Like fashion, art and food, real estate in New York City is a land apart. And today, realtor.com operator Move Inc. joins its chief rival, Zillow Group, with a marketing campaign designed to reach the Big Apple’s unique audience.
Move unveiled its new “real estate in real time” national ad campaign for its flagship portal last week. The New York City version includes digital, print and a variety of “out-of-home” ads like bus wraps, street carts, phone kiosks and digital signage (including a sign in Times Square), and the campaign runs through the end of June.
Sample campaign headlines include:
- “Move On Up To The Lower East Side.”
- “Find Your Dream Apartment In A New York Minute.”
- “It’s Time To Stop And Think Outside The Brownstone.”
“The campaign is consistent with the rhythm and energy of New York City and extends our overarching message that realtor.com represents what is ‘real’ in real estate by delivering the most accurate listings and arming consumers with the data, tools and professional expertise they need to find their perfect home,” said Ryan O’Hara, Move’s CEO, in a statement.
The campaign’s print ads will show up on the front, back and inside covers of AM New York and Metro NY, insertions in two newspapers — the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal — run by Move’s new owner, News Corp., as well as digital display ads on the websites of The New York Times, The Real Deal, New York Observer, Curbed, Brick Underground and Brownstoner.
The initiative also includes an “experiential” component, details of which will be coming later, Move noted.
Realtor.com’s New York City campaign builds on a recently expanded presence for the portal in the city. In March, it announced a partnership with New York City-focused listing syndication platform RealPlus and five prominent city brokerages that gave the portal thousands of new listings.
Realtor.com’s listing coverage in New York City has been thinner than in other areas because, unlike most U.S. markets, the city doesn’t have a traditional multiple listing service, and MLSs are the primary source of realtor.com’s listings throughout the country.
Zillow Group launched its own ad campaign for its New York City-focused portal, StreetEasy, in March. It, too, features a plethora of ads plastered around the city to grab the eyes of the hustle-and-bustle crowd with spots on sidewalks, subway stations, subway cars and taxis featuring a message tailored to the urban-jungle real estate life.
With realtor.com’s new campaign, the two real estate heavyweights take their sprawling fight for portal dominance to the streets of New York City.
