Carpe Diem, Homeowners!

To meet Reali’s vision of an innovative, simple homeownership process, having a stake in mortgage financing was essential. In 2019, Reali acquired an online mortgage lender (fka Lenda), and once the integration was complete, it was time to turn up the lead flow.

In 2020, a combo of low mortgage rates and COVID-19 meant mortgage refinances were booming (and new mortgages not so much). The ask was to develop a mix of campaign themes to test across our paid and owned channels retargeting dormant leads already in the funnel and growing the audience from there.

Fortunately, the competition wasn’t particularly inspiring — a mix of rate-baiting , cheesy stock photos, and, weirdly, lots of triangles. Once we knew what we were up against, we aligned on three pillars the best of our content should do:

Empathize: Competitor ads are transactional. They lack personality, so it’s difficult for the audience to connect. Reali is here for the long haul, so we need to make more meaningful connections.

Educate: Competitor ads take an insider approach and assume the audience understands the whys and wherefores of refinancing. Our research shows that assumption to be wrong.

Elevate: Competitor ads don’t raise the creative bar; they iterate on the same themes (triangles, low rates). They don’t inspire, engage, or stop the scroll. We will up the ante, creating a meaningful, personal engagement with our audience.

Historically, we’ve found creative that quantifies a product’s value outperforms creative that itemizes its benefits. Behavioral scientists call it “reframing,” but really, it’s just answering the WIIFM — the “what’s in it for me? — in a more meaningful way.

The Reasons to Refinance campaign answers the WIIFM in as many ways as there are, well, reasons to refinance. It’s about more than just a better rate. Way more. And hey, the most decisive campaigns tend to be the most flexible ones: this approach makes it a breeze to swap in iterations of topics that resonate and weed out those that don’t.

The Reali Short Guides approach takes the Reasons campaign one step further. These short, snappy animations activate around the simplicity of the process and the gratification of the outcomes.

From here, things get a little looser. Built on the belief you can’t reinvent something (especially real estate) without rocking the boat a little, the Rates So Low campaign is a tongue-in-cheek spin on the traditional rate bait (showcasing an APR only .5% of the population qualifies for).

This campaign went live in April 2021. Check back soon for campaign performance intel.