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Builders Hitch Advertising to ‘Buy Now’ Campaign in Arizona
Several builders in the Tucson-based Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) gained additional exposure and leveraged their individual “buy now” advertising campaigns by using the same core messages as those used by their HBA.
The Southern Arizona HBA campaign was part of the NAHB “Buy Now” advertising assistance program that provides advertising grants to qualifying HBAs hit hard by the housing downturn.
In its ad campaign, SAHBA promoted a “buy now” message primarily through radio advertising. In addition, the association specifically targeted renters and commuters by supplementing its radio advertising with ads in city bus shelters located near apartments and along high-traffic roadways, said Roger Yohem, SAHBA vice president.
“Our campaign is just ending, so it's too early to tell what measurable effect it had on consumers,” said Yohem. “One thing I know for sure, however. We are grateful to NAHB for the grant. It demonstrated to our members that NAHB is committed to helping our industry get through this down cycle.”
Yohem said his association was able to quickly take advantage of NAHB’s advertising assistance because it had a standing public relations/community education committee. “We were fortunate to have a procedure in place that enabled us to move fast and put together a program,” he said.
$1.9 Million Awarded to Date
To date, 110 HBAs in 34 states — including the Southern Arizona HBA — have received or been approved to receive more than $1.9 million in NAHB advertising assistance. Including the matching funds that the HBAs contributed, the total value of their advertising campaigns is more than $5.8 million.
$1 Million in Grants Still Available
NAHB is encouraging HBAs that have not yet received or been approved to receive grant money to apply for NAHB “Buy Now” grants.
The NAHB “Buy Now” Advertising Assistance Program provides grants to qualifying HBAs in three categories:
- HBAs conducting ad campaigns in the top 10 media markets (Tier 1)
- HBAs with more than 250 members operating in areas outside of the top 10 major media markets (Tier 2)
- HBAs with 250 or fewer members (Tier 3)
To qualify for grants, the ads must deliver a “buy now” message, be placed in 2007 and be conducted in markets that have experienced a major decline in home sales and housing production.
To Apply
To learn more about the program, eligibility considerations and requirements, click here, or call Niki Clark at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x806l.
To view a list of the HBAs that have received or been approved for grants, and their grant level categories, click here.
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