The real estate companies going all in on Super Bowl Sunday
Homes.com will run three new ads during the big event while Opendoor will livestream a real homeowner doing a virtual walkthrough during halftime.
Key points:
- CoStar said it’s spending $1 billion on what it described as “the biggest marketing campaign in real estate history” for Homes.com.
- Comedians Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner will make appearances in the Homes.com commercials, along with rapper Lil Wayne and surprise guests.
- Opendoor’s livestream aims to demonstrate how fast and easy it is to sell with the iBuyer.
Some major players in the real estate world are gearing up for game day, investing heavily to get their brands in front of millions of eyeballs by running new commercials during the most-watched television event of the year.
Opendoor is taking a nontraditional approach to Super Bowl advertising, announcing this week that during halftime, it will livestream a real Atlanta homeowner going through the process of showing their home to Opendoor virtually.
But Homes.com parent company CoStar is pulling out all the stops in its effort to gain publicity and attention ahead of the big game.
The commercial real estate giant has formally launched what it is declaring to be "the biggest marketing campaign in real estate history" to drive more traffic to Homes.com in the lead-up to and after the Super Bowl.
CoStar will run four ads during the Super Bowl, the company said this week, three for Homes.com and one for Apartments.com. The going rate for a 30-second Super Bowl ad is $7 million.
One of the spots features comedians Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner, the new faces of Homes.com, sitting in an office conference room late at night brainstorming punny slogans for the site. Another shows a group of execs — including a cameo from CoStar CEO Andy Florance — sitting in a boardroom and waiting for celebrities to arrive. A teaser video showing Lil Wayne suggests that the rapper will also make an appearance in the big Super Bowl ad blitz.
CoStar has a history of leveraging celebrity spokespeople, most notably Jeff Goldblum, who has long been the face of Homes.com sibling company Apartments.com.
Homes.com hopes to reach 90% of households with $1 billion campaign
CoStar says it has invested $1 billion into its marketing push for Homes.com, with the Super Bowl as a launchpad for a major ad campaign. In a YouTube video, the company says it will also run ads on all the top streaming services and during other big sports and entertainment events like NCAA's March Madness, the 2024 Paris Olympics, the NBA Finals, the Oscars and more.
The company has even sent out Homes.com-branded care packages to brokerage offices.
Homes.com said it expects to reach 90% of American households through its advertising campaign and is pitching the marketing push as one that "homebuyers couldn't miss this if they tried."
Opendoor spot 'a testament to the simplicity and certainty' the iBuyer offers
In announcing its halftime home offer stunt, Opendoor's top marketing exec said that the spot will help showcase the changing nature of homebuying and selling in today's digital world. The pitch is that a regular homeowner can virtually showcase their home to Opendoor in the same amount of time as the Super Bowl's halftime show.
"This spot isn't just about making history; it's a testament to the simplicity and certainty we bring to real estate," David Corns, Opendoor's chief marketing officer, said. "Even in the midst of the Big Game excitement, homeowners can easily sell their homes so they can focus on what's next in life."
Viewers will be able to watch the livestream on Opendoor.com during halftime.