The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is asking its members to approve a special levy of $30 per member per year, for a period of three years starting in 2016, to fund the Realtor Value advertising campaign.
“Promoting the value of Realtors to the public across the province has been the subject of a mass advertising campaign for the past few years,” says the association in a note to members. “That’s because you, our members, have rated this as your top priority for the association. After an extensive survey, an overwhelming 97 per cent of you said your top priority for us at OREA was to promote Realtor value to the public. Moreover, 94 per cent of you said it should be done through a mass advertising campaign.”
The association says its “We do the homework” campaign, featuring television and billboard ads, has been running for two years and “has been a tremendous success, moving the public’s perception of Realtors in a positive direction that benefits all of us in this profession across the province.
“We want to continue running this amazing ad campaign for another two years. However, in order to continue funding it, we will need to find a new path. Delegates at the upcoming OREA Annual General Meeting and Assembly will be asked to vote on a special levy to continue to fund the ad campaign,” says OREA.
So far the ad campaign has been funded by OREA reserves, which will continue through this year, says the association. However, the reserves “will no longer be able to support this kind of campaign” after this year, it says.
OREA says its revenue is about $9 million annually, “but funding a professional and effective ad campaign will cost the association about $2 million a year. It is worth noting that OREA worked to trim back our budget in 2012 and 2013, and this involved staff layoffs and significant budget cutbacks. It is also worth noting that OREA has not had a dues increase since 2008. With an ad campaign representing over 20 per cent of the current member services budget, attempting to further cut a lean budget would not deliver the required funds and would have a negative impact on valued existing programs. We find ourselves with nowhere left to cut. That’s why we’ve had to explore a new funding model for the campaign,” says the association.
Voting delegates to the OREA Annual General Meeting and Assembly will vote on the recommendation on March 11.
