8 Portal Autumn TV Ads Reviewed

With property portals around the world reporting record traffic and commentators saying that the way people view their homes has shifted post-lockdown, now feels like a good time for leading property portals to tap into their marketing war-chests to remind everyone that their websites are the place to start looking for a new home.

We have seen plenty of property portals’ TV ads across twitter and Youtube recently and we thought we would go through a few of them to contextualise what is being put in front of TV viewers across the globe and cut through the marketing schpiel.

Idealista (Italy #2)

Message: Couldn’t be much clearer. Idealista is on a charge towards #1 spot among property portals in Italy

Context: With EQT’s purchase of both idealista and Casa.it, the company is clearly calling out current market leader Immobiliare, and the “we’re coming for you” message is being hammered home in this spot.

What we like: This TV spot is clearly not taking itself too seriously, its message is clear and the brand is very much front and center.

Zillow (US market leader)

Message: No matter what the architecture, location, or neighbourhood we all deserve a place to call home. “When you’re ready for a change, we’re here to help.”

Context: With the United States experiencing something of an unexpected real estate boom as people leave crowded and overpriced coastal urban areas, there seems to have been a great re-evaluation of what Americans want from the place they call home. This TV advert is making sure that the re-evaluation is done on Zillow.

What we like: The nostalgic music of Malvina Reynolds tugs at the heartstrings and is a perfect fit.

Zoopla (UK #2)

Message: ‘We know what a home is really worth’. We understand that your home is more than just a price to you and we are there for all your needs around it. 

Context: Zoopla is trying to position its brand as a slightly less serious and stuffy alternative to market-leader Rightmove. Portraying believable, named characters in real-life situations around moving house to appeal to the emotions of the audience is what the company is going for in this series of ads. As with many of these adverts, the outcome is more around the brand than the product as the vast majority of the audience will know exactly what Zoopla does already and there isn’t much to differentiate its core offering from those of its rivals anyway.

What we like: The normal-looking kids and normal everyday sounding voice-over actor show that Zoopla is making an advert very much in the vein of those adverts produced by the supermarkets; one that positions its brand as part of the fabric of everyday life.

Realestate.com.au (Australian market leader)

Message: ‘If you’re selling, advertise on the number one’. REA Group’s market-leading portal is looking to ram home the message that it has the largest customer base and can get the most eyeballs on your property.

Context: As Australian portals make most of their money from vendors and not agents, it is imperative that they are top of mind not only for those people looking for houses, but for those selling them as well. Ridiculing the idea of selling off-market is perhaps a nod to and takedown of a few alternative portals such as Listing Loop which sell themselves on the idea of ‘passive-activation’.

What we like: The message will almost certainly get through as there are 4 separate 30-second adverts in the series all working on the same theme.

ImmoScout24 (German market leader)

Message: Despite the highly emotive nature of moving house and the differences of all the protagonists, the common theme is that they all manage to get the transaction done stress-free thanks to ImmoScout’s network of brokers.

Context: As ImmoScout MD Ralf Weiz said in the press release for these adverts, they know that their broker customers have gone through some hard times and the adverts are probably an attempt to curry favour with their customers by pointing out the benefits of selling through a properly licensed brokerage.

What we like: We may not have understood what the voiceover man was saying, but as any marketing professional will tell you, if your advert features a lot of people smiling at each other then you’re on to a winner.

Immoweb (Belgian market leader)

Message: Immoweb now has a house price estimation tool. That’s it. That’s the message.

Context: Ever since Zillow came out with the ‘zestimate’ leading portals need to not only be a place to buy and rent property, but to value it as well. 

What we like: Communicates added value clearly.

iProperty (Malaysian market leader)

Message: Our diversity brings us together as a company, home is the most important place in the world.

Context: Clearly using a good dose of pathos to stir the emotions of the audience and trigger thoughts around whether the viewer’s current home is all they might want it to be. No need to go into details of the product offered by iProperty because as a market leader all the viewers will be familiar with that already.

What we like: Celebrating diversity is always a good thing and using employees to do so seems a smart move from iProperty.

Navent (Inmuebles24 in Mexico and Urbania in Peru)

Message: Another advert that taps into the idea of ‘home’ and what it means to different people. The ad manages to both position the brand as fun-loving and millennial and also give a subtle nod to the functionality of the portal itself with a glimpse of the map-drawing tool. 

Context: In Mexico competition is fierce between Inmuebles24 and Vivanuncios, but in Peru, Navent owned Urbania is the clear leader. The adverts are looking to capitalise on record traffic and solidify the portals at the top of mind for those looking to move home.

What we like: As strange as it sounds, the daft voice at the start saying the name of the portal “inmueblesvienticuatroooooooooo!”did its job and got stuck in our heads.