REALTY+ SURVEY : REAL ESTATE ADVERTISING TRENDS
The economic headwinds since last two years had created a period of stalled growth across industries that had a domino effect on real estate sector, and in turn theiradvertising spending. While, the marketing budgets were cut down in order to optimize costs, there was an increased spend on performance marketing. As per our survey, we expect in 2023 and beyond the advertising spends will increase as macro environment improves and real estate sector’s confidence grows in terms of showcasing their projects across advertising channels. Real estate marketers shared in the survey, that there isn't a single medium that can be considered a favourite. Each medium has its own strengths and advantages and they utilize different media based on their deliverables and unique capabilities. Advertising spending is also contingent upon the specific product launch, sales strategies and goals. The allocation of resources and spending vary from project to project and quarter to quarter with continuous assessment of market conditions, consumer behaviour, and campaign performance to make informed decisions regarding advertising spending. INDIAN REALTY DIGITAL INCLINATION For Indian real estate, digital remains a key driver with more than 70% surveyed showing preference for digital over ATL marketing. In fact as per the visible trend, over 30% growth and more than 40% share of spend in Digital is expected in 2023 across real estate. The survey highlighted the following reasons for digital being the favourite advertising medium among the real estate marketers. THE PRESENT KEY TRENDS With the inclusion of social media for engagement, digital works great for performance and lead generation. Real estate marketers most digital spend are on Google Adwords and platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Google, where the response to leads is quick and generates business. Digital is cost-effective and more efficient in terms of targeting audience, measuring brand reach. Social Media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer realty marketers targeted advertising options to reach specific demographics and geographical areas. The visually appealing ads and video content enhances engagement with potential buyers. Combining the print and digital is the current strategy to promote services and properties. The percentage mix of both varies from company to company and as per real estate asset segment. As a matter of fact video content has become increasingly important in real estate marketing such as virtual tours of properties, client testimonials, educational videos on YouTube and Vimeo. Television Commercials and over-the-top (OTT) platforms are the least popular mediums when it comes to real estate advertising with hardly or no budgets allocated by realty firms on these two mediums. Presently, celebrity endorsements too have a very few takers in real estate. Their role is considered at best to create awareness of a project. Many participants in the survey agreed that celebrity’s endorsements are a marketing gimmick for brands. Sports sponsorship is a strategic advertising approach to enhance brand’s image through exposure and association, but it depends on product launches, market and events. Given the high costs and difficulty in measuring the return on investment it is not a popular trend in real estate advertising. MOST POPULAR MEDIUMS OF ENGAGEMENT Non metro cities are the biggest users of OOH and they also have the infrastructure to support it, while digital advertising is more prevalent in metro cities. The print surprisingly remains a consistent medium of advertising given its better recall and strategic use with digital advertising. Google Ads and website SEO as per marketers, help to get more leads and social media helps generate brand awareness among the target audience, making people get more aware of the brand. Google's pay-per-click ads is most used tool for real estate marketing and Google Ads is considered one of the best ways to get the listings in front of the right people. Outdoor advertising (OOH) when it comes to non-metro cities, is the preferred medium and is seeing steady growth. The reasons being, a lot of brand visibility and it helps channel partners as well. But like other mediums, OOH is turning digital too. Digital OOH (DOOH) is the next level-up from OOH. Unlike traditional OOH advertising with static billboards, DOOH advertising by using dynamic videos to interactive displays can quickly grab attention making the campaign more engaging and memorable. Property Aggregator Platforms too figure on the list of favourite advertising platforms in terms of RoI. When used correctly, they can deliver a stellar competitive advantage in capturing and converting leads. Print going by popular perception is getting wiped out by digital but, there can be nothing further than the truth as indicated by our survey. Real estate marketers and sales agents need both digital and print marketing strategies. NEW AREAS OF ADVERTISING While, the marketers are ardently using their favourite advertising platforms from online to offline, they also confess on planning to explore a few other mediums that has not been part of their advertising spends till now. Influencer and OTT advertising comes at the top of the wish list followed by events & roadshows, celebrity endorsements and Metaverse. Influencer Marketing - Many real estate brands are engaging a variety of influencers to maximize their reach on different platforms. Facebook and Instagram offers ample opportunities for influencer marketers to connect with audiences organically. While many survey participants had not yet engaged influencer, they wanted to explore the same because consumer can identify more with situations and people associated with the product. A few others that have been using influencer marketing plan to increase it going forward. Connected TV and Over the Top platforms are indeed becoming one of the most powerful mass media tools. The video innovations are causing tremendous excitement in the advertising world and content producers are struggling to keep pace to find the best advertising solutions. The participants in the survey shared that OTT is comparatively a new medium and wiith the advent of Jio Cinema and it being open to ads on the platform, it is going to be an interesting space to explore. IP lead events for targeted audience can take many forms and offer a great way to interact with prospective clients, showcase a property, sharing of ideas or gaining a brand visibility in the industry. Roadshows on the other hand facilitate face-to-face interaction between the marketing team and customers, provides an effective platform for showcasing projects and are known to provide an more personal and memorable experience to the customers. Many in the survey expressed considering exploring the international events, exhibitions and NRI roadshows. Celebrity Promotions – No doubt, celebrities add an element of glamour, are a potent marketing tool and help to create goodwill for the brand. The catch is to be associated with a trustworthy and brand –relevant popular figure. This medium though is on the wish list of many realty brands, overall it seems to be on a low priority. Metaverse – Moving on from Virtual and Augmented Reality, allowing potential buyers to virtually explore properties from the comfort of their homes, Metaverse is the next frontier for real estate in which quite a few survey participants showed interest. Collaborating with the metaverse platform, you can create your own brand's avatars or accessories as a part of your official merchandise. For marketers, the metaverse represents an opportunity to engage consumers in entirely new ways. REALTY+ ADVERTISING TRENDS FORECAST Realty+ survey on advertising trends in Indian real estate offered some interesting insights. Based on the data collected and the sentiments shared by the industry experts, below are the significant trends that we are going to see in a big way. Honesty Matters Authenticity will be the biggest driving factor for a successful social media marketing. Genuine and relatable content that can produce trust and affinity with the audience will become even more important. Influencers are likely to become bigger part of advertising as their content resonates with their followers – especially Gen Z. Businesses will leverage influencers who can create meaningful connections with their customers and foster customer loyalty. Visual Signs As consumers’ attention spans continue to wane, effective video content that allows brands to engage will be in demand. Visuals and videos that can evoke emotions in viewers are more likely to make them remember the brand. Looking ahead, drone videography and photography will become a staple of video advertising offering genuine information. A well-curated 8 seconds visual (the average attention span) will reign supreme. Importance of Voice With voice assistants becoming increasingly popular and voice search being preferred due to its convenience and accuracy, voice search optimization will become more important than ever. Advertising that optimizes content for voice searches will help ensure that the content is at the top of search engine results and the customers can easily notice their product. Mobile Centricity Mobile advertising has grown exponentially in India over the past few years with increase in smart phone penetration and data connectivity. Mobile-centric campaigns will continue their dominance with customized ads based on the location of the target prospects. Mobile gaming will be further utilized with creative campaigns that engage users and in-game rewards. Artificial Intelligence Generative AI tools that create videos, images, and even music for personalized campaigns are soon to take over the advertising world. AI-powered tools can target customers based on their browsing habits and interests, allowing marketers to personalize ads. AI tools like ChatGPT can craft persuasive content that will enable marketers in creating ad campaigns that are optimized for their target audience. FACEBOOK ADS AND GOOGLE ADS ARE A CURRENT RAGE IN REAL ESTATE ADVERTISING. THANKS TO THEIR ABILITY TO GENERATE LEADS, GRAB ATTENTION AND INCREASE REVENUE. PRINT, DIGITAL AND OUTDOOR ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF REACHING OUT TO THE REAL ESTATE POTENTIAL BUYERS. INFLUENCER MARKETING AND OTT ARE THE TWO PLATFORMS THAT MOST REAL ESTATE MARKETERS WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE FOR ADVERTISING. INFLUENCERS CAN HELP DIVERSIFY THE POOL OF POTENTIAL PURCHASERS AND HASTEN SALES BY ADVERTISING SOCIAL MEDIA LISTINGS. THROUGH OTT ADVERTISING, MARKETERS CAN REACH A SMALLER BUT MORE FOCUSED AUDIENCE.
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