DATE: Saturday, March 22, 1997              TAG: 9703200198

SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY      PAGE: 04   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Cover Story 

SOURCE: BY LOUKIA LOUKA, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY 

                                            LENGTH:  124 lines

THE REALITY: MAKING YOUR NAME KNOWN

While signing her name to a credit card slip, Pam Rogers, a Realtor with Re/Max Central Realty, found herself listening to a store clerk recite her slogan, ``Real Estate + Rogers (EQ) Results.''

Ann Davis of The Prudential Decker Realty was recognized in an elevator by a woman who went to the movies and saw Davis' ad on the screen.

People honk and wave when they see Re/Max Central's Linda Fox-Jarvis driving by in her so-called moving billboard, a customized van outfitted with everything she needs to sell a house.

So, it seems, Hollywood isn't the only place where celebrities spring eternal. The only difference is that in Hampton Roads, you don't need a good agent, you have to be one.

While strategies differ, everyone has the same philosophy: You have to spend money to make money. Beyond that, coming up with a good marketing campaign will help put an agent's face in front of the public and keep it there.

GETTING PICKED: The National Association of Realtors reports that, in 1995, more than eight in 10 prospective home buyers selected real estate agents to begin their home search. More successful marketing methods used by real estate agents to reach consumers include newspaper ads, open houses, and ``for sale'' signs, says the NAR.

While there is no departure from those methods, there is a need among real estate professionals to become more creative. Rogers started using TV ads three years ago after attending a seminar given by Hobbs Herder Advertising, a real estate marketing company in Santa Ana, Calif.

Since then, Rogers has made several 30-second spots with Blink Media of Norfolk. Results have been gradual but, as the store clerk proved, Rogers has a familiar face and name and a catchy slogan.

``I really was trying to accomplish name and face recognition . . . so when they did meet me, I would be a credible person in my profession. It definitely has brought the name and face together,'' said Rogers, who has been selling real estate for 16 years.

She has received the most calls from viewers who have seen her ads on The Weather Channel, which has 200,000 viewers at any given moment, according to the channel.

``One thing I find about real estate agents is they won't do something unless it's working for them,'' said Steve Sanford, general manager of Blink Media. For what they invest, results are all but demanded. At Blink, a 30-second spot costs anywhere from $400 to $1,200 to produce, Sanford said. After that, there is air time to pay.

Rogers said that at one point, she was paying $2,300 per month of her own money for air time. ``Because of the amount of money I spent in the beginning, I kept thinking, am I nuts? But I am a believer, it takes money to make money,'' said Rogers, who now spends about $400 a month for air time and said she listed three properties off her TV ads in January.

For Davis, a sales associate with The Prudential Decker Realty, the movie screen doesn't walk or talk, but she gets out her name and face all the same. Her ads at the Surf 'N Sand on Laskin Road work because she has a ``captive'' audience: People are going to sit there and watch the screen until the movie starts.

Their hands are full of popcorn and drinks. There are no remote controls. No phones to answer. No dinner to check. ``I think most of my customers expect a lot of innovative advertising,'' she said. ``Every seminar I've gone to in the last couple of years, marketing yourself is important. If you don't do anything, you won't get anything.''

Laura Stalls, a local sales executive with Atlanta-based Cinema Screen Media who handles Davis' account, said movie ads for real estate professionals evolved in the United States about five years ago. Part of their appeal is that the number of people who will see them is consistent.

Also, Davis has an exclusive contract with Surf 'N Sand and no other real estate sales associate will have ads there as long as she keeps up her annual contract. ``She says that ad is bringing her business like crazy,'' Stalls said.

THE NET WORKS: Still emerging as an information source for home buyers is the Internet. Alan Thompson, an associate broker for Rose & Krueth Realty, has his own Web page. His entire marketing campaign, both on and off-line is built around the words, ``Ask Alan,'' and he presents himself as a resource for every question.

The Internet, Thompson said, will define the future of real estate marketing. Younger baby boomers and those who are part of Generation X want bottom line information delivered in a technologically proficient manner as opposed to more traditional methods, he said.

The Virginia Association of Realtors reports that in 1996, about 14,000 residential contracts closed in South Hampton Roads. The VAR said South Hampton Roads has about 2,600 Realtors. Given the ratio of homes to Realtors, the run to advertise and advertise well takes marathon strength.

There are free publications like Harmon Homes and The Real Estate Book. Newspaper ads. Web pages. Billboards. Letters and postcards. Open house. Calendars. Cook-outs and Christmas parties. Associates said their agencies help out with some advertising costs, primarily with print ads, but the bulk of their marketing expenses are not paid by their agencies. Topping that off, novice agents have it tough no matter what they try.

``When you first get into real estate, that is really the hardest. Even your friends think of you in your previous job,'' said Womble Realty's Dori Iwanowski, a former schoolteacher. One NAR survey shows that nearly 50 percent of all home buyers knew or were personally referred to the real estate agent who helped them buy their home.

Knowing that, Iwanowski keeps up with her ``farm,'' an industry term used to describe friends, neighbors, past and present customers, business contacts and others seen on a regular basis.

For example, around Halloween, she gives pumpkins to those in her social farm and is known as The Pumpkin Lady. That familiarity gives her an edge. ``Each individual person can do their own thing. . . I want to give them information where they say, `Hey, I want to use this,' '' Iwanowski said.

Kathleen Losey of GSH Real Estate draws on her background as a home economist and educator to help her sell real estate, which she has been doing for 14 years. Losey, who specializes in residential sales in the Independence area of Virginia Beach, is active in a number of civic groups and takes ballet classes.

Members of those groups are her ``cheerleaders,'' and regularly refer people to Losey, who also does print and television advertising. Still, Losey said, the best advertisement is the sign outside a home for sale.

``It probably makes the phone ring more than anything else,'' she said. ``People neighborhood shop. They cruise around the neighborhood. I got the listing last night because the people said they saw my name on the sign.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

THE NAME GAME

IAN SMITH

The Virginian-Pilot

Pam Rogers of Re/Max hired Steve Sanford of Blink Media to create a

series of 30-second television spots that have paid off with

increased business.

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