The future of real estate marketing: newspapers?

Real estate marketing consultant Marc Davison usually has something provocative to say in his regular Inman News columns, and today he argues that rumors of the newspaper's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

"If you think that print media -- and in particular newspaper advertising -- is a waste of money, think again," Davison writes. "Considering all the honest-to-goodness garbage found in most papers, a well placed, well written, neatly conceptualized ad could do wonders for your brand, your business, your properties and your customers." 

When it comes to newspaper ads, the founding partner of 1000watt Consulting  recommends "doing the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing. Take your face out of your ads. You don't matter anymore (it's nothing personal). Your services do. Your technology does. You insight does. Your call to action does. Your properties, especially if they aren't reduced to tiny thumbnails, matter most of all."

As somebody who still gets a newspaper delivered to my door, I am often impressed with the full-page ads that grace the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle's "Saturday New Homes" advertising section. In September, 2006, I was so impressed by an ad that touted the local schools as a selling point for homes in San Ramon, Calif., that I took a picture of it and posted it on InmanBlog.

"What's interesting about this ad for Windemere Ranch is there is literally not one word about the homes themselves," I wrote back then. "The entire ad ... is filled with statistics trumpeting the quality of the local school district ... Schools have always been a selling point for homes, but it seems that's even more true when competition for buyers is intense."

I don't know if I even needed to take a picture of the ad to share it with InmanBlog readers -- these days, at least, the Chronicle reproduces the section online just as it appears in print. The latest edition of the Saturday New Homes section promotes a new development in Dublin, a Silicon Valley bedroom community east of San Francisco that sits on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train line. 

"For the cost of a comparable condominium in San Francisco, Elan at Dublin Station residents can buy a home, pay for 10 years of commute expenses and enjoy many luxuries," the ad boasts. "D.R. Horton is making this situation a pleasant reality for home buyers at Elan at Dublin Station, a stylish new community located adjacent to the Dublin BART station."

The ad then reverts to the usual pitch about the features and amenities the homes offer. But once again, it's local services (schools, transportation), that are highlighted as the biggest selling point. I realize these ads were placed by homebuilders, not real estate brokers or agents. But is Davison right? Are newspapers still a place to sell consumers on your services, technology, insight, call to action -- and, most of all, your properties?

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