RealtyTrac: From virtual unknown to top US real estate brand

After a competitive review, RealtyTrac signed Atomic several years ago. The assignment was to help reposition and re-launch the company's brand and destination site, which was originally created for sophisticated professional real estate investors, as a more consumer-friendly resource for foreclosure related information. And of course, to drive traffic, consumer subscriptions and professional network memberships. At the time, the company received roughly 10 pieces of media coverage per quarter.

ComContext™ research pointed out that few media were actually covering real estate services; instead, journalists appeared to be more interested in data that could provide context on the state of the real estate market, which at that time was peaking. Time series analysis within ComContext, and a deeper review of the nature of then-prevalent real estate reports lead to two very subtle observations that drove a data, content alignment, and multi-level media engagement strategy that catapulted RealtyTrac onto the national media scene virtually overnight.

Growth in total coverage volumes were astronomical in the first two years of the program, as were improvements in key metrics such as breadth of topicality, article length, messaging accuracy, sentiment, etc. But even after successive years of multi-hundred percent increases, the program in 2008 managed to grow volume another 93% on top of impressive 2007 baselines, generating more than 37,000 pieces, including more than 23,000 print pieces and more than12,000 broadcast segments.

The brand commanded a 46% share of voice among its key commercial competitors, nearly 100% greater than its nearest rival, and RealtyTrac spokespeople Jim Sacaccio and Rick Sharga are the two most quoted real estate executives in the media. In addition, subscriptions topped 3 million for the first time.