous home, such as staging, showing and selling.
In “Coffee,” a woman sits happily sipping coffee in the kitchen of her new home, and in “Nap,” a man peacefully lies on as his couch with his young child who has painted his face and placed a tiara on his head. In both spots the brothers explain the benefits of using Properly, ending with the message “Buy before you sell,” followed by the campaign tagline.
How Properly is like Uber Eats: Van Rooyen joined Properly in 2020 after spending the previous four years with Uber, including playing a key role in developing and marketing the Uber Eats brand in both Canada and the U.S. While Properly and Uber Eats are in different sectors, van Rooyen said they share a common marketing challenge: Building trust with customers as a nascent disruptor brand.
“We recognize that [Properly] is a new way of doing things, and unlike food delivery this involves monumental transactions, both financially and emotionally,” she said. “We don’t take that lightly, and we recognize that earning trust with our customers is really important. That’s a priority with this campaign.”
