For the first time in Ray White’s 117-year history, they have rolled out a national television advertising campaign, drawing on their “Great Australian Dream” brand drive and harnessing the talents of Australian actor Rhys Muldoon.
With almost 800 offices under their banner, Ray White is the biggest property group in the nation, and has long been known as a powerhouse print media supporter with some of its agents and offices long-time newspaper marketers.
At a time when many other property groups are limiting their marketing dollars in response to perceived softness in some markets, Ray White has committed to a broad-based TV campaign, which was shot in country Victoria around the Great Ocean Road.
The brand has committed a significant spend to the campaign, which runs across the Channel 7 network in metro Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia and includes a sponsorship of Selling Houses Australia. In addition, in regional Victoria and New South Wales, the campaign will also air on Channel 9 and Network 10, as well as Foxtel nationally.
The ad takes a lighthearted view of Australia’s inability to give its landmarks creative names, instead always falling back on the word ‘great’, and it aims to help make the brand synonymous with the property dreams of all Australians.
Ray White Group Managing Director Dan White said his family always had a difficult relationship with the concept of Ray White as a brand.
“As a teenager, I can recall my father Brian White bristling at the thought of the business being described as a brand. He thought we had far more important qualities that differentiated us from our competitors than any particular image or design,” said the 46-year-old leader of the fourth generation family business.
“But now Ray White is not only a business defined by its people and family values, it’s also a brand. And the brand is somehow independent of the business. It stands on its own and the more integrity it has, the more value it delivers to all of our members.
“We realise that a strong and consistent brand alone will not guarantee our future. It will be determined by our ability to create an environment in which every member can thrive and reach their potential so they can consistently exceed customer expectations.
“We know that ensuring we effectively market the brand for the benefit of our members, and in mediums that resonate strongly with our customers, is also critical to our future success.”
The Great campaign set about breaking Ray White out of the real estate category, while also pushing the boundaries of what was expected from a typical real estate industry campaign.
Ray White Head of Marketing Lisa Pennell said the company’s history and future ambition was a ‘great’ story to tell.
“Ray White is a family owned and led Australian business that’s grown from humble beginnings 117 years ago, to now selling more than one in every 10 properties sold across the country. Many people don’t realise the immense size and reach of our members and brand, and yet we dominate market share across the country,” Ms Pennell said.
The most recent data for 2019 shows Ray White’s market share reached 11.36 per cent – an all-time high for the group, and the standout leader in the real estate category.
Ms Pennell said consumers still place an immense amount of trust in TV advertising, particularly when the message tells a compelling story, rather than pushing an agenda.
“We’re excited to be bringing our television commercial The Great to audiences across Victoria, NSW and South Australia, having already had great feedback even in the early stages of the campaign,” she said.
“As the largest real estate group in the country, our scale allows us to market across mass mediums that are simply out of the reach of smaller groups.
“While we’ve long dominated print media through vendor paid advertising, this is our first major brand campaign and it has effectively broken us out of the real estate category and positioned us alongside large, credible businesses from other industries.”
