Zillow is taking its TV ad campaign nationwide as it looks to gain momentum heading into the critical Spring home shopping season.
We wrote about the limited release of the campaign last fall, pointing out at the time that it was an uncharacteristic step for the online real estate company since it touted. But now with more than 45 million monthly visitors, the company may be looking to create a household brand, much as the executive team did previously at Expedia.
“The first half decade of Zillow we didn’t spend on any advertising at all – great web and mobile products, that drove great PR and word of mouth, established our brand and grew us to nearly 46 million unique users in January 2013,” said company spokeswoman Cynthia Nowak. “Now that we’re more mature as a business and a brand, it makes sense to selectively explore various online and offline advertising channels, and TV is one of the areas we’re continuing to use.”
The ad, created by DeutschLA, will air nationwide on channels such as HGTV, Comedy Central, MSNBC and Travel Channel.
“You’re not just looking for a house, you’re looking for a place for your life to happen,” says a narrator as the song “First Day of My Life” from Bright Eyes plays in the background.
The campaign also comes as Zillow faces challenges from Trulia and Houzz, a young upstart that’s competing with Zillow’s newly launched home improvement site Zillow Digs. Zillow will report earnings on Wednesday afternoon, so check back to GeekWire for more details on how they are performing.
